Lara Bersano - Latin American Affairs

Interesting reading for the weekend: Tom concludes that companies that promote social media tools for fastest and constant communication don’t always listen in a Harvard Business Review article today.

Today in Ad Week is one of the best and most complete analyses of the situation of the Hispanic market in the US I have ever read, and it is really a wonderful picture of the situation of US companies targeting US Hispanics and how Ad Agencies are taking advantage of a unique opportunities to target this incredible market.

For the first time in history, a Latina American city will host the Olympic Games. And Rio de Janeiro is the chosen city.

I participate in a very active LinkedIn Group of women entrepreneurs, in which some very interesting debates have emerged. I want to share these ideas with you so we can exchange thoughts on how we women do business in Latin America and in the USA. The first report I read struck me hard, and it is the one dedicated to analyzing the situation of women and girls in developing countries, which includes almost every country in Latin America. The PLAN report warns that failing to send girls to school is costing the world’s poorest countries billions of dollars each year.

This week, two important reports show that the investment dedicated to multicultural media such as Hispanic TV and Latin American Mobile investment will grow almost exponentially during 2009 and 2010.

This is good news for those companies seeking to engage the Hispanic consumer, and also for the booming Hispanic companies. Joseph Schramm, one of the organizers of the Hispanic TV Summit to be held in NYC on Sept. 23rd says, "Pay TV has become one of the biggest advertisers in the Hispanic market."

I went to a great art exhibit in Chicago! Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman are Chicago photographers who have collaborated on photographic narratives since 1979. Coming of age during the second wave of feminism, they have continued to explore the subject of women within the cultural mythology of our time.

Yes, we are also worried about swine flu in Latin America. A place where you feel and hear about this problem is the school door. In Latin America, we do not have the bus and transportation logistic as in U.S. public schools so you usually see dozens of parents waiting outside the school to pick up their children every day. As we have this 10-15 minute of time to talk every day, parents can exchange experiences on a daily basis and talk about their concerns.

An interesting article written by Patricio Cavalli shows how Internet is growing in Latin America and how ad agencies are considering this medium as a perfect one to overcome the 'budget crisis' that many brands are suffering. Patricio writes: "According to the Argentine branch of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, online ad investment in 2008 totaled $71 million. In its survey, IAB projects that online ad spending will grow up to 25% this year – a wishful-thinking scenario, some say.

It only works when it's "open!"

Last week, I was working on a report for Competencia Magazine, when I realized that one of the most important contributions that we as communications professionals can do is help others get the news about creative ways to overcome the crisis.

I attended an event held in Buenos Aires presenting Natura Cosmetics as the Official BAF Week make up (Buenos Aires Fashion Week). The focus of the meeting was to show how an international beauty company shows its social involvement and commitment by providing excellent products and care for the environment. They invited five very well known artists to include messages and drawings on T-shirts that the company gave out as gifts for the 100 opinion-leaders that attended the event.