Jonathan Guerin, Enrique Santos, Lauren Wesley, Wilson Hector Muñoz, Oscar Suris Hispanicize
Jonathan Guerin, public relations manager at United Airlines; Enrique Santos, CCO of iHeartLatino; Hector Muñoz, chief marketing officer of Church’s Chicken; and Oscar Suris, director of corporate communications at Wells Fargo, opened the day’s activities commenting on the most relevant aspects of today’s Hispanic market, including its cultural and political trends, and how these impact Hispanic brands. The most relevant statements referred to the market in relation to the country’s social and political realities, and why brand strategy must be grounded on those realities. “What’s important for the public must be important to us,” Suris said. Muñoz, for his part, spoke of social awareness in marketing: “We must understand that we play a very important role in the community.” Santos recalled the importance of being honest with consumers who don’t forgive double-talk. “Today more than ever, I realize how consumers use radio to seek connections, and that should be the goal of brands, to generate real, trustworthy connections” he said. As for diversity, the panel agreed that inclusion must come from inside agencies and corporations. “The agencies leading the conversation are those that are truly diverse,” Santos said. As for the unavoidable topic of language, Suris started the conversation by saying “we haven’t done enough, but events like Hispanicize help us seek more change.” Santos concluded with an anecdote illustrating that today, for second or third generation Latinos, “it’s cool to speak Spanish now as opposed to 10 years ago, but the responsibility for maintaining that interest is in the hands of the industry. Our upcoming generations need to be prepared for the future.”
