The Kickoff Event
This Wednesday night was the inaugural event for a new Phoenix area Hispanic marketing networking group named Collectivo. Nativa has been active in supporting the new group by providing sponsorship for their first two events.
At the kick-off event for @TheCollectivo #hispanicorlatino #marketing #Phoenix pic.twitter.com/d38LbENUGE
— Anaïs (@anaiisba) September 18, 2014
Attendees
Attendance was excellent at the first event; there was approximately 70 people who came to see what the discussion about the new Hispanic marketing group was all about. The Office Pile coworking space venue was perfect for the event as it allowed people to freely grab an adult beverage and find someone new to converse with in this open environment.
Discussion has started. We are excited to see the questions that will be asked. #hispanicorlatino @thecollectivo pic.twitter.com/FUuXsEWphP
— The TOP (@theofficepile) September 18, 2014
Networking
There was great networking to be had at the Collectivo inaugural event. A diverse crew assembled with a mix of people from all types of professions such as marketing agencies including Santy and Lane Terralever, web agencies like User 10 and Breeze Advantage, and Hispanic marketing professionals from numerous big valley brands and organizations such as ASU, Honeywell, Wells Fargo and Century Link. There also were many smaller local companies represented such as Itzamna Translations and we were happy to see many non-profits from around the valley represented including Valley of the Sun United Way, The Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus Pine, as well as Association for Supportive Child Care. With that mix of people there was no way to leave without a nice pile of valuable business cards.
Educational value
One of the things that Collectivo has stressed is that their events are always going to deliver a key educational component. They really did a great job achieving that in the first event as they had a panel that delivered personal insights from their numerous decades of experience from the trenches in Hispanic marketing. The panel included Natalia Ronceria Ceballos from the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Jaime Talamante from New York Life, and Francisco Aguirre from The Office Pile. Together, they touched on topics including marketing to Hispanics of different ages, which tone of voice to use when creating materials, as well as what NOT to do when creating a Hispanic marketing campaign. There were also intriguing points about the difference in terminology between Hispanics, Latinos, and even Chicanos. Passionate beliefs were delivered from these well-educated marketers about what is the best language to reach Latinos; Spanish, English, or a mix of Spanglish. Especially interesting was hearing the panelists disdain for the use of Spanglish in TV commercials. The hashtag #hispanicorlatino revealed some of the interesting tidbits from the conversation such as these below:
“I pull my hair out when I hear the atrocious Spanish ads that many brands put out.” – Francisco from @theofficepile #hispanicorlatino — Collectivo (@TheCollectivo) September 18, 2014
And another example of the valuable content:
The bilingual brain reacts better to emotional messaging. Find what matters to your consumer. @TheCollectivo #marketing #hispanicorlatino — Anaïs (@anaiisba) September 18, 2014
Value of sponsorship
For Nativa, as with most agencies, our marketing dollars are very important to us so we need to ensure that we sponsor groups that really make sense. Collectivo is a perfect fit because of the thought leaders that come together to discuss topics that really matter when talking about marketing to Hispanics (or Latinos) not just in the Phoenix valley but also nationwide. For that reason, this is a great partnership for Nativa and Collectivo.
Filling the void in the valley
Collectivo is taking an excellent step towards providing what is really missing in the valley as far as educational content and networking among local marketing agencies. We have many good events in Phoenix that offer content to Hispanic marketers, but they are typically not tailored specifically for this group. The few events that are geared for Hispanic marketers tend to carry a hefty price-tag and rarely deliver the unfiltered networking and education that we saw at the Collectivo event, which is always free to all attendees. There is something to be said for a group that comes in and offers content at no cost in with the promise of good networking, relevant education, and a good craft beer (or Fanta, see below).
I’m really proud of having worked with @EDiaz33 and @Mr__Christian on a great @TheCollectivo event! #hispanicorlatino pic.twitter.com/S7Z3RX6Btn
— Joshua Molina (@JoshuaMolina) September 18, 2014
About Collectivo
Collectivo is a newly launched Phoenix area group created to fill the gap of networking events among Latino marketing and communication professionals. The group meets on a bimonthly basis to learn from industry experts about Hispanic marketing topics. Collectivo’s mission is to create a networking community providing monthly local learning from industry experts.
