Top Hispanic Ad Agency Shines Light on Market Potential

by Sandra Conrad, Guest Columnis

Lionel "the artist" Sosa, Adolfo "the salesman" Aguilar Jr., and Ernest "the researcher" Bromley are taking the Hispanic advertising world by storm. In less than fifteen years, they have built their advertising agency into this country's largest, and one of the most respected, Hispanic advertising agencies. And they are not stopping there. Their plans call for continued growth and a dramatic impact on today's advertising marketplace, including promoting a stronger Hispanic presence in advertising and commercials.

POSITIONED FOR GROWTH AND IMPACT
Most recently, Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar & Associates, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, became the largest Hispanic advertising agency in the U.S. after merging with Noble & Asociados, packaged good specialists headquartered in Irvine, California. The merger was prompted by efforts to strengthen U.S. and foreign capabilities. The agency was the first Hispanic owned advertising agency to surpass $100 million in billing. Its closest competitor was The Bravo Group, of New York, with $84 million. Sosa employs about 125 people.
The merger has resulted in numerous new clients for Sosa, including American Airlines, AnheuserBusch, Burger King, Coca-Cola USA, Disney's Buena Vista Home Video, Western Union and Procter & Gamble, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Joining the executive team is Dan Nance, who was the general manager at Noble. Nance, the only non-Hispanic executive at the Sosa agency, feels he has something unique to contribute to the group, saying that he "can serve a very useful role in explaining another culture to our clients. Not only do I know about it, but I've had to learn it. I can translate the culture, bridge the gap."
That skill that will come in handy as the Sosa agency continues to educate American businesses about the growing opportunities in the Hispanic marketplace. Hispanics make up about ten percent of the U.S. population, with purchasing power estimated at more than $200 billion. 1994 gross advertising expenditures in the U.S. Hispanic media market were an estimated $952.8 million, accounting for less than one percent of total U.S. ad spending. That may seem a small percentage, but this was a fifteen percent increase over 1993's spending of just over $820 million, according to Se Habla Espanol, a quarterly newsletter published by Hispanic Business, Inc. magazine. Leading the way in Hispanic advertising are companies such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and AT&T.
Influencing the general market will be easier thanks to an affiliation with advertising giant D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B) in New York. In fact, they are currently collaborating on a project that targets women in Mexico and the United States--focusing on the similarities of the women in the two different countries. They have also joined a consortium of thirteen other companies to focus on a "global Latin village" of more than 400 million Hispanic consumers in the U.S., Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN
The agency's journey began back in the days when Sosa was the president and chairman of Ed Yardang & Associates, a general market agency in San Antonio. Deciding he wanted to focus on the Hispanic market, he formed Sosa & Associates in 1981. Bromley, with an MBA from the University of Texas at San Antonio, soon joined as a researcher. Aguilar joined in 1987 after helping launch Coca-Cola's Hispanic marketing unit. Nance came to the group with more than ten years of Hispanic marketing experience.

A NEW STANDARD IN MARKETING
The Sosa agency is known for creating a new standard in Hispanic marketing and advertising in the United States, including being one of the first to "speak the same language" as general market agencies--basing its campaign strategy on solid marketing, research, and advertising principles. According to
Aguilar, many traditional Hispanic advertising methods resulted in little more than English commercials being translated into Spanish.
More than 95% of the Sosa agency's advertising campaigns are in Spanish, all as a result of careful market research. Part of their successful strategy has been using a method that segments the Spanish language market into "acculturation influence groups." This method divides the U.S. Spanish-language market into three groups: people who only speak Spanish, people who are bilingual, and people who only speak English. After determining how many Hispanics are bilingual or speak only one language, the agency predicts the number of people who will respond best to Spanish-language commercials.
The agency tries to get the most leverage possible from the same campaign. Recognizing the varied demographics among this country's Spanish-speaking community, however, they do tailor some advertising to specific regions. For example, a commercial with salsa music in the background airs in Florida, while the same commercial airs in Texas with Tejano music playing in the background.

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES
In addition to setting a new standard for Hispanic advertising, the Sosa agency wants to be a part of creating opportunities for Hispanics, including presenting Hispanics in a positive light, educating businesses on the importance of the growing Hispanic market, and establishing a Hispanic presence in general market advertising. Aguilar feels Hispanics are "hugely underrepresented in casting on the general market side, not just in commercials, but in film and in so many other walks of life. We're starting to break some barriers, but we are just beginning."
The Sosa agency is not alone in the quest to bring more prominence and attention to the Hispanic market. Many mainstream agencies are forming Hispanic units or affiliating with Hispanic ad agencies, according The Dallas Morning News. In addition, many Hispanic advertising executives at general market agencies have left to start their own companies.

Return to headlines

© The Monroe Street Journal 1995, All Rights Reserved.
This article may be freely distributed, provided it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice, but may not be reprinted without the express written permission of The Monroe Street Journal.
Send a letter to the editor: editor_msj@mtrack.bus.umich.edu for additional details.