If you were one of the people fascinated by last week’s pro-immigration rallies, you’re not alone. Hispanic advertising is booming, and the politics of immigration is definitely impacting the ad biz. Ad Age has more:
“This market is being changed,” said Gino Pacheco, managing partner-director of strategic planning at the Vidal Partnership, New York, the largest independent U.S. Hispanic ad agency. “We don’t know yet if for good or bad.”
In one possible scenario, Mr. Pacheco said, if the estimated 80% of illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. for more than five years are allowed to apply for green cards and start working toward citizenship “it would have an incredible impact on our clients.”
A few Hispanic shops, including Vidal, closed May 1, and others let staff take time off to attend rallies. Some marketers with heavily Hispanic work forces, like Tyson and Perdue Farms, closed some of their plants, and Hispanic food company Goya Foods suspended most of its deliveries for the day. La Agencia de Orci, a Los Angeles-based independent Hispanic shop, held a lunch for all its employees to talk about what the impact of the pro-immigration marches could be. Afterward, Jose Gonzalez, managing director-integrated marketing, and three of the agency’s planners went to a demonstration with video cameras and talked to people in the streets. They plan to edit the video and show it to their clients.
Of course, it’s important to remember that just like every ethnic group, Hispanics aren’t all alike, considering the immigration controversy is primarily focused on Mexicans. This will be interesting to watch, considering the potential dollars at stake.