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IABCLA Board Retreat: Celebrating Successes, Planning for Future 

June 26, 2019 by
The IABCLA board held a planning retreat on June 11.

The IABCLA board reviewed the chapter’s accomplishments during the first half of the year and began planning the remainder of 2019 at its semiannual retreat on June 11. 

Looking back at the last six months, our group has much to be proud of. We fulfilled our mission: “to heighten the skills, reputation and talents of the community through human connection. We do this by welcoming and inspiring LA’s professional communicators with targeted professional development events and honest conversations.” 

Between January and June, our chapter held several professional development functions  — a Dine & Discuss, two Coffee Connections, and a case study. Discussion topics included “Brand Building in a Digital World,” “PR in the Digital Age,” and “Navigating the Comms Job Market in LA.” We also held a Spring Mixer where guests networked at a popular bistro.  

In addition, we’re constantly looking for new ways to share chapter information and ideas. We now distribute a monthly newsletter — email Grant Skakun at grant.skakun@eucrest.com to subscribe. And, we’ve added an Instagram account — @IABCLosAngeles. Please follow us! 

Several ideas were discussed at the retreat, and we’ll continue to have a full schedule of activities between now and December. Look for reoccurring favorites like Coffee Connection and Dine & Discuss, as well as new happenings. We will, of course, continue to reach out to members and nonmembers and strengthen ties with communicators at all levels of their careers. 

To learn about the very latest, please continue to visit this site and follow us on social media: 
▪ Facebook: @IABCLosAngeles
▪ Twitter: @IABCLosAngeles
▪ Instagram: @IABCLosAngeles

Thank you! IABCLA could not thrive without YOUR support and participation! 

Filed Under: Board News, Chapter News, News Tagged With: , , ,

FREE Webinar – The Rise of the Millennials: Transforming the Enterprise Through Gamification

May 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Free webinar for IABC-LA members. May 14, 2014 at 9:00am PDT

New! IABC is piloting making our free-to-members webinars available to non-members for $100

Gabe Zichermann, Founder and CET of Dopamine and Gamification Co., Conference Chair, Gamification Summit
Some leading organizations are realizing the power of gamification to enhance work, reaping spectacular increases in productivity, engagement, innovation and business outcomes. Discover what’s driving this extraordinary trend, key successes and failures, and major design patterns that will enable your organization to take advantage of this innovation.

http://www.iabc.com/education/webseminars.htm

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Warner’s Corner – IABC Media Leaders Content Marketing Panel Wrap Up

October 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

(Los Angeles) On Tuesday, October 8th, 2013, IABC Los Angeles hosted a networking media panel event with Media Leaders at the ROC Center Santa Monica.

Moderated by Josh Ochs, the integrated communications panel covered everything from effective content creation, industry blunders/lessons learned, content marketing trends to leveraging social media tools.

The panel comprised of Chris Bechtel, Chief Marketing Officer, Make Good Social, Debra Eckerling, Goal Coach,Guided Goals and WriteOnLine, Priscilla Vento, Founder & CEO, 30 Miles North and James Aldous, Communications Director, OpenX.

IABC members and guests mingled with a diverse mix of West LA StartUps, Investors, Marketing/PR & corporate communications pros, social media managers, web developers, entertainment folks, gaming peeps, SEO gurus and much more.

Kicking off the panel, Josh Ochs asked the panel about leveraging online platforms to gain brand momentum, for which panelists cited a variety of tactics.

From hiring guest bloggers to managing editorial calendars, Debra Eckerling shared blogging tips, workflow tools and best practices.

On driving brand visibility, “get your video into the hands of relevant influencers,” said YouTube guru Priscilla Vento of 30 Mile North.

Chris Bechtel and James Aldous agreed Facebook is more consumer driven, and less business to business orientated. Panelists agreed. Aldous cited online chat tool Quora and Linkedin.

“Understanding where your audience lives is key,” said Bechtel.

2013-10-08 IABC-LA Media Leaders Event

 On integrated communications, the panel discussed the changing tides of earned-owned-paid-evolved media silos.

One IABC member asked where the panel thinks social media departments “live” these days. Vento said their social media manager functions separately from their media relations. Panelists agreed.

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In closing, panelists each shared a unique personal story. Turns out Priscilla Vento is an avid skateboarder, Aldous a non-fiction writer, Eckerling a karate black belt with stripe, and my personal favorite…Bechtel, a Bay Area rap video production founder (no longer). “Once clients who paid all in cash wanted their money back, I left town,” said Bechtel. The audience laughed.

For more event details and photos, follow us on facebook or twitter (@IABCLosangeles)

Special thanks, IABC-LA volunteers Stephanie Belsky, Linda Arres and event sponsor Angel Launch.

by Warner Boutin, VP, Communications – IABC Los Angeles. Photo credits by Calvin Lee. 

For the complete 1-hour plus event video:

http://youtu.be/Qbl8BHX-OU4

 

Filed Under: Chapter News, Events, Events - Los Angeles, Marketing, Networking, News, PR, Professional Development, Social Media, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Event Summary: May 8th, 2012 Master Storytellers: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

May 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Scientists are great master storytellers. One of the Voyager themes at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena is “reaching out to touch where no one has gone before.” IABC-LA members got to participate in an event never before offered through the chapter: “Master Storytellers: Jet Propulsion Laboratory”…an extraordinary look into NASA’s JPL California Institute of Technology where scientists and engineers have so many stories to tell.

Dana Edler, JPL’s Communications Specialist and IABC-LA Chapter President-Elect ’12-’13 led an out-of-this-world event featuring a tour of JPL’s von Karman Visitor Center and Space Flight Operations Facility before members heard insight into the use of storytelling communications.

Our tour guide explained JPL’s focus on robotic planetary spacecraft and astrophysics, not jet propulsion at this time, leading to missions such as the exploration of Mars. When visiting the Space Flight Operations Facility, the precise communications data told a story as code and numbers came through on big screens from satellites.  While we were not visiting the Facility during a launch of a  Mars mission, our tour guide explained the relatively quiet room was a good thing…it meant that all the robotics and satellites, missions and projects are humming along.

Dana welcomed all of us and briefly discussed utilizing storytelling as an alternative to formal, fact-filled yet dry presentations that simply do not get an audience excited.

Stephen Kulczycki, Deputy Director of Communications and Education, and Dr. Teresa Bailey, Information Science Specialist and JPL FIOA Liaison, discussed the methods of JPL’s storytelling to inform, educate and persuade audiences.  While scientists’ and engineers’ data can be as boring as a bad Powerpoint presentation, these two communicators presented just how lively scientists and engineers can truly be when their passion for the planets and for discovery is the focus.  Stephen presented a few videos with different tones…one example was an emotionally-charged video on the history of the NASA space programs and how a disconnect exists between what the U.S. public perceives as too much money spent on space exploration and what is actually spent.  “How much would you pay for the universe?” was the theme.

Dr. Teresa Bailey developed the JPL organizational storytelling program beginning in 2000 and wrote her dissertation “The Experience of the Storyteller: Moving from Personal to Collective Knowledge Sharing.”  Teresa emphasized the importance of experiential knowledge sharing and “stepping into the light”. Teresa shared insights with us that while she had to endure some teasing at first about the very concept of storytelling (“Will there be cookies, Teresa?” came from a few JPL participants!)…these events soon became an engaging part of the JPL communications culture, including a more opened-space remodel and arranging furniture, and using props and audience participation to better serve the storytelling events.  These events allowed scientists and engineers to connect his or her personal experience to a project or mission illuminating knowledge in a way that placed expected facts and figures in their rightful place: as supporting information, not lead information and therefore losing the passion of the “why”.  As Stephen noted, the scientists and engineers truly become stirred up when they are connected to “the why” they want to explore a specific planet or star…dream makers as opposed to machine makers.

Big universal thanks to IABC-LA shining star, Dana Edler, Membership Chair, who did a superior job in pulling all the JPL event pieces and parts together. Thanks also to Cheryl Farrell who was instrumental in helping with event registration and welcoming guests.  Adam Kevorkian also assisted Dana with the event.  Thank you, Adam! Catering provided by Jack M. Smiler of Black Diamond Catering.

We thank JPL for the overwhelming hospitality to IABC-LA during the tour and event.  And finally, JPL really is a cool, quirky place… I walked to my car post-event and was greeted by a live deer in the parking lot.  Perhaps a satellite directed him to go there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Chapter News, Corporate Communications, Employee Communication, Events, Events - Los Angeles, Marketing, Networking, News, PR, Professional Development Tagged With: , , , , ,

Health Care Reform Event at L.A. Care Health Plan on March 21, 2012

March 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

IABC-LA presented a highly informative panel of communication experts to discuss “Communicating Complex Change: Health Care Reform” on March 21, 2012 at event program sponsor L.A. Care Health Plan’s headquarters.  Cheryl Farrell, Board Member of IABC-LA, moderated this invaluable panel session to share how local health care professionals are communicating the complex changes of health care reform to various audiences (Event Podcast).

The distinguished panel included Patricia Clarey, Senior VP, Chief Regulatory and External Relations Officer of Health Net ;  John Merryman, Senior Director, Marketing/PR of South Bay Family Health Care; Ronald Owens, Director, Corporate Communications of Kaiser Permanente Southern California; Elena Stern, Communications and Marketing Director of L.A. Care Health Plan; and Cheryl Fields Tyler, Owner and CEO of Blue Beyond Consulting. The panel informed our chapter members how health care reform is being received and integrated by leading health care companies in Southern California (listen to the event podcast).

The panel discussion after a quick buffet dinner covered topics such as how this legislation is an extraordinary opportunity for innovation within the health care system as well as communications, how the new competitive environment created by mandating state-based Exchanges on individual policies will create positive benefits for consumers, and how do communicators break through to its new and existing audiences (we learned about the role and importance of Spanish-speaking Promotoras!)

So many advances have been made towards creating a communications system that is much more efficient than yesteryear including revolutionary a $5 billion electronic computerized patient records system as opposed to handwritten files and notes as discussed by Ron Owens of Kaiser Permanente.  Doctors are required to learn this system so a patient can be treated across states with tremendous efficiency.

Healthcare communications consultant Cheryl Fields Tyler emphasized the extraordinary opportunity for innovation that comes with such far-reaching legislature and how this is a game-changer for U.S. business overall.  She also emphasized the need for communicators to embrace and support the new legislation positively to create better understanding and trust between employers and employees.  Employees trust face-to-face meetings with direct managers.

Pat Clarey of Health Net has served as chief of staff to both former California governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pete Wilson, with current Health Net responsibilities for federal and state regulatory, legislative and compliance issues.  Pat discussed the new legislative concept of “guaranteed issue” for individuals seeking individual insurance policies through the reform’s American Health Benefit Exchanges, which has not been offered in the current California landscape if an individual had a pre-existing condition such as asthma.

John Merryman of South Bay Family Health Care noted the importance of funders for newly established programs.  In his view “money follows money” and the health care reform will shift how funding funnels through non-profits as well as private health care companies.

Elena Stern of event sponsor L.A. Health Care Plan enlightened us on how significant the role and use of a Promotora, a female Spanish-speaking healthcare advocate, is to underserved communities needing an array of healthcare and healthcare related services.

Finally, audience participants engaged in a Q&A with more information shed on topics such as how doctors are receiving all of this new legislation.

Big thanks to “Communicating Complex Change: Health Care Reform” event committee including IABC-LA members Cheryl Farrell, Paromita Ghosh, Adam Kevorkian, T.J. Stevko and Cimone Farrell.  Bill Spaniel served as podcast engineer while Ed Carreon of www.carreonphotography.com provided photography.

The chapter also kindly thanks event sponsor L.A. Health Care Plan for its sponsorship and use of its downtown headquarters facilities.

Please click here to listen to the event podcast.

 

Filed Under: Chapter News, Corporate Communications, Employee Communication, Events, Events - all iabc, Events - Los Angeles, Marketing, Networking, News, PR, Professional Development, Social Media, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Melcrum’s “What Does the Future Hold for Internal Communication?”

May 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

May 10, 2011…IABC-LA held an exclusive event “What Does the Future Hold for Internal Communication?” for 25 participants presented by Melcrum’s Strategic Communication Research Forum.  Melcrum is an internal communications company dedicated to offering domestic and global clients comprehensive body of knowledge of best practices, toolkits and research on every level of internal communication.  Jeff Hostler, Melcrum Vice President Research and Content, presented some eye-opening research such as “people don’t leave companies, people leave managers of companies.”  Jeff was accompanied by Melcrum’s Key Accounts Executive, Mike Dombo. Mike briefly described  Melcrum’s Black Belt Program which sets the standard for internal comms globally and the basis for research data presented during the evening.

IABC-LA Social Media Chair dynamo, Rebecca Mikkelsen, introduced Jeff Hostler who led us through a discussion starting with the post-recessional environment. Companies must rebuild trust and re-engineer respective employee value propositions.  Later, Jeff covered corporate structure and management style, roles and responsibilities, partnerships, technology, research and measurement and more with an emphasis on outcomes, not just outputs.
 
• Companies must take into account how four cross-generational groups of employees must interact and communicate with each other…and then think globally, culturally as well.

• The great challenge of evolving internal communications, no longer just a function “sitting on the side of the desk.”  Developing processes to support trust and transparency as well as sustainability is a key factor.

•  Building 10% more trust equates to 36% more pay increases for employees.  Now that’s positive!

Jeff also discussed partnerships and the importance of ensuring consistency across channels and stakeholders, as well how execs can foster trust without just pushing info out. 

On the topic of technology, Jeff purposely did not discuss social media in-depth, yet stressed connecting with local IT to collaborate on defined goals.  Too many internal comms departments put the FaceBook horse before the business strategies cart, without first evaluating whether specific social media is applicable.  Business priorities must lead over choosing tech methods. That said, too many companies also negated employees’ social media use by banning use during work hours, only to discover employees have smart phones in their purses and pockets to access social media anyway. 

Jeff also covered research and measurement and again, emphasized how important it was to measure outcomes not output.  It is internal comms responsibility to prove the value of a specific suggested strategy, which does require extra work time.  It’s not enough to know that 4,000 employees actually read an email (output)…how did they act on it (outcome)?   Company internal comms mistake survey answers from employees who state they understand a company’s business goals, yet that’s not a measurement…how do the actions of the employees support the business goals?

There were some excellent feedback and suggestions from our savvy participants providing terrific takeaways for everyone.  Chris Cabrera of Southern California Edison described a truly innovative employee resource group at SCE supporting SCE’s employee value proposition.
 
Big Thanks to the incomparable Gail Herring and Toyota for hosting the event.  Gail also serves on the chapter board as Treasurer.  Participants were also very appreciative to meet and hear experts Jeff Hostler and Mike Dombo of Melcrum, and to partner with Melcrum on senior internal communications events.

Please see video posted on YouTube at http://youtu.be/b54ZNZ9X5cI

Filed Under: Employee Communication, Events, Events - Los Angeles, Networking, Professional Development, Special Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Post Event Report: Nov 17th, 2010: “Staying Relevant as a Communicator”

November 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment

November 17, 2010…IABC-LA presented Susan San Martin’s “Staying Relevant as a Communicator.” This event was graciously hosted by Ernst & Young in downtown Los Angeles, and coordinated by our talented chapter member T.J. Stevko. “Who is hiring?” “What skills are in demand?” “How can a communicator showcase his or her special experience?” These questions and much more were addressed by San Martin, Principal, Plan B Communications, a results-driven executive search and consulting firm.

“It’s always dangerous for me to draft a presentation a few days early before the event.” said San Martin. San Martin shared with us her decision to scrap her well-prepared presentation in order to re-tool the entire thing…brainstorming on her dining room table with large sheets of rolled paper connecting boxes and brainstorming notes. And San Martin does get results. Feedback came in from 18 reliable lifelong communications contacts. This global outreach fostered an even more substantive cross-section of answers and suggestions from communications leaders all over the U.S. and the world…including India.

Is the hiring market improving for communicators?

• In absolute numbers, hiring is quiet in the U.S., yet we’re seeing a lot of hiring where business is growing in Asia and Latin America.
• There’s an increase in internal and employee communications communicators
• Re: social media expert hirings: Hire a 20-year employee. They know how to write and how to work through the system of a company.
• Bi-lingual and tri-lingual employees are in demand regarding social media with their ability to switch between cultural environments

What role does social media play in your communications strategies?
• Just knowing how to use FaceBook and LinkedIn does not define you as knowing social media.
• A really strong social media strategy pairs an employee 2-3 years out of school who knows how to connect with bloggers and dig out resources with a more traditional communicator of 20+ years who truly understands how to edit content.
• (One of our favorites!) Question: Do you have a social media strategy? Answer: Do you have a telephone strategy backing up your social media? (Nice!) Too many social media strategies rely on digital relationships without any personal touch.
• For communicators intimidated by social media…social media is a new tool, but not a new skill. Relax…you can do this because you already know how to communicate.
• Audiences do care about the written word, it’s just not accessed the same way.

What career missteps do you see?
• Communicators can be too choosy and too fearful. Get outside of your comfort level. If you’re a specialist, take on communications challenges so you become a generalist.
• Google, Ford, Intel all produce exceptional communications employees. Why? Because the employee does a stint in many different departments, becoming a business person first, a communicator second. Become a business person.
• Don’t forget how to write…grammar, SpellCheck. Print, emails, blogs all count.
• You must tie communications to business results.
• Don’t ramble in interviews. Practice sound bytes.
• STOP TMI!!!! Too much information on an interview or exchange.
• Not enough follow-through. Excitement on a social media project does not replace follow-through.

What smart moves are communicators making?
• Companies look for intangible qualities; sometimes the softer piece of information on a resume can make you stand out…rather than “blaring” it out loud.
• Go above and beyond. It’s about attitude…unexpected opportunities are your friend.
• Use a pay-it-forward mentality. Have a relationship-building focus.
• On an interview, do say “I’ve got initiative” as opposed to “I’m a fast learner”…be prepared to back it up.
• Research the company culture in your job search and understand it first, be honest with yourself if it’s the right culture for you, regardless of the company.
• It’s okay to make a resume 3-4 pages, as long as the information helps you to stand out.
• Look for successful communications organizations who reward good work and punish bad work consistently the same. They talk the talk and walk the walk.
• Develop relationships with subject matter experts.

Overall, Susan encouraged all communicators to get out of our comfort zones, and reassured those with 20 years experience that traditional skills still work in our rapidly changing landscape. Re-aligning relevant talent and skills is challenging…yet very rewarding.

Susan San Martin was a Vice President and Executive Recruiter with The Repovich-Reynolds Group where she conducted mid to senior-level communications and marketing searches. She has partnered with clients such as: SC Johnson, DaVita Inc., Dell Inc., Western Union, The Blackstone Group and many others. Over the last two years, she stepped out on her own to create Plan B Communications, using her 20+ years of diversified communications and marketing experience to become a highly-regarded executive search professional.

We welcomed Susan to join us for the “After Dark” portion of the evening at “The Library Bar” to learn more about Susan’s passion for talent acquisition and her love of cooking!

Thanks to T.J., Ernst & Young and Susan San Martin for a very powerful evening of professional development.

Filed Under: Corporate Communications, Employee Communication, Events - Los Angeles, Marketing, Networking, PR, Professional Development, Social Media, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

September 23, 2010: IABC-LA’s Fall Networking Kickoff Mixer and “After Dark” Event

September 27, 2010 by Leave a Comment

http://www.youtube.com/v/rq4WIpEk6oU

September 23, 2010 – IABC-LA hosted its free fall Networking Kickoff and Mixer to members in Pasadena with Indian flair and “After Dark” desserts.  Paromita Ghosh, Events Chair for the area, put together a lively, colorful, mouth-watering evening at Mezbaan Indian Bar & Restaurant, Pasadena.
  
Paula Cassin, President, IABC-LA, says the L.A. chapter’s plans for the 2010-2011 year will include more fun, more relaxed and casual networking opportunities in addition to the year’s schedule of heavy-hitter speaker and panel events.  So we Chicken Tikka’d and found some new friends and members along the Kickoff way. 
 
We welcomed new and existing members Karrie Hawbaker, who just moved from Washington, DC, Lisa Wendt, David Jamieson and Kelley Haggert of Disney, Ernest Greene from USC, Vivien Hughes of Resources U.S., Jim Wong, Dawn Pace of KPMG, Risa Koppel of Pacific Bell, and David Gordon Schmidt of DG Schmidt PR/Marketing Services. Rebecca Mikkelsen, Social Media Chair for the chapter enjoyed a social media topic chat with Jim Wong and David Gordon Schmidt, who recently relocated from Michigan.

The chapter also kicked into the new IABC-LA “After Dark” series of meet-ups after events to continue the conversation and fun at a nearby location for after dinner drinks, desserts and/or those foamy lattes we all enjoy. David Schmidt enjoyed “After Dark” at the buzzing Mi Piace in Pasadena on Thursday night after Mezbaan…well, he should…he’s a former Wolverine in his past Michigan life!  Chris Cabrera of Southern California Edison, mastermind of the “After Dark” series, welcomes L.A. chapters members to enjoy just a little more nightlife together at L.A.’s best haunts.

Filed Under: Networking, Special Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 1, 2010: IABC-LA, PRSA-LA and HPRA Presents “Marketing to the New America: Gaining a Share of the Trillion-Dollar Multicultural Economy”

September 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/-EjejZODW8s" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

On September 1, 2010, IABC- L.A Chapter teamed up with PRSA-LA and HPRA for a powerful evening to discuss the new multicultural “general market” with expert industry panelists on the research, client and agency sides.  This event was held at the upscale Twist Restaurant & Bar at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel.  David Ono, ABC7 Eyewitness News Anchor, moderated this exceptional evening to hear from the industry’s most knowledgeable multicultural experts.  Sponsorship of the event included Nakatomi & Associates and Farmers Insurance.

After drinks and hors d’oeuvres, Ono’s opening remarks on diversity began with the ABC7 News station.  ABC7 was the first news broadcast to fully embrace and create diversity by hiring multicultural news anchors and reporters after the Walter Cronkite years.  It was very important to ABC7 Eyewitness News to create a viewership that felt represented.

Panelist David Morse, President & CEO, New American Dimensions, compared the record number of immigrants at the turn of the 20th century to the current influx today.  In the early 1900’s, U.S. labor demands brought southern and eastern Europe  immigrants, as well as Chinese who helped build the transcontinental railroad. Today, a record number of Hispanics and Asians are creating a revolutionary nation of immigrants all over again.  There are now 50 million Hispanics compared to 2.2 million in the 1970’s.  “No one knows where we’re going,” says Morse. 

Meanwhile, the African American and LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) population are also changing buying power in the U.S.  Morse’s statistics also stated that African Americans have been viewed through the lens of history the last 100 years as either being ignored or represented as gross stereotypes. 
 • Barack Obama’s election has been part of the new American revolution.
 • There are now 17 million in the LGBT market segment.
 
Kimberley R. Thompson, Senior Project Manager, Global Diversity, Starbucks, stated Starbucks aims to be the most inclusive, equitable and diverse company through its partners, customers, communities and suppliers.
 • Kimberley presented a Starbucks marketing example of a blended Frappacino beverage, most popular among African Americans. 
 • Starbucks analyzes customer food attitudes and behavior, partners with companies that hold the same views on diversity to create integrated marketing solutions.
 • “Listening to their voice!” is a huge part of Starbucks’ and Kimberley’s action plan.
 
Panelist Luis Sahagun, Director, Media & Public Relations – North America, Farmers Insurance Group stated the Hispanic market is growing faster than the overall U.S. general market! Sahagun stated most companies today are not doing nearly enough to keep up with Hispanic market.
 
 • Hispanics put their trust in Spanish-language commentators who have smaller, more concentrated audiences, rather than general market social and political commentators such as on CNN.
 • Farmers Insurance sponsored a Jorge Campos and Mexican soccer tour.  Instead of utilizing expensive general market strategies, Farmers invested in Spanish-language advertising.  Results produced a much higher return at a fraction of the budget.

Sponsor and panelist, Joni Byun, Senior Vice President, Nakatomi & Associates, presented pithy statistics and research of the emerging Asian American market from decades ago.  Asians now have $600 billion in buying power!  Asian Americans focus on education, family and health.
 
 • Some of the highest and lowest statistics criss-cross in hot-button issues like teen pregnancy in the multi-segment Asian American population.
 •  Cultural differences produce a laugh: “tobacco-free environment” translated to some Asian Americans as free cigarettes! 
 • Asian American culture has influenced the trendy general market: Think “Kogi” food truck!
 • Asian Americans are gaining more roles of substance in the entertainment field.
 •  Multicultural research has taught U.S. companies like Chase Bank, Farmers Insurance and Southern California Edison to use the word “qualified” when marketing to lower-income Asian American families who would rather not be referred to as “poor” or “lower-income.”

Finally, Stephan Roth, Principal, OutThink Partners, presented statistics and information on the LGBT market.  The LGBT market is currently a $750 billion market growing to $845 billion by 2011.

 • There is lots of LGBT  income with predominantly double-income and no kids.
 • LGBT market is a great “influencer” market: first to adopt new technology, read and write blogs, involved creatively in business such as design, PR and advertising.
 • Brand loyalty: tremendous brand loyalty…however can backfire if bad press against an LGBT issue.
 • LGBT market travels more which allows more sponsorships and partnerships.
 • Trends/insights in the LGBT market show more mainstream integration: marriage rights as well as having babies.  Optimism is also a big trend among this population segment. 

Corporate America and communications pros have been shaken up in how we must collectively embrace multicultural marketing, PR and advertising.  We received information on multicultural trends that have reached way beyond a temporary phase, now a new American reality: a trillion-dollar multicultural economy reality. As communications and PR professionals, it is our responsibility to actively listen to the multicultural voices. 

Filed Under: Marketing, Networking, PR, Professional Development, Special Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,