by Cindy Lopez, Account Coordinator
In my previous blog I shared with you why I chose to study advertising.
Essentially “I chose advertising because of its power to affect our lives in a positive and beautiful way. Through advertising, I would be able to decorate the world with charming images and enticing words.”
Little did I know that my perception on the world and my personality is associated with 15 to 20 percent of the population that is deemed to be Idealists™. A few weeks back a friend and I were discussing psychology and how personalities are classified in this rather fascinating science. My friend suggested that I take the Keirsey Temperament Sorter® II (KTS-II). This test is “the most widely used personality instrument in the world.” Numerous organizations use it to understand their people. The results provide insights into the individual’s personality. It’s a “either-this or that” type of test made of 70 questions developed by Dr. David Keirsey.
My results revealed that I currently fall under the Idealist™ temperament group. Note that there are four of these temperament groups and these can be further subdivided into “character types,” all of these equating a total of sixteen “unique” temperaments. According to the test Idealist™ “are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Their quest for self-knowledge drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey… they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.” Unlike all those bogus forwarded e-mails we’ve all seen about selecting certain things and obtaining a “personality type” this one test is quite accurate.
Moments after I completed the test I realized I had already participated in this temperament sorter four years ago. My results now and my results then differed. But this makes a lot of sense. As I’ve grown and matured it seems logical that my temperament would change in the process. The results will also tell you of your characteristics, how you are at work, how you work best and of other famous individuals who are like you and what percentage of the population is made up of your temperament type.
My fellow Zubians, I now invite you to take the FREE Keirsey Temperament Sorter. Together we can discover what each member of our Zubi family brings to the table and how we relate to the rest of the world. When you have a moment take the test and once you receive your results, whether you’re a Guardian, an Artisan, an Idealist or a Rationale, let me know which one you are and I will calculate how we’re made up.
The test is available in different languages. If you feel more comfortable reading Spanish you can take it in your native language. However, the results will be in English (as per the site).
Remember there is no right or wrong answer. There are only two choices per question to pick from. “If both seem to apply, choose the one that feels most comfortable to you.” Although the test is comprised of 70 questions, it is fairly easy and it should take you no more than 10 minutes to complete.
Have fun taking this test and once you’re through send me a quick note to let me know where in society you fall.
by Cindy Lopez, Account Coordinator
In college, most of my classmates were introduced to the industry by family members who held careers in the field; others said they liked the business side of it.
For me, it was different.
In high school, I was the captain of the baseball cheer squad. As a Diamond Girl (named after the shape of the infield), I created posters for the bleachers at the stadium and led announcements for the school. I also conducted fundraisers and volunteered within the community.
But for me, the fun really began at the moment of conceptualizing and creating the next game’s posters. My hand would itch at the thought of conceiving a brand new campaign theme that would support the team, welcome the fans, and sort-of trash talk the rivaling team…in a respectful way, of course…
When graduation came, I wistfully bid that chapter of creating, illustrating, and rallying farewell and began the new journey of deciding where my life would take me. I started college, feeling unsure of what I wanted to study and what really interested me. I had a range of topics from psychology to photography, to even criminal justice but that’s when it hit me—creating posters and brainstorming clever phrases had to translate into a career. And thus my “relationship” with advertising began.
I end my anecdote by saying that I chose advertising because of its power to affect our lives in a positive and beautiful way. Through advertising, I would be able to decorate the world with charming images and enticing words. *
* Tad idealistic, wouldn’t you say so? Blog to follow!
Why did you choose advertising?
by Alberto Padron
I grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, surrounded by displaced Cubans who always spoke of their pre-Castro Cuba with a high degree of reverence, respect, and regard. Not surprisingly, that pro-Cuba narrative held when my family moved to Miami during my teens. I believe that if it were not for Fidel Castro’s Revolution, my family would have remained in Cuba.
My entire life, there have been encounters that prompted that question: Who would I be if I were born and raised in Cuba? Would I still be me? At the core, would I still have the same beliefs? Yeah, my Spanish would be better – and I suppose my English would be worse – but what else would be different?
On the one hand, I could conclude that everything would’ve been different. After all, many of the people, places, and experiences that shaped my values and beliefs, they would have all been different. Would those differences have produced a better or worse version of the me I am today?
On the other hand, I can rationalize that with the exception of the culture-influenced preferences, such as food, music, language, etc., fundamentally, I’d be the same. Ultimately, I’d have the same family members who would have instilled the same set of rules and dispensed their same set of values, no matter our geographic location, right?
In the end, I’m happy being me… I mean, when all is said and done, I’m the only me I know. Yet still, when I run into a Cuban who was born and raised in Cuba, and is of similar demographic profile (age, gender, etc.) but talks, walks and thinks a little differently, I can’t help but to wonder, “Could that have been me?”
Source: bornbiculturalusa.com
Yes, you heard right, our challenge is to get one million unique visitors to the American Airlines site Aprendi.com by the end of 2012. When we started developing this site, we estimated that we could get about 50,000 people a month to visit the site and engage with the consumer driven content that Aprendi.com offers. It’s a site where Hispanics can post learnings about places they have been or things they have seen and all those posts are available for others to search from. So, here is the only stumbling block: There are millions of sites out there, all asking for a moment of your time, all offering something special, something of interest to you.
The Internet has become a world of it’s own with so many sites to choose from that the average consumer could never, in a million years, visit every site that has information or entertainment that fits their needs. Companies spend millions of dollars to drive people to their site so they can report back to the bean counters that the ROI on the spend was the highest since the advent of radio. We talk about the proliferation of cable networks and how TV is becoming so fragmented and there is truth to that, but to think that the Internet is any different would be fooling yourself. Sure, it’s hard to decide between Dexter on Showtime, Criminal Minds on CBS, Breaking Bad on USA or Teresa on Univision but just think, if you miss any of those, you can catch them on the networks websites or HULU or a myriad of other sites. Add to that, all the other sites you can surf while watching the show since a large percentage of people claim they go online while watching TV, and you can start to get an idea of how tough it may be to get 1 million people to visit any site except Google or Facebook. So, we have a FB page for Aprendi, of course. And we tweet about Aprendi.com. And we Foursquare. And we tell everyone we know. And now I’m telling you…go to Aprendi.com, tell everyone you know, it’s actually a really cool site and you will enjoy a few minutes on it.
When we get to the million visitor mark, we will throw a big virtual party and you are all invited.
Bank of America announced last week that it would no longer start charging a monthly debit card fee in 2012. I have to say I was shocked to hear this. I was actually getting ready to have my bank start charging me a monthly fee; I guess I just assumed it would only be a matter of time before all banks followed BofA’s lead. I suppose I’ve heard “there is no such thing as a free lunch” one too many times. So now on to both sides of the argument:
For:
It’s only $60 a year! We spend more than that for cell phone minutes we don’t use or on car insurance for a car that isn’t in an accident all year.
Against:
Do these big banks think they can charge this to the taxpayers who paid for their big bailout? If they need more money, what about them taking back some of those hefty paychecks and bonuses from their CEO’s?
Whichever side you fall on, you have to take notice of what’s happening here. Bank of America felt the wrath of their consumers and their discontent. This announcement of charging the debit card fee was in the midst of Occupy Wall Street-a modern day movement built through social media. Even if Occupy Wall Street does not have a unified objective as some say, it’s definitely made the “99%” feel empowered to speak up. They’ve spoken up about debit card fees and Bank of America listened.
What side are you on? Were you a Bank of America customer ready to flee?
Check out more here.
by Cindy Sosa
It’s that time of year again where we’re given the freedom to pick and choose who we’d like to be for one night only, “Halloween.” While many opt for the more traditional costumes – cops, robbers, cowboys, and Indians, Oh my! And the almost naked “Sexy Insert Animal / Character / Profession / etc. Here” – most of us struggle in picking THAT creative ensemble that’ll help us stand out from the monotony seen year-after-year. So in the spirit of candy, goons, and witches and those struggling to find “the one” for them, I’ve compiled the following list of Hispanic personalities to help inspire you in your search for the perfect Halloween costume.
And for those in need of cover-up, take this guy’s advice – he knows what he’s talking about:
by Maylinn De La Maza
Hispanic Heritage Month is in full swing, and many are celebrating the various achievements of Latinos in the US. First area that comes to mind is sports given all the baseball playoff action lately (GO TIGERS!!!) – it’s great to see so many Hispanics in the leading teams! But achievements are made every day by others too, so I don’t celebrate Latino achievements per se. I like to celebrate my “hispanicity” and how it molds my life. As a Hispanic in the US, I’m part of an elite community. We can’t quite be defined because we are either this….or that….or both…or neither! Unlike others outside our community, we have access to everything Latino culture offers in addition to everything non-Latino culture offers. From language to music to culinary delights; we mix and match as we see fit. And in so doing, we make our lives richer and truly unique. My friends at Ready Pa Tu Mundo said it best with this video. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/readypatumundo
This month, celebrate Hispanic heritage…and remember…membership has its privileges!
by Cindy Lopez
You may recall a couple of month’s back our friend Zaida blogged about the revolution of smart-phones, in specific iPhones, with her article “To be, or not to be: that is the question.” There she expresses her somewhat “suppressed” jealousy 
towards the people that she encounters, who are iPhone owners. But unfortunately, “aside from the design, cool apps, and features it has offered,” Zaida was not fully convinced to make the switch. As some of you know, on Tuesday Apple presented the new features that the iPhone 4S (not iPhone 5 as most of us thought) would offer. I, along with many readers, followed along the live blogging session and below are the highlights of what we can look forward to (thanks to Sam Grobart and the NY Times):
iOS5 Software update (available on Oct.12), which will give us access to the following:
- The ability to run wireless updates
- New Messaging features on a Notifications Center
- Notifications will be displayed on the lock screen and all be sent to a notifications center. Swipe any of those suckers and it will direct you to the app associated with it enabling you respond accordingly.
- iMessages, which will be sent over 3G and Wi-Fi to all Apple devices with iMessage capabilities will be able to communicate. A messaging service similar to “BBM”
- Twitter integration
- The Mail app will enable you to search the body text of an e-mail, not just the subject lines and the “to” and “from” address lines.
- Access to iCloud:
- All of your information, including purchased music and TV shows, can be available to you on all of your iOS devices. iCloud does a daily backup from all devices, where contacts and calendars can be synced.
- iTunes Match (available at the end of the month) will allow you to share music that was not purchased on iTunes among all devices and backed up in the cloud. iTunes Match will cost $25.00 annually.
- iCloud will be available on October 12, 5 GB of space will be free. (Additional iCloud space can be purchased).
- Safari browser enhancements:
- A Reader feature will be available. Tap the button to get a text-only version.
- Reading lists will allow you to save articles for later reads.
- And tabbed browsing will also be available, on the iPad
- Camera access through the lock screen button – double-tap the home screen button and you go directly to the camera app.
- The iPhone 4S:
- Will have an A5 chip, the same as the iPad 2, making the phone twice as fast.
- Improved battery life – up to 8 hours of talk on 3G and 14 hours on 2G, and 10 hours of video.
- Is referred to as a “World phone” because it will have both the GSM and CDMA network capabilities.
- iPhone’s coolest feature yet: Siri – a voice recognition assistant:
- Siri can schedule events in your iPhone’s calendar, read or send messages all controlled via voice. Siri will either respond or show you on screen the answer
to your questions. Click here to see the video of how Siri works. - You will be able to search in Wikipedia using your voice.
- The coolest example I read, was posted by Sam Grobart quoting Mr. Forstall “Remind me to call my wife when I leave work,” Siri will know who your wife is based on previous conversations, and will know when you left work based on geolocation.
- If you ask for the weather, it will show you the weather for the day. You can even ask if you need a raincoat and it will respond according to the weather
forecast. - There’s also a Yelp partnership. You can make a request and it will be able to locate the business type and sort them by ratings.
- You can ask for directions.
- You can even set your alarm via voice.
- Siri’s dictation will be in Beta to start and will support English, French and German, with more languages added over time.
- Siri can schedule events in your iPhone’s calendar, read or send messages all controlled via voice. Siri will either respond or show you on screen the answer
- Camera:
- 8 megapixel sensor.
- Backside-illuminated CMOS sensor that captures 73% more light, with 30% more sharpness.
- You will be able to lock autofocus and exposure on a single point frame, red-eye reduction, auto-enhance and several other improvements.
- Made it their mission to “compete with the best point-and-shoot camera” available.
- The video camera will be in 1080p HD and have image stabilizing with noise reduction.
- iPhone 4S Pricing:
- Preorders will start on Friday, October 7th and the phone will be delivered the following Friday.
- $199.00 for 16 gigabytes of storage, $299.00 for 32 GB, and $399.00 for 64 GB.
- AT&T,Verizon Wireless and Sprint will all carry it.
It definitely sounds like Apple has once again created a new technology benchmark. Unfortunately, our beloved and innovative Steve Jobs passed away on Wednesday. He was a visionary man that many looked up to. Some would even agree that he was our modern day digital Thomas Edison. Steve Jobs footprint on the world is in our hearts (and within our hands reach). My only wish is that his visions for creativity and progress continue to be an on-going legacy.
With that said, I direct my final question to Zaida: my friend, after all of the cool new additions and available features you must be sold! If this doesn’t do it, I don’t know what will. Will you be “a full-fledge Apple tribe member?”
by Evie de la Vega
http://mashable.com/2011/09/30/facebook-usa-today-super-bowl/
When Wal-Mart first opened, I remember all the criticisms around the opening of such a huge retailer. The argument was that Wal-Mart’s lower-price promise would draw customers away from smaller businesses, hurting local communities and their economies…your typical David vs. Goliath story. The belief was that Wal-Mart would “take over” and smaller businesses that offer the same products will never be able to compete… I’m starting to think Facebook is on the same track.
The link above describes how Facebook has partnered with USA Today to develop an app that will allow consumers to rate the upcoming Super Bowl XLVI ads. The article explains how USA Today’s long-running Super Bowl Ad Meter
had a need to become more relevant and therefore partnered up with Facebook - marking the first time online consumers are able to interact and “have a say” in defining the winning ad. The article goes on to explain that “The Facebook app rankings will become the main measure of ad performance. The regular USA Today Ad Meter live focus group will supplement results of the application.”
To advertisers, acquiring the consumers’ honest thoughts, reactions and opinions has always been an important element in finalizing a campaign, playing an essential role in “perfecting” a concept. So what does the ability of using Facebook as a platform to measure your ad’s success mean to the research companies out there? Are focus groups, IDIs and ethnographies at risk of being “de-valued” because now research can be conducted online and through social media? Are we placing too much power and importance on our “random” Facebook users to provide guiding insights?
Now, I may be getting ahead of myself here…the article is simply announcing a breakthrough moment for USA Today’s existing Super Bowl Ad Meter. But the article makes me see Facebook in a new light; as a growing Goliath. It began as a platform for students to “talk”, “stalk” and interact virtually; now it’s become a place where everyone can do the same as the original student base, with the addition of companies interacting with them via fan pages, contests, ads, e-commerce, and now potentially research.
As an advertiser, I embrace the opportunity to speak to/reach our consumers in new and relevant ways. However, as a consumer…I kind of miss my small “private” Facebook world from 2004. But the reality is that Facebook is not the same anymore….there is now more room for business. The question is how powerful is the “business-part” of Facebook? Enough to scare off the smaller companies that provide the same services? Will they be able to compete as Facebook continues to grow?
by Talia Leon-Villanueva
On Wednesday morning I received an industry alert, as always, with articles of interest in the Multicultural market. I came across this article which recaps the Hispanic TV Summit focused on the topic of Ad Spending.
I was taken aback by the mere essence of the discussion, as it has been a topic of conversation I recall listening to as a child, since before I can barely remember. Fast forward, 25 years later I’m experiencing déjà vu, but this time I was jumping for joy to read how someone actually spoke up about Ad Spending in the Hispanic market, or lack thereof.
The thought that we industry folks can now access a panel discussion that would otherwise be a passing hallway conversation is exciting to say the least. Hearing the thoughts of such influential people on a topic so controversial was very refreshing, especially when I agree with most of what was expressed. I certainly thank technology for the accessibility.
I often ask myself, how is it that we’re still battling with the same Hispanic marketing insecurities my mother struggled with over 20 years ago? I consider myself fortunate to work with savvy marketers that understand the value of the Hispanic consumer to their bottom line and invest accordingly. However, I can’t believe that there are still marketers out there that consider their Hispanic budgets “supplemental” with flexibility to be used or taken away, as necessary, whenever there’s a shortfall elsewhere. There are still those that wait for Census data before making Hispanic investment decisions. Nevertheless, I found the Hispanic TV Summit discussion to be quite informative while questioning the progress we’ve really made.
As my day went on, I received another alert which led me to a blog responding to the words used in the panel discussion. http://www.hispanicad.com/blog/?p=311
SAY WHAT??
Since when is speaking honestly or openly a bad idea? Isn’t a panel discussion intended to provide a forum for people to express their views or to encourage thought provoking ideas that can ultimately lead to better business practices? Yes, yes, I too was taught composure and “being cool” but does saying the word “Disgusting” really hurt our cause? I don’t think so. What hurts our cause is debate about the words used rather than the context by which the words were used. If WE have to make a big deal about 50,000,000 Hispanics in the U.S. because no one else will, then WE must not have been using the right words for the past 20 years, maybe “Disgusting” will work…
