Tweet This article originally appeared on Fox News Latino. A lot of research shows that Latinos, both in the U.S. and in Latin America, over-index for using mobile devices. But are they finding the information and services that they need? The future growth of the Internet will come from low-income users, exactly the opposite of how the Internet began with professors and executives using it. In order to satisfy the new wave of mobile phone users, many of whom are disadvantaged, marketers need to bring

Tweet The following post is an excerpt from my forthcoming book: A Five Step Process to Digital Marketing PepsiCo launched PepsiCo10, an incubator program in Brazil, UK and the US to take a leadership position in identifying innovative digital start-ups and pairing them with its brands to execute marketing programs. With the accelerated pace of digital media, this offers PepsiCo the opportunity to understand what new trends are happening in mobile marketing. The company hopes that the initiative will drive growth while offering these start-ups

Tweet This article originally appeared on Fox News Latino. eMarketer projects that between 2012 and 2016, Latin America will be one of the world’s fastest-growing regions for online advertising spending, growing from $3.62 billion in 2012 to $7.68 billion in 2016, a 112% increase in just four years. Yet, legacy monopolies like Televisa, creator of many of the world’s most popular telenovelas along with its competitor TV Azteca, still dominate media spending where 56% of advertising dollars go towards broadcast television while only 10% goes

Tweet This article originally appeared on FoxNews.com.  We all know that U.S. websites offer some of the best content and functionality found online. What happens when one of these websites goes multi-lingual and is offered in Spanish? The story of Amtrak.com provides a surprising illustration of how companies – and even government agencies – can expand sales beyond their “home markets.” An Unexpected Source of Sales for Amtrak.com In 2006, Amtrak began offering its complete website in Spanish. Its goal: to serve the large and

Tweet I am excited to announce the launch of my new book (in Spanish) where the author proceeds will benefit One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), the non-profit founded by Nicholas Negroponte at MIT. Hilda Garcia and I will co-author the book, describing the success stories of leading companies in Mexico and Latin America on how they effectively launched online marketing programs. What companies do you know that have interesting marketing stories to share? We are looking for case studies in Latin America or really anywhere in

Tweet This article originally appeared on FoxNews. Venture capitalists take note, Latin America’s Internet entrepreneurs are ramping up. A recent panel at SXSW Interactive entitled “Accelerating Killer Latam Startups” featured three digital pioneers and start up investors from the region, each with a roadmap to finding and investing in new companies. Bedy Yang and her colleagues at 500 Startups, a seed fund and startup accelerator, have organized “Geeks on a Plane,” an invite-only tour of Miami, Sao Paulo, and Buenos Aires May 10-20. Together, they

Tweet Which region will provide growth for your business in 2011? Paul Gunning, the Chief Executive Officer at Tribal DDB, recently told me, “Latin America is another China” because it has “millions of consumers with rising purchasing power.” A number of recent articles support that claim: This article from Forbes – Forget China, Look To Latin America – highlights that, “with inflation a concern in the Far East, commodity and consumer-driven economies like Brazil and Chile may be 2011′s biggest winners.” It goes on to

Tweet Following is a preview of Latino Link: Building brands online with Hispanic communities and content from Paramount Books. A few weeks ago, while having a very American lunch of cheeseburgers and milk shakes, my goddaughter Madeline, 11, and her brother Ricardo, 13, asked me, “so, what’s your book about Uncle Joe?” “Well, it’s about how families like yours use the Internet and what is the best ways for companies to communicate with people who speak Spanish,” I responded. Madeline and Ricardo speak Spanish with

Tweet This article originally appeared on MediaPost and is a preview of Latino Link: Building brands online with Hispanic communities and content from Paramount Books. The new report from the Pew Hispanic Trust — Latinos Online — shows that 64% of all U.S. Hispanics use the Internet and that foreign-born Latinos have crossed the tipping point with 52% online. As the Hispanic audience grows, they seek new content and increasingly find and regularly visit foreign web sites. Why is this happening? “Search engines and social

Tweet This article originally appeared on MediaPost and is a preview of Latino Link: Building brands online with Hispanic communities and content from Paramount Books. After reading Felipe Korzenny’s and Lee Vann’s column about Hispanics’ adoption of social media relative to other ethnic demographics, a question came to mind: how will social networks affect the acculturation process among Hispanics? The ability to keep in touch with family and friends from countries-of-origin via email, Skype and online newspapers back home makes it easier than ever. Travel