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Roseanne Avella-Perez and Pedro Perez, founders of Nuevo Punto, say
their objective is to speak the complete language of the Hispanic culture,
not just translate English words to Spanish.
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BRADENTON -- A Bradenton
couple is banking on the potential rewards of tapping into the
Hispanic advertising market.
Pedro Perez and Roseanne Avella-Perez
recently opened Nuevo Punto Advertising Group, a full-service agency
focused on using what they call "the complete language of
the Hispanic culture," to link clients with a rich market.
They
intend to draw on cultural differences, not just translations from
English to Spanish.
The example they use is a Spanish word that
in Colombia means a sipping straw. The same word in Cuba means
a certain sex act.
"You can seriously offend people," Perez
said. "To avoid things like that, we ask clients who they
are targeting so we can use a specific dialect and address those
specific needs. We want to make the message culturally relevant."
Both are graduates of the Ringling School of Art and Design in
Sarasota. Avella-Perez is of Colombian descent, and her husband
is of Cuban descent.
Nuevo Punto is the couple's third business. They are merging their
Web development firm, Merging Point Design Inc., into Nuevo Punto.
The
company has four other employees. The business plan calls for $500,000
in sales the first year, Avella-Perez, the agency's president,
said.
"Hopefully, we'll end up growing at the same rate as
the Hispanic population," she said.
Tampa Hispanics have buying
power
Nationally, the Hispanic population increased 61 percent from 1990
to 2003 -- the fastest growing population segment in the U.S.,
according to the U.S. Census Bureau. New York-based Scarborough
Research estimates that the Tampa Bay area Hispanic population
has an annual buying power of about $7 billion, with an average
household income of $57,265.
The agency plans to initially concentrate
on clients in the Sarasota and Manatee counties area and expand
regionally. Census figures show there are about 24,000 Hispanics
in Manatee and 18,000 in Sarasota.
Hispanics outspend non-Hispanics
for groceries, telephone services, furniture, men's and boy's apparel,
and children's clothing, per capita, according to the Association
of Hispanic Advertising Agencies in Virginia.
The Hispanic advertising
industry has grown an average of 17 percent annually over the past
five years, topping out at $3.43 billion in 2003, according to
association statistics.
A study by California-based Walters Media
Group Inc. shows that 72 percent of Hispanics open and read direct
mail, 66 percent respond to it and 30 percent want to receive more.
However,
America's major advertisers allocated only an average of 2.4 percent
of their measured media advertising resources to target Hispanics
over the past three years, according to studies by the association.
A
competitor to Miami agencies
The Perezes said it is difficult to predict the company's profit
margin. They plan to provide the same services as some large Miami
advertising agencies and do it cheaper.
Nuevo Punto's fees will
range from $100 to $175 an hour compared to the $175 to $275 an
hour charged by some Miami firms, she said.
J. Osvaldo Laino, president
of Advertising 7 Inc. in Tampa, said his agency has been providing
services similar to those envisioned by Nuevo Punto but has to
compete with Miami agencies.
"The big corporations usually
go to Miami," he said. "The Miami firms don't know the
Tampa Bay market as well as we do, but they still go to them.
"Deanne
Roberts, president of Roberts Communications & Marketing Inc.
in Tampa, said her agency teams up with a Hispanic consultant or
agency when needed. There has not been much demand for it, but
she predicted that will change.
"I think (Nuevo Punto) has
the right business model because in this region our international
emphasis is on Central and Latin America," Robert said.
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