I was fortunate to be invited to the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) 2013 Conference, which took place in Los Angeles this past June 7-9.  The Conference was entitled “Spotlight on the Trillion $ Latino Market” and yes, U.S. Latinos represent over $1 trillion in spending power and counting as well as the lion’s share growth within the 18-49 consumer demographic.  A no brainer if you’re interested in the success of your business, but, more importantly, the conference was well run and organized, definitely a sign that the Latino market has come of age.

Gone are the days when Latino events were thrown together and you got the sense that they were flying by the seat of their pants.  Not this time.  I arrived to register on Friday, June 8 at the Sheraton Universal Hotel at Universal City, where the conference took place.  As a Speaker, I had no problem registering and obtaining my Speaker Packet, which contained a nice conference schedule and other helpful materials to guide you through the Conference.  The Conference office was well organized with signs pointing you in the right direction and courteous staff answering your questions and helping you along.

The list of speakers and variety of panels covered a wide range, the Keynote Speakers were interesting and engaging and the range of filmmaker talent was very impressive.

By 9 am, I was in one of the conference rooms, which, was set up with audio-visual (AV) equipment as well as tech staff at the ready to help presenters with their tech needs.   I conducted a workshop entitled:

 BEYOND THE LATINO MARKET: GETTING YOUR FILM OUT TO A WIDER AUDIENCE

The workshop went extremely well.  My audience was made up mainly of filmmakers at various stages of production with their independent projects.  My presentation began as I made a few general points:

I then, opened the discussion and asked those present about their personal projects and what advice they might need to move forward.  The time went by so fast as I and those present engaged in such a lively and wonderful conversation about finding creative ways to promote your film not just to Latinos but to all audiences.  I found my audience was engaged and helpful and full of passion.  They all believed in their projects and you could feel the camaraderie and support as they were palpable in the room.  I came away truly inspired and energized and want to thank those who attended the workshop.

I also sat in on several other fascinating and interesting breakout sessions on everything from money management, screenwriting, Reality TV, film financing, technology, televisions as well as a filmmakers lounge, a Latino Media Market and glamorous cocktail receptions and the film opening of Richard Montoya’s “Water and Power.”

A couple of the sessions I attended:

Creating Movements for Social Justice Through Media.  This panel was about harnessing the power of the media to create a national conversation to bring about change.  Awesome panelists like Axel Caballero, founder of Cuéntame; Ana Roca Castro, founder of LATISM and filmmaker Alex Rivera, moderated by Rosa Alonso, founder of Mi Vida Tec – With Rosa Alonso.  I found the panelists fascinating and was awed and impressed by how they are using social media and the power of their digital voice to help people in need and bring about sustainable prosperity.

The New Generation Latino Actors:  Trailblazers who are making it work in today’s industry.  I was thrilled to meet up with young Latino Hollywood up-and-comers like Gina Rodriguez, Nicholas Gonzalez, Jeremy Ray Valdez and Jesse Garcia as well as the lovely and talented Justina Machado.  Moderated by “Primer Impacto” Entertainment Correspondent Daniela Ganoza, the panel featured a fascinating discussion about what Latinos encounter in the entertainment industry and how they are overcoming barriers by creating and distributing their own projects.  I came away impressed and inspired by their talent and their wisdom at such a young age. 

The highlight was the NALIP 2013 Gala Awards Dinner, which was star-studded and proved to be a truly high-caliber evening all around.  I showed up around 7 PM with my good friend and client Charo, who is a iconic legend in entertainment.  She was accompanied by her husband and her son Shel Rasten, who is also an actor, musician and film producer.  Shel has a short film entitled “The Boulevard,” which will premiere at The Palm Springs Film Festival and move on to Las Vegas Film Festival in July.  I was thrilled to see and catch up with so many good friends.   Above is Charo, Shel with Hollywood star Ray Liotta.

The event was MC’d by Joe Hernández-Kolski and featured the NALIP 2013 Awards to:

Charo and her family had a wonderful time and she’s since commented to me how the event was so much better than other “boring” award shows.  I’m delighted to have been a part of NALIP 2013 and want to thank Beni Matias, Maria Agui Carter, Octavio Marin, the entire staff and Board of Directors of NALIP for delivering such an impressive and well-oiled conference.  I am already looking forward to 2014!

Hollywood Latino marketing pioneer Gabriel Reyes, is re-branding his company, Reyes Entertainment, to adapt to the changing American demographic and technological landscape.  Reyes Entertainment continues executing top-notch Hispanic campaigns but also expands its services to include English-language general market communications and mobile solutions for a unified market approach based on cultural engagement.

Through a new association with GAMAGI (Geo Advertising Marketing and Gaming Innovations), an Austin-based start-up, Reyes Entertainment now offers its clients access to GAMAGI’s proprietary Technology Platform (GTP), a robust, flexible and highly scalable location-based Advanced Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) platform for mobile apps with API’s to support new and exciting consumer engagement campaigns.

“The Latino market has gone mainstream and the new 18-49 American consumer is increasingly a Latino using a mobile device,” says Reyes.  “Reyes Entertainment is re-branding to adapt to this watershed demographic and technological shift.  We are taking a holistic approach to PR and marketing, engaging consumers via cultural affinities and new technology vs. ethnicity or language.  Given our years of experience in both Hispanic and general markets and our new association with GAMAGI, Reyes Entertainment is well positioned to effectively aggregate customers for our clients.”

According to The PLUS+ Identity, a joint study by LatinWorks and EthniFacts, American Latinos are embracing a bigger, more inclusive definition of Latino and American identity and gaining increased confidence in what their Latino essence brings to themselves and others.  This new attitude is increasingly attractive and draws people from all ethnicities and demographic groups to come together to form a new social consciousness.  Source:  The PLUS+ Identity (LatinWorks/EthniFacts).

Every month, over 200,000 baby boomers turn 65, creating a large market of older Americans with a very active lifestyle, who are still spending money and creating new notions of what it is to be a senior citizen.  Outmoded marketing ideas that exclude consumers over 50 years of age must be re-examined to accommodate 50+ consumers who are defying stereotypes, looking to the future and embracing 21^stcentury technology.  According to a recent Pew study, 53% of those 64 and older are online and many of them are using social networking sites and using smartphones.  AARP recently reported that 90% of people 50 and older own some type of mobile technology.

Since its launch in 1997, Reyes Entertainment has established a proven track record delivering high impact results for a wide variety of media and entertainment clients including ABC, CBS, PBS, FOX, HBO, Lifetime television networks and Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment, Fox Searchlight, Coca-Cola’s The Adelante Movement, The New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF), WWE, PBS Primetime, The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), among many others. 

Reyes has won numerous awards and recognitions including the Hispanic Public Relations Association’s PRemio Award for Best Digital PR Campaign for the PBS documentary “The Longoria Affair.”   The company also received two PRSA PRism Awards for Excellence in Multicultural PR Campaigns for ABC’s “George Lopez” and PBS’ EMMY Award-winning series “American Family” by Gregory Nava.  Reyes also won five MarCom Creative Awards for FOX’s “The Swan,” ABC’s “George Lopez” and “Ugly Betty,” among others.