"We Speak Business"

Tecnología y gestión de gobierno: La intuición pasó de moda

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:10:00 +0000

Este es un abstract de la nota completa publicada en Revista Mercado el 23 de octubre de 2009.
El texto completo lo pueden leer aqui

Por Julián Bersano

Albert Einstein valoró la intuición como un elemento fundamental del avance científico. Solemos admirar a la gente intuitiva que es capaz de tomar decisiones rápidas sin un proceso de razonamiento visible. Pero lo cierto es que la intuición como mera justificación de la adopción de determinadas medidas es responsable de grandes éxitos y también de grandes fracasos.

Es una metodología que, en general, no es aconsejable utilizarla como reemplazo de un proceso de razonamiento tradicional.
Inclusive en el deporte, los resultados son diferentes cuando las decisiones se toman basadas en el razonamiento. Nuestra selección nacional de fútbol quedó eliminada del mundial pasado cuando el técnico alemán decidió desactivar la intuición de su arquero en los penales y suplantarla por un simple estudio estadístico del lugar más posible adonde patearían nuestros jugadores. Hoy por hoy inclusive, nuestra selección se debate entre la mística contrapuesta al estudio pormenorizado de las capacidades propias y de los rivales.
Si evaluamos el uso de la intuición en cada disciplina, nos damos cuenta de que los profesionales cada vez se alejan más de la intuición como justificante único de las decisiones que toman. En la empresa, por ejemplo, las áreas de marketing analizan detalladamente el comportamiento de los clientes, segmentan las campañas y miden los resultados, ahorrando recursos valiosos y obteniendo un impacto superior. En las áreas gerenciales, se construyen simuladores financieros que permiten evaluar “qué pasaría si” tomamos uno u otro camino estratégico.

Más en Revista Mercado online

THE AMERICANO launches today. Happy Hispanic Heritage month!

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:35:00 +0000

I love this site because I love reading in English and Spanish - at the same time!

Even if it sounds like a joke, it's not. In The Americano you'll find a different take on news and opinion. Hints:
1) balanced view on all the issues that concern American Hispanics today.
2) a place where people can express themselves and read about similar traditional principles.

Sylvia Garcia, Editor in Chief says that the site is inclusive of all americanos that have come to live in the United States: “Whether you are first, second, third or fourth generation American Hispanic – or whether you speak English or Spanish or both –our content is catered to what unites us all, which is our American Hispanic Heritage.”

Some of the most unique pieces are categorized under Hispanic Heritage. These are all articles which link

U.S.

history to true conservative American Hispanic values. “Hispanic Heritage is as rich today in the

United States

, as it was back in the 1850s when the first bilingual newspapers were printed,” states Newt Gingrich. “We think The Americano will provide a much needed traditional values viewpoint that will honor that heritage.”

Alberto Acereda, Content Director explains that the goal was to create the first Hispanic news and opinion site where content was hand-picked to create a grassroots Latino base, geared towards traditional values.

Books I love/d

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:06:00 +0000

I have just finish updating a list of books I have read during the past months in an Amazon App in my LinkedIn profile and wanted to share this info with you too.

Some of my favorites:

PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences by Deirdre Breakenridge
"Interesting, complete, enjoyable. This is a good book, with not the typical "basic" information you usually find int he books that cover this topic. I have been working in public policy and political campaigns for ht last 14 years and I usually find myself looking for books that have that "extra" information for professionals that have been around for a while. And Breakenridge brings the voice and comments of other professionals, journalists and bloggers that recommend the best ways to use the new digital tools to foster public image. Thumbs up."

Elogio de la responsabilidad by Sergio Sinay
"La responsabilidad es uno de los valores mas degradados de nuestra sociedad. Parece ser que el lema es "Todo vale". Escuché una entrevista que hablaba sobre el libro en la radio en Buenos Aires, y me pareciÃ³ muy fuera de serie la idea de que la resposabilidad sea un VALOR, con todas las letras."

First Things First by Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, Rebecca R. Merrill
"Ok, this is one the books I read from time to time and I take it as a to-do list. I think Covey is a master when it comes to action plans. But I cannot read Covey's books from beginning to end. I just go by them finding out what can be useful for a period of time I like Covey, and put into practice some of his ideas, but this is an author I need to complement with other authors so as to complete concepts and strengthen ideas."

Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive: Outsell, Outmanage, Outmotivate, and Outnegotiate Your Competition by Harvey Mackay
"One of the most impressive authors I read...considering he is not a writter but a business person. I was enjoying a time in Sarasota, FL. and bought this book in an used version and it was fabulous to have the oportunity to enjoy the notes of the precious owner.
The reading is easy but the concepts are very, very thoughtful. It's a must read for all of you who are planing to make a change in your lives and really need some help and hints on how to enjoy life with a different perspective: commitment, love for what you do, enjoyment, thankfulness and HARD work. Loved it."

The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly
"Interesting if you want an ABC or a guide to start working and understanding the new practice of PR in the digital era. Maybe a little basic if you are already working in the field.
Interesting for journalists who want to start blogging."

The Crisis and Creative Business in Latin America

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:47:00 +0000

Yes, Latin America is also seriously hit by global crisis and not only as a consequence of global companies been seriously damaged by the financial crisis, but as a consequence also of a big drop in global commerce.
Latin America has historically been a provider of basic goods and food and these products have also dropped their prices dramatically.
June has started with a more promising scenario for Latin countries. Increase in food prices as well as oil prices have been registered almost in every country and this fact is an engine of other industries in Latin countries.

As written in various posts, other industries have gained momentum in Latin America during the past decade. Because of its huge competitive advantages, Latin America's creative leaders have had a huge increase in their job requests during the last decade.
Latin America's advertising, PR, communications and media industries have leverage the opportunities that surge from US and Europe and have combined competitive costs and a unique approach to creative solutions.

Maybe because Latin America has historically lived and overcame crisis after crisis, Latinos have been raised with a positive outlook to difficulties and problematic situations which have made our way of overcoming crisis, a natural way of facing situations.

Time for a Change: In difficult times, success comes from doing things differently

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:29:00 +0000

(From PINK Blogs from Abroad Latin America, by Lara Bersano)

Latin American women are thinking and putting in practice new ways of doing things now more than ever. These are tough times for entrepreneurs, and for business in general, so if you think that your job is in jeopardy, maybe it’s time to start doing things differently, reach for the stars and take a step towards business independence. Your agenda, contacts and friends will be key at this time.

Latin America has always been at the top of the list for entrepreneurs. And women have led this segment for decades.

What triggers in women the idea to start a business on their own in Latin America is usually what makes you think and act differently everywhere in the world: higher unemployment, lower spending, layoffs and an economic downturn which has been very usual in the region.

Women who are employed in big and medium corporations often get the opportunity to talk to their bosses and present alternative plans for their job and responsibilities. This is usually seen in communications, marketing and HR departments. After gaining enough experience, women can start their own businesses, serve the company they worked for as an employee and even reduce costs for their company as services can be provided at lower costs.

It is not easy to start your first business during a recession, but it may be the only chance to keep on going in your career, work with passion and dedication in the business area you love the most and succeed.

Sometimes, difficult times made superb women think about their own goals in life and provided the opportunity to take that one step that turns them from employees to entrepreneurs.

Some things you may consider if you are considering to make that change is that you will probably need more than one client to provide the income you need to start a successful business. In times of recession it is better to have small clients rather than one or two big clients that could cancel contracts at any time. Reduce the risk as much as possible, even if you have to lower your prices a little bit and invest in relations more than in strong contracts.

Small clients are probably not the ones that make you rich but are the ones that will definitely keep you in business. Small clients are the ones you have to target in tough times. (But beware of those small clients that are sometimes a headache – you will probably want to avoid those completely). Remain loyal to your smaller clients and provide extra services whenever you can at no extra cost. This may prove very profitable in the end.

In Latin America what makes women think about becoming independent are some of the following factors among others:

1) Wages are really low in Latin America, so if you work really hard and have a vision and a mission for an endeavor, it is always better to plan and strategize and work on your own endeavor, looking for financial independence.

2) Having the time to care for family is an important factor in Latin America and building a woman’s own business can give her the independence and freedom to manage her personal agenda. She will quickly adapt all aspects of life to her new endeavor and it is definitely one of the nicest facts in life to balance work and family. Better if it’s your own business.

3) Women who have worked in corporations for more that 15 years think about business independence more than ever. They know the business, the industry and have a good knowledge base and great contacts. This is very common in the business services industry.

Starting and running a business in Latin America is not easy. What makes it work is probably the strong personalities of thousands of women in the region that have succeeded “against all odds”.

Latin America has become a competitive region in many fields (IT, software, food production, automobile industry, communications, graphic design, fashion, media, entertainment, call centers, manufacturing, etc.) in part because of small and medium entrepreneurs who have and are working to develop competitive companies. Latin America doesn’t have many big companies like the ones you know in the U.S.. Instead, we have medium and small companies, perfectly adapted to international trade and global relations, who serve their clients and provide products and services of the highest quality.

The region is full of companies reaching for international trade that have conquered global markets because of their great service and competitive prices.

Maybe it’s time to make things different, to make changes and explore new business opportunities between independent companies in the Americas, and we can all grow and succeed together.

Star Alliance’s Chief Executive Board meets in Chicago and presents results

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:36:00 +0000

The faces were happy, after 3 days of debates, meetings and press conferences. I know it because I was there. And it was my first time in Chicago also, an amazing city.

My first time at a CEB meeting was a great experience. Knowing that I was going to meet some of the top 20 Airlines CEO’s of the world on the year of one of the worst economic crisis in North America was challenging. And you don’t get to see happy faces often when it comes to business results, especially during 2008, and 2009 does not look better.

But the Star Alliance’s CEB (photo) managed things well and their yearly results were really good. In a year full of bad news and broken expectations, the Star Alliance’s CEB gathered in Chicago and disclosed its revenue increase: 12.5% year-on-year increase in flown revenue.

The increase is due mainly to the Star Alliance corporate plus targeted growth strategy which yielded good results.

Star Alliance Corporate Plus is an exclusive offer aimed at international “blue chip” customers with global or regionally managed travel programmes. With Star Alliance Corporate Plus, corporations or their travel management firms can contact the sales teams of any Star Alliance member carrier to work out a plan that takes advantage of the alliance’s collective network and service benefits and allows them to book and manage corporate travel seamlessly.

In flown revenue terms, this represents a rise from €2.4 billion to €2.7 billion. At the same time the number of agreements grew by three per cent to 97.

Jaan Albrecht, Star Alliance CEO commented that the results for Star Alliance Corporate Plus prove that the strategy of targeted growth – concentrating on the right accounts rather than just focusing on growing the number of contracts – has paid off and that these results will allow the organization to quickly adapt to the changing travel needs of corporate customers, during a challenging economic time.

Those weren’t the only good news for the Alliance. On October 08 Brazilian TAM joined the alliance and during the CEB meeting in Chicago, the CEOs have also voted to accept the application of Brussels Airlines to become a future member of the alliance.

Brussels Airlines is the Belgian airline offering the widest choice of flights to and from the “capital” of Europe. With a fleet of 45 aircraft the airline operates some 300 daily flights to 55 European airports and 15 African destinations. Through its membership in Star Alliance, Brussels Airlines will be able to offer its passengers a variety of benefits. On the network side for instance, the airline will be able to offer its passengers seamless travel across the Star Alliance network which will expand to cover 1,074 destinations in 174 countries.

Back in October 09, the Chief Executive Board (CEB) of Star Alliance has unanimously voted to accept Brazilian carrier TAM Airlines, the largest carrier in South America, as a future member.

“Thanks to TAM, Latin America will no longer be a white spot but rather a hot spot on our world map,” said Jaan Albrecht, CEO of Star Alliance, at the official joining announcement in São Paulo. “We are very proud having TAM as a future member; their decision to join Star Alliance clearly reflects the ongoing importance of alliances today,” continued Albrecht.

Brazil, as the continent’s economic powerhouse, is the largest and most important market for business and leisure travel in Latin America. With a market share of 20 per cent (73.9 per cent among Brazilian carriers), TAM has the largest portion of international travel to and from Brazil and is also the largest network operator on the continent. This clearly fits Star Alliance’s strategy of maintaining its status as the leading alliance for the high-value international traveller. Jaan Albrecht: “We are talking about a country and a region of the world which cannot be ignored – as a global airline alliance we need to be present where it counts. TAM will make us the leading alliance in terms of capacity offered within Brazil and Latin America,” Albrecht added.

With 116 aircraft, TAM currently flies to 42 domestic and 16 international destinations thereby operating the largest as well as one of the youngest fleets – the average aircraft age is 5.9 years – of all Latin American airlines. TAM already has codeshare agreements with Star Alliance member carriers Air Canada, Lufthansa, TAP Portugal and United and will add 36 new destinations to the Star Alliance network. Once TAM completes their integration process – which is expected to take from 12 to 18 months – the Star Alliance network will expand to over 1,000 destinations in 170 countries and offer more than 20,000 daily departures.* This will further solidify Star Alliance as a frontrunner in the alliance world

Paulo Castello Branco, TAM’s Vice President Commercial and Planning, added: “By working together the Star Alliance member carriers, TAM will be able to offer its customers more choice of destinations with better connectivity”.

---

I took some time to walk around the City of Chicago and visited the great city buildings, restaurants, monuments, streets, shops, libraries, and parks.

The weather was tough (27F, -9C) but we managed to get around easily thanks to public transportation which is really great, taxis, metro and of course, the use of building inter connecting system, which allows pedestrians to walk through corridors between building while shopping or having lunch. (in the photo with a friend from Brazil who also attended the meeting)

I was also invited to attend a chicago Bulls' game, which is a great experience for any Sport lover.

About Star Alliance:

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer customers worldwide reach and a smooth travel experience. Star Alliance received the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award in 2008 and was voted Best Airline Alliance by Business Traveller Magazine in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and by Skytrax in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
The members are Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, bmi, EGYPTAIR, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Regional member carriers Adria Airways (Slovenia), Blue1 (Finland) and Croatia Airlines enhance the global network. Air India, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines and TAM have been announced as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers more than 16,500 daily flights to 912 destinations in 159 countries.

Quick Facts:

• Total of 21 member airlines
• Annual passengers: 499.90 million
• Daily departures: more than 16,500
• Number of employees: 393,559
• Countries served: 159
• Airports served: 912
• Fleet: 3,325

SaberHacer.com Selects Latin3 as Digital Strategy Partner

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:27:00 +0000

Partnership to Build Nation’s First Video-Based Hispanic Integrated Content Website

Latin3, the leading digital marketing services firm catering to US Hispanics and Latinos in Latin America, today announced that the recent unveiling of Saberhacer.com, the nation’s first bilingual/bicultural video on-demand web destination, has proven to be a huge success both in the eyes of Hispanic opinion leaders as well as Hispanic Internet users. Saber Hacer (which equates to “know-how” in Spanish) targets the Latino community and provides high-quality, expert-driven “edu-tainment” videos on a range of topics relevant to Latinos in both English and Spanish including, but not limited to: US Citizenship, Personal Finance and College Education.

In late 2007, Latin3 was chosen by Michele Ruiz, an Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist and founder of SaberHacer.com, to “bring to life Michele’s entrepreneurial dream of creating a web-based content platform, created by Latinos for Latinos, which offers solutions to what they want to know about, and anything they want to learn in order to reach their goals and bring family success and well-being.” Latin3 accepted the challenge with joy and embraced the project immediately. “Michele was onto something big. Not only has she figured out a way to significantly help Hispanics, and impact their lives in the US in both language segments that comprise the U.S. Hispanic population, but Internet use data suggests that a web-based platform is an extremely effective way to reach and impact Hispanics.”, says Matias Perel, Founder and CEO of Latin3.

Perel is referring to current eMarketer, Yankelovich and comScore research, which suggests that during 2008, more than 20 million US Hispanics will be Internet Users, and expected to grow to 25 million by 2011. This means that roughly 1 out of every 2 Hispanics is online. Further, the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communications and DNS have published a study which establishes a clear US Hispanic over index (vs. General Market) in online activities such as “research”, “watching videos” and “learning”.

Created by Latinos for Latinos, SaberHacer.com was established to fill a significant void in the Latino community of expert-driven instructional, self-help and educational information, for the fastest growing population in the U.S. Utilizing the most emotive form of communication – video – Saber Hacer aims to empower Spanish speaking, bilingual, and English dominant members of the Hispanic community with high-quality instructional videos that offer a window into everyday and essential activities, such as purchasing a new computer, keeping children safe on the internet or purchasing a new home.

“We are thrilled to be working with Michelle and her team as we develop a new model for a Media Company. We are an industry leader in innovative thinking, proven track record of success and execution - exactly the right team to be in the driver’s seat for Saber Hacer’s digital marketing strategy. Now that the website has launched, leadership at both companies has partnered to develop a high impact digital marketing plan, including search, database, affiliate programs and affinity groups, as well as social media”, said Leonardo Basterra, VP Marketing Strategy at Latin3.

“Partnering with Saber Hacer was an opportunity to showcase our unique strategic and award winning creative capabilities, all to empower US Hispanics lead an easier and better life. A proposition which Latin3 could not afford to miss, and for that we thank Michele and the Saber Hacer team” said Agustina Valls, Account Director and primary lead in the project.

About Latin3

Latin3 is the leading digital marketing services firm, catering to US Hispanics and Latinos in Latin America. We partner with our clients to provide “consultative” strategic insights and then apply our award winning creative capabilities to “bring to life” our concepts. Latin3’s services range from Strategy, Research and Analytics, and we provide solutions in media planning, website development, community creation and management, content development, and performance based programs (affiliate marketing, SEO, SEM). Our clients include: Hewlett- Packard, VISA, General Mills, Ford Motor Company, Nextel, HSBC, Motorola, Cisco and Lexicon Marketing Group. For more information, please visit www.latin3.com

About Saber Hacer

Saber Hacer, LLC, a media company using the brand name Saber Hacer(TM), is dedicated to providing Latinos in the U.S. and Latin America with high-quality video content in a variety of formats. The Company was founded in April 2006 with its first content produced in September 2006. www.SaberHacer.com was created to fill a significant void in the Hispanic community of expert-driven instructional, self-help, and educational information, in both Spanish and English, for the fastest growing population in the U.S.

PitchEngine Network Breaks 1,000 Member Mark

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:10:00 +0000

Network Blog for PR and Media Pros Cracks 1,000 members after 5 months

The PitchEngine Network tipped past 1,000 members last night as eight more members added their insights and experience to the mix in the first community for PR and media pros exploring social media and their professions.

Since its inception just a few short months ago, the Ning-hosted community has provided members a place to network, share interesting posts generated by users, and even one or two thoughtful posts by the site's founder, Jason Kintzler.

A glance at the featured members reveals some of the most influential PR and media elite. From Ford, Dell and Yahoo to PR firms like Edelman, Olgilvy and others, members represent some of the best. And a flip through the member pages of PitchEngine displays some valuable contacts including Brian Solis, Peter Shankman, Jason Falls, David Alston, Deidre Breakenridge and a host of other PR, media and social media gurus.

"These are all people I draw great inspiration from," said Kintzler.

While the network is closely related to the web application sharing the same name, PitchEngine, the network/blog remains a separate piece of the puzzle and its own entity.

"It was born out of a few blog posts about social media and PR. It has become a place for much more and I hope you'll continue to make it strong," explained Kintzler.

"Thanks to each of you for your willingness to evolve and embrace PR and social media. Together we'll bring both media and PR industries closer together using new technologies and innovative methods of media relations practices," said Kintzler.

New Section in Competencia Magazine Special Online Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:42:00 +0000

Women in Latin America and the US Hispanic Market have a new medium of communication with Competencia's "Mujer Empresaria" a comprehensive section that includes special reports, search and in-depth analysis of the region's hot topics in business, economy, politics and finance.
The edition is written in Spanish and it also includes updated information, services and products released by brands that target women in the region.
The section is updated every Friday and it has an exclusive E.Newsletter.
You can access the special online section here

Mobile Advertising?

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:30:00 +0000

I have just read an interesting blog post about Mobile Advertising stating that mobile users are more likely to accept advertising in their phones and PDA's. "Mobile web users are 60 percent more likely than data users to be open to mobile advertising, according to a report (pdf) from Nielsen Mobile - via MarketingCharts", I read.
The report refers to US data mainly but the chart that caught my attention was this one:
It defines the top reasons why people use mobile internet: to browse portals, to find about the weather and to read news, while on-the-go.
It's interesting because it refers exactly to the same practices that people develop while on their computers. So there are similarities in the way in which we use a computer and a mobile device.
Google Search and The Weather Channel are the next
most popular mobile websites. Each month, 9 million
mobile subscribers access Google Search, and 9 million
mobile subscribers access The Weather Channel over their
mobile phones.
3G is Key! the report states that 3G netweoks (only available in very upscale devices in Latam....until now) can improve data transfer by about 6 times compared with 2G.
It's interesting to compare this figures and to try to compare what could be the next big marketing web in Latin America: online marketing.
If this numbers, data and information could be compare to what people in Latam will do, portals, website, email services and news portals should be looking at mobile opportunities in the near future.

Facebook in Colombia and Sonico in Argentina reach the top.

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 23:44:00 +0000

This is an abstract of the Final Paper for the University of Palermo Program "Marketing For Entertainment and Media Industry" - Prof. Al Lieberman. It was written together with fantastic group of professionals from Argentina and Colombia, conformed by Mariana Mutri, Jesus Alfonzo Perez, Juan Camilo Franco and Angela Caicedo. I will always cherish my days preparing this paper with them. Dearest friends.

Facebook in Colombia and Sonico in Argentina have reached unprecedented levels of subscribers. Even though Facebook is known worldwide, in Colombia it has reached more influence and market share than any other social network in Latin American. In Argentina, even though the top global social networks have all found good reception, Sonico, the local social network created and conceived by Argentineans, won the premier position among the young audiences.
Why have these 2 networks been privileged with the audiences’ preference among all the possibilities they nowadays have on the web? The young audiences seem to have the answer and the way they interact with and in the social networks is also the key to understanding why these new media platforms have become so popular among brands and companies that want to reach the young elusive market.
In only one year Facebook has almost doubled its subscription base in Colombia: we will analyze the effects and influence this social network had in the war against terrorism in Colombia. And in only one year, Argentina’s Sonico reached the top of the ranking and became the most important social network in this country. The language barrier that other social networks did not solve in a timely manner seems to be the answer to Sonico’s success.
Both Facebook and Sonico have developed aggressive strategies to capture the attentions of their audiences and now they are ready for the next step. In the case of Facebook Colombia, to monetize their incredible valuable base of subscribers and in the case of Sonico, not only leverage the valuable audience they gathered but increase their base of investors and be ready for the Mobile revolution.
FACEBOOK COLOMBIA
We find extremely interesting the fact that Facebook, which is a social community network perceived as an elitist one and has never invested a penny in Marketing in Colombia, is still the social community with the largest number of users in this country.
Here are some figures:
- This social network was launched in February 2004 as a close community for Harvard students.
- In March 2004 it is released for students of Yale University, Columbia and Stanford.
- In the year 2005 it opened to all educational institutions.
- Finally in 2006 everybody could be part if this social network.
Colombia has today 2´691,760 Facebook users; this means that it is the largest Facebook community in Latin America and the fifth in the world. The growth in its subscribers’ base has been impressive during 2008.
We consider that there are four main reasons for this phenomenon:
1. Colombia (as Chile) had an important migration due to internal violence. This resulted in many people loosing its ties and family and friends connections in Colombia. The development of social networks was an opportunity to get back in touch with the people who were back at home.
2. An important number of immigrants where either high school students or university students; this means that there are a lot of Colombian students in Universities abroad in comparison to other Latin American countries. Colombian students in the USA were early adopters of social networks and of Facebook especially as this network in particular was intended for US College Students.
3. Colombians do not have a local Social Network (like Argentina’s Sonico or Brazil’s Orkut) so Colombian’s adopted the social network they were more used to when studying.
4. Last but not least, it is important to consider the population’s access to high speed internet and broadband in the country. The British firm Point Topic described that Colombia was the fifth nation in the world with the biggest increase in usage of broadband services in the first trimester of the year 2008.
In Colombia, Facebook has become a new debate area for young voters. The social network has become the favorite site for politicians and potential voters. From city majors to senators and even presidential candidates interact with their followers through the Facebook wall, and show pictures and videos as part of their campaign.
David Luna, a Colombian congressman, has achieved the maximum amount of friends allowed in Facebook (5,000 people).
Four of the top ten discussion groups in Colombia are related to Politics.
1. "Un millón de voces contra las Farc" (367.800).
2. "Personas que apoyamos a Uribe" (135.951).
3. "Por los que dicen que van llegando..." (116.398).
4. "Yo también me río cuando alguien se cae" (112.828).
5. "Colombia es Pasión" (100.407).
6. "Las 30 mentiras más grandes" (74.935).
7. "Lo que no me acuerdo... no pasó" (74.182).
8. "Exigimos la renuncia de Piedad Córdoba" (70.120).
9. "¿Cuántos colombianos somos?" (65.922).
10. "Las Farc sí son terroristas" (46.703).
Colombian analysts have made reference to the campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain, presidential candidates of the U.S. to show the scope that Facebook could have. If the decision depended on Facebook, Obama would be the next U.S. President, with more than 1,250,000 followers in Facebook in comparison with John McCain with only 187,299 followers. Facebook proved to be a successful resource for Obama’s campaign against Hillary Clinton.
In February 2008, Facebook was used to congregate a rally against “Las FARC” (the Colombian guerrilla group) in cities around the world. It has been the largest mobilization in the World gathered using social networks. More than 4,8 million people where gathered in Colombia and in 125 cities around the world, thanks to Facebook’s influence. This march was an example that other countries followed afterwards, for example Spain, to organize rallies against the terrorist group ETA.
Facebook had a global growth of 153% since June 2007. It is the largest social networks’ growth compared with its competitors such as Hi5, MySpace LinkedIn, etc. In Latin America social networks subscribers grew 33% reaching 53 million users. This growth is inferior if compared with Middle East and Africa that have each grown 66% or Europe with a growth of 35%. This is why the Colombian case is very important for its impressive growth, nevertheless it should be said that it is the tendency in the region. It is also true that Latin-Americans like to be connected to their families and friends abroad and they find social relations to be a fundamental part in their lives and they dedicate hours per week to get in touch.
SONICO ARGENTINA
Sonico - “Friends Connected”
The Argentinean-based Social Network was launched in July 2007 and is the largest Network in terms of users in this country.
With an initial investment of 1 million U.S. dollars, Sonico was founded in July 2007 by Rodrigo Teijeiro, who is today the company’s CEO. At the age of 29, Teijeiro is also the owner of other sites such as Cumplealerta.com (Birthday calendar and alerts services); Tarjetasbubba.com and Tupostal.com (E-cards services). After one year, Sonico enjoys 12 million users in Latin America, among which 4.5 million are in Argentina. In Brazil, it has become the second largest network after Okrut-Google only three months after the Portuguese language site was launched.
The following chart shows an exponential growth of Sonico’s users during the years 2007-2008 according to ComScore Media Metrix. In only one year, Sonico won a privileged position among competitors and in Argentina it has exponentially increased its subscriber base and is now a leader in the market who has left behind world leaders such as MySpace, and Facebook, and local competitors such as PsicoFXP.

With a staff of 90 employees, Sonico provides users with services such as messaging, media and photo sharing, e-cards, birthday alerts and games. Sonic also offers Customized Skins, Videos, Photos, HTML Boxes, Comments, Viral as well as Subscriptions. Notwithstanding these valuable features, Sonico’s major asset is certainly the provision of Security & Privacy to its users. In June 2008, Sonico has raised a total of 4.3 million U.S. dollars from DN Capital (London-based venture capital firm investing in software and digital media companies), Fabrice Grinda (Co CEO of Olx - Classified site Network), Alec Oxenford (DeRemate.com) and Martin Varsavsky (FON - Wi-Fi Services).

What PR can Learn From Super Heroes.

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:32:00 +0000

OK, it's not that I think that PR professionals are super heroes, but I loved it when Hancock saved a PR agent so in return he helps him shape and clean his image. A great movie for the profession.
This new post ideas comes after I finished my management program on Entertainment and Media in the University of Palermo in Buenos Aires, with Professor Al Lieberman from the prestigious New York University (NYU). One of the Harvard Business School cases we analyze during the program was the "Marvel Entertainment" case. A fantastic model on how to turnaround a business which I want to bring to the attention of my colleagues to find similarities on how we can "turnaround" our client's image and market position.

By the end of the 1980's Marvel was in trouble. We will not analyze the situation that produced the crisis, instead we will analyze see the aftermath and how they used their super heroes' strengths to turnaround the negative situation.

First, they had a unique library of characters. This was their most valuable asset. How could they take advantages of each of their super heroes and make them work for the company? Marvel found the way to monetize the characters’ library. By licensing the library to Studios, publishers and toy manufacturers, with emphasis on feature films, home DVD, consumer products, video games, action figures and role-playing toys, television and promotions, the turnaround and increase revenue was a matter of time.

Which is your client's library? strengths? potentials? Find these and you'll find plenty of material to work with. Sometimes it's the company's mission or vision, others, it's the company's Board, its workers and staff. Every company has its own heroes, its own library of very valuable assets (not only people but services, products, strengths, customer service). You have to find those strengths and find the way to "monetize". In PR language this means that you have to identify those heroes (strengths) and make them work to better the company's position in the market: introduce your company's heroes to everyone especially media leaders, influencers and stakeholders.

Second: Manage the characters so they could continue creating value on the long term.

After you find your company's heroes, create an ongoing program on how this heroes (people, products, values, spokespersons) can continue creating value in the long term. Presentations, articles, books, articles, blogs, speeches, lectures, University presentations, Board members in other prestigious institutions. Make everyone and everything speak for the company. Make clear, they have a mission to accomplish and be very careful on the speeches they make. Be coherent. Make everyone follow the plan. Write speeches if you thinks someone might loose track. Control the content.

Third: have some kind of control over the creative process.

Make sure that whatever the plan, you have control on what the spokespersons say, and that creative and innovative ways of communication are brought to the media and the stakeholders.

Be your company's PR Heroe.

Why do you need a Public Relations agent?

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:53:00 +0000

You know your business, you know your market, you know your customers, you even have friends that work in the media and usually publish the press releases you send them. You write your own press releases, you have a press room in your website, you attend local events, you organize your own booth space in the events!
You answer media requests, prepare media kits, send gifts and samples to media leaders.
You post your blog articles, you take pictures in your events, you answer calls from people abroad, you prepare corporate materials. You analyze the industry’s main events and you send speaking proposals.

Or don’t you?
Which of these aren’t you performing?
Why?

Maybe it’s because you feel there’s too much work to be done and publicizing your work is not exactly one of your goals, not even what you like to do.
Get help then! Because you are not performing key business development activities that can bring you exposure, which equals: SALES.
You do not need to hire an expensive PR agency, or a PR consultant, nor even a new employee! You need some help to guide you through the things you do not want or do not know how to do. Or do not have time, or simply because you believe that publicity is good for your business and do not know where to start.

I read some great articles about PR in small and medium companies that I would like to share with you not only because they bring tons of good ideas but because they talk about the same thing: “To PR or not to PR” but from many different angles.

Dave Austin gets the idea when he writes about PR without the agency and all the great stuff and articles that entrepreneurs can submit to the press as long as they send the media exactly what they need: newsworthy information.

Eric Pfeiffer gives examples of the importance of a blog for your company. You need a blog simply because you need to communicate with your audiences wherever they might be, and the internet is “the place” where the audiences are today. And not only that. The internet is the place where people search and exchange information about lots of things and compare rankings of products and define their choices, their buying choices. So not only the decision makers has chosen the web, but the people they trust and they get advice from are on the web. You need to be there with YOUR message.

Guy Kawasaki wrote a great post about why you DO NOT need a PR agency but you still need PR. He says in his post that there’s no one in the world that would be passionate enough about your company, your services and your products as…. YOU! So take out your laptop and start doing your homework: make a list of media leaders, you’ve got plenty of platforms where you can get data from, starting from any chamber or association you might belong to, and including social networks as LinkedIn and Facebook. Then write about your company, your products and yourself! A passionate, sincere and professional text is better than a press release stating your company’s profile. Media needs flavour, and no one will ever put spirit and heart felt feelings in an article more than the company’s owner.

For a list of everything that a PR agency can do for you read Victoria Sheridan’s blog and website, because this is a professional that really understand what comprehensive PR is all about. She includes a list of activities and techniques that your PR agent, PR manager or the PR agency you hire, should do: News releases: Feature releases, Story pitches, Photographs, Interviews, Columnist or Commentator, By-lined stories, Special Events, Promotions, Sponsorships, Press kits.

I do this with my clients a lot! And they often tell me: “Why I am doing your work?”. They believe that a PR consultant should write everything for them.
This leads to many misconceptions in the PR – company relation.

My answer is simple: I can only help you write YOUR story. But I really need that the soul and spirit of your company comes alive in what I write so there’s no one better than you to help me through these ideas.

The Numbers Speak for Themselves: Mommy Bloggers Rock!

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:59:00 +0000

36 million women read or write a blog every week in the USA.
46% mommy bloggers have supported a political campaign this year.
2 trillion dollars: money spent by moms every year.

These are US women numbers but given the broadband and internet penetration in Latin America, these figures should be seriously considered by local Marketers who want to capture the attention of the biggest buying force in the region: MOMS.

Do not take my word for it, see and hear Katie Kouric talking about "mommy bloggers" and commenting about BlogHer in this YouTube video:

LinkedIn in Latin America.

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:23:00 +0000

Following a new "wave" of US and international companies that are arriving in Latin America with new investments, this is the time for LinkedIn the most popular social media network in the USA. After finishing a new round of investment of $53 million, LinkedIn is ready for more.
Today, July 23rd LinkedIn is organizing an event in one of Buenos Aires' most chic places "Arnet Point". Organized by Newlink Group, the PR agency that LinkedIn chose to handle its communications in Latin America, a group of users were invited to get together and learn the company's plans for the region.
This is great news, not only because the company plans to launch a complete version (widgets included) in Spanish, but because such an investment really shows the importance of Latino markets in the growth plans of US company.
Here's my LinkedIn profile.

The Drum

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:53:00 +0000

Today I am practicing a new exercise I found in a book I often read and that I would like to suggest to my readers: Michael Michalko's Thinkertoys .
The activity in page 159 "Brutethink" invites you to think in different words, even choose them from the dictionary or any other book and afterwards, start describing and writing aleatory and words that this word brings to your mind: My activity word today is DRUM. And my list of words is:

Noise Sound Rhythm Party Happy Share Admire Funeral Solemn Enjoy Coordinate

What do these words bring to my mind and how are they connected with my PR business? I found several connections:

We need to make noise, to make our services and products known. Reach out. We need to have rhythm, to communicate, to relate constantly. We have to do it with passion and a smile in our face. We need to share the happiness and admire those who perform well. We can sometimes be solemn, but we can never slow down. We can take a while maybe to catch the rhythm again, but never loose the sight of the horizon. Public relations and communications specialists work for a brand, a client, a product with a clear objective: make our clients' lives better and happier thus consolidating and enhancing their image, their products and services and brands' positioning. Social Media is a unique drum for our work. And influencers are nowadays are directors in this concert. Influencers wanted!
Have a great day!

How Social Networks Helps Your "Independence"

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:12:00 +0000

I sometimes have more than 20 Firefox tabs in the browser at the same time. Maybe a tab, a link I opened at 7 am makes sense at 6 pm in the afternoon when a client or a friend posts a question in a blog, or a news is released and you need information to back an article, or a decision. The image at the left of this post is a partial list of my rss feeds, which I plan to read fully, this afternoon.
Sometimes even browsers and tabs organize my work. There are so many interesting things on the web going on this days that organizing my own day prioritizing the topics and analyzes from the different social networks I belong to, has proven to be very useful.
For example today, Independence day in the USA has made me pop up my online contact data base and browse through the names and emails of all my dearest American friends and relatives and think about a special message for them on this day.
My LinkedIn profile is open and I can contact directly my previous bosses and partners, colleagues and friends.
My Facebook profile is also opened and I can see who's at home today and exchange ideas and chat for a while. (MSN, Twitter, Clipmarks as well)
At the same time I can browse the latest news in the Public Relations, Marketing and Business industries in Latin America and the USA through the rss feeds I read at Newsfox in which I receive the daily news of more than 30 media sources from Business Week, Fox News, The New York Times, WebStrategy by Jeremiah, IMedia, Hispanic Business and a dozen more.
In the last week I have joined 3 new social networks so I guess I will take some time at mid day to at least visit them, take a look at the latest discussions and see who's posting suggestions and interesting facts about our profession.
For me it has become a habit. It's my "Independence habit". I am independent from a single source of information and I am "Media Agnostic" as my friends at Latin3 Matias Perel, Sergio Barrientos and Chris Hermes define it.
To be "media agnostic" for me, means that I need MANY sources of information to "build up" my day. Strange phrase? It may sound weird but you need to be aware and follow up on diverse writers, bloggers, experts and industry influencers if you are following industry's tendencies and if you are working with clients with diverse interests and businesses.
Ok, and now I need to include in my agenda at least half a dozen calls, schedule lunch with a client and my daily dose of writing as well.
For all my great American friends, hope you have a beautiful Independence Day. And for all of you, try the "Independence" feeling of Social Networks and the online advantage.

Social Media is Becoming More Personal than Social.

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:16:00 +0000

I found this video by Michael Wesch (Assistant Profesor at Kansas State University) in "Web Strategy by Jeremiah" and I think is an interesting example of what we are all living in the web, specially after the explosion of Social Media. The Video entitled in Jeremiah's website as "The Blurred Lines of “Social” Media", shows the radical change that human beings have produced in the web as they taught "the machine" how to think and re think our "content".

What do Latin Americans do on the Web? (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:53:00 +0000

I am preparing a report regarding What Latin Americans are doing in the web, and while I research, I want to share with you my findings and the data I am analyzing:

Latin American Internet Users (Data 2007)

85.040.000 users

15,35% world market

433% increase in 2001-2007

35% of the users are Mexicans, 19% Argentineans and 12 % Chilean, 11% Colombian and 8% Peruvian. This data shows also the influence of the internet and its penetration in the most important markets in the region.

If we consider the countries with the most broadband users, we find slight changes: Mexico, Chile and Venezuela are at the top of the ranking. This is an interesting fact because nowadays, broadband is key to accessing the contents in the web (especially video, music, podcasts, etc.)

People in countries with a fast internet connection will have access to a wider range of services and possibilities among others: blog postings upload and download photos and videos, participate in social networks, video games and online gaming, mobile content buyers and forum participation. If you a re not counting the minutes that you consume your telephone line it is easier to relax and spend time (hours) in the web.

Latin Americas log online mainly at home, but also from their PC’s at work and at school. What’s characteristic of Latin American’s Internet usage is that many countries have developed public policies regarding internet access and what we call “cyber coffees” have become very popular in the region. These “Coffee shops with internet access”, guarantee a broadband access to people that cannot afford yet to have a computer nor broadband access which is still expensive for the median consumer in the region. For only US$ 0,30 aprox. you can browse the internet, chat, play, send emails, etc. for an hour (price varies between countries and Latin cities)

This is the ranking of way Latino users love the internet:

• Fast way to access information

• Available 24-7

• Information variety

• Possibility to communicate everywhere

• Access updated information

• Download files

• Friendly usage

In Latin America people consider themselves internet “experts” if they were able to develop and publish a website and it they participate in podcasts. An advanced user is the one that exchanges photos, videos and music and a “medium level” user is the one that chats and is subscribed to different websites. Basic users are the ones that only logs on to send and read email and uses search engines.

This is what people are doing in the web in Latin America:

• Business transaction

• Communicating

• Socializing

• Downloading info

• Playing games

• Looking for new jobs

• Teleconferencing

And this is what they are researching about:

• News!! (Every Country)

• Music downloads

• Sciences and health (Specially in Costa Rica, Venezuela and Ecuador)

• General Information

• Tourism

• Sports

• Educational info.

The average time spent in the web by Latin Americans is 8 hours per week. Mexicans spend 9 hours per week and Puerto Ricans 11 hours per week. Followed by Argentineans who spend 8,2 hours per week.

The Importance Of Networking (And Latin Women) - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:23:00 +0000

Now is time for my friend Olga Ramudo to share secrets and thoughts about what means to be a "Latino Woman" doing business - and doing it perfectly well - in America. Olga M. Ramudo is the President & CEO of Express Travel; an agency created and run but some of the most professional and savvy travel experts of south Florida.

1.- When did you start your business / career? Do you feel there’s something different between the way in which you did business when you started and now? Which is the role of technology in your profession?

The business was started in November, 1989, in partnership with my sister and best friend. There is DEFINETELY a difference from when we started 19 years ago and now. The internet and how information is disseminated has opened horizons for the traveller. Technology is a key element in our industry.

2.- Do you do business with Latin America? What do you think about doing business with Latin America? Is there any characteristic that is really different from doing business with American Companies?
Due to our strategic location in Miami recognized as the gateway to Latin America, and the number of Latin American companies that have headquartered in Florida , Latin America is the main travel destination sold by Express Travel. There is a big difference between doing business with Latin America and doing business with Anglos: Hispanics tend to book later, they are quite savvy in “wheeling and dealing”, and they are more demanding. Doing business with Latinos is more relationship driven and personal, than with American companies.

3.- Do you relate with other Latino women in your work? Which do you consider to be the most important characteristics of the way Latinas do business?
The majority of the staff of Express Travel (or 98%) is comprised of Hispanic women. Latinas work hard to please the customer and tend to go the extra mile. They are friendly and as the years go by, personal relationships are built.

4.- Which is the importance of networking for you? In which associations do you participate?
Networking is extremely important for me and for our business. I sit on the board of directors of the Tourism Development Council for Dade County, as well as on the Boards of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Camacol (Latin Chamber of Commerce), Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, the Beacon Council and the World Trade Center.

5.- Balance between family and life: can you tell us some experience that would show your incredible commitment to family and profession and that could be useful to other women?
Family is the most important thing in my life. Actually, I chose to be a stay at home mom, until my youngest son was 12 years old. They are now two grown men, however, when a decision needs to be made regarding work or family, including sons, nieces, nephews, godchildren etc., family does prevail. Positions, jobs, businesses, come and go, family stays with you forever.

6.- Can you share with our readers a phrase or experience that you believe to be useful to other women? Do you have a “leit motiv”?
Move forward and don’t be afraid…….. Go with your gut feeling….

The Importance Of Networking (And Latin Women) - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:39:00 +0000

I met my friend Alejandra Collarte almost 5 years ago in Miami while she was leading a government’s office in the city and was heading the Argentine’s tourism development efforts in the USA. She is one of Miami’s most influential Latinas and knows everyone in town.
She is a natural leaders and has been appointed to many important positions in different corporations and institutions, specially in the international affairs arena.
I am starting today a series of “interviews” to influential women in business – Latin Women – who are making a difference in their communities and at the same time, can give us a sense of what Networking means for the Hispanic and Latin American societies.

In my blog, you’ll find the complete text and content of the interview and next month (May) you’ll find a complete report in my column in Pink Magazine (Blogs From Abroad).

I started my own business when my first born child started school. I always thought that it was extremely important to have something of my own, be it a career, a business or a hobby, but to have an activity where I could accomplish all of my dreams as an individual.

Yes, definitely. A lot of things have changed and I would say for the better, in the sense that now thanks to the incredible advancements of technology the world has become smaller and connected. Today communication is so easy, you can connect anywhere in the world at such a speed from a small device held on the palm of your hand. Twenty five years ago you could have never imagined that it would be possible. It also gives you the incredible opportunity of being able to conduct business anywhere, you do not need to be sitting in front of a desk, you can be mobile and that gives you great freedom and even more opportunities.

Yes, I do business with Latin America and I love it. Although they do have a different pace, they are all about relationships and I do like that very much. I like to build relationships and Latin American business people like to spend time knowing the people they do business with. There is more of a personal contact, they spend more time getting to know you and enjoy doing so.

3.- Do you relate with other Latin women in your work? Which do you consider to be the most important characteristics of the way Latinas do business?

In my work, I travel and I am not much around the office, however, I am involved in many associations, where I do relate to great professionals, who are Latin women. Many of them have excelled in their industries and dedicate just like me a lot of their personal time to volunteer work in the community. We all participate, because we firmly believe that it is a way to give back to the community. Some of the associations we are involved in also promote business development with Latin America and for us that is extremely important, because is a way to connect ourselves and the members of our community to our roots and our culture.

4.- Which is the importance of networking for you? In which associations do you participate?

I think networking is vital. You need to get out there and let people know who you are and what you can offer, at the same time you need to know them. Connecting with the rest of the world is imperative and the best way to do it is by meeting people and being referred by other people.

I am a member of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Board Member of the World Trade Center Miami, Board Member of Gateway Florida and I am also involved in several other charitable organizations outside of Florida.

5.- Balance between family and life: can you tell us some experience that would show your incredible commitment to family and profession and that could be useful to other women?

I would say that my commitment to both has been 100%. As I mentioned earlier, I started my own business when my oldest daughter was three years old and began kindergarten. Then I continued all through my second pregnancy to the point that I had my second child on a Friday and was back home on Monday connected to my clients without them knowing I had given birth on the weekend. This was not planned of course, since mine where both natural childbirths. However, I strongly do believe that when you make a commitment to run a business, you need to deliver and there is no excuse, you have to do it. Therefore, I had every call transferred to my home and for three weeks I stayed at home with the baby and my staff would bring all the documents for me to sign, the rest I was able to control remotely and executed all of my contracts without anyone realizing I was not sitting in from of a desk but was at home taking care of my baby.

After the third week the baby and I started going to the office every day. I did that for the next 10 months; of course by the third month I had hired a nanny, who assisted me during the time we were at the office. But it was only after those 10 months that I decided to leave both the nanny and the baby at home, since I wanted to spend as much time with the baby as possible.

It was not easy and it took a lot of willpower to do both but I felt that it was the right thing to do and I was able to keep both home and business together. Now I look back and realize it was worth it. I have two beautiful, intelligent and independent young daughters, who know how important it is to have something of their own. Children grow very fast, husbands always have their own activities outside the house and women end up living everyone else’s life but their own and then they stay at home by themselves with nothing.

Having your own dreams makes you have hope in the future and gives you the vitality you need to get up every morning to live a day full of new experiences some good and others not so good, but they are all experiences you learn from and they make you a better and stronger person, capable of confronting life as it should be confronted with a smile and a positive attitude and that definitely keeps you young at heart.

6. - Can you share with our readers a phrase or experience that you believe to be useful to other women? Do you have a “leit motiv”?

Never ever give up on your dreams.

Alejandra Collarte is the Director of International and Corporate Affairs, Information Technology at the University of Miami, FL.

Back in Business.-

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:03:00 +0000

I have been out for a while now....I know. I have been blogging for PINK magazine and it is really amazing. I had the chance to meet Cynthia Good, Pink's Editor a year ago and spoke with her about blogging as a Latino women, about Latino affairs and writing about what women do and how we do it in Latin America. Cynthia loved the idea, and I have posting in Pink's Blogs From Abroad since January 08.
I have also been busy strategyzing and planning for this year's communication's programs for my recent and new clients and I have immerse myself once again in the world of new media and technologies. Six months have only passed since I last made some research for one of my clients of cable and TV industry and since then I have found dozens of new blogs and online media related to that field.
In particular, this season I worked on a Latin American media plan focusing in technology and telecommunications, a versatile and fast growing industry in Latin America.
Among others I am recommending my client to include the following media in its media plan:

Frecuencia Online, Mundo Contact, Total Telecom, CCSUr, BNAméricas, Expansion y CNNExpansion, Contact Forum, T&N tecnología y negocios, Cibertele.

Times have been really busy lately. Specially for advisors and companies that are reaching out to companies in the USA that are starting to focus in Latin America and targeting new markets abroad. Even if Latin America has been a turbulent territory for conservative investors, its growth rate of 9% has started to attract every kind of business. From TV stations, to technology companies, to production and film companies, medical equipment manufacturers and the tourism industry.

I'll keep of posted of my client's requests and questions, because I am sure that through looking at what these new companies are looking at we might well determine the ways in which business is going to grow in the region.

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:30:00 +0000

Dear readers. Today I asked my friend Sonia Q. Thomas, CEO Spanish Waves, LLC. to answer a couple of questions regarding the differences between business at home (Argentina) and business in the USA. Here’s the excerpt of my conversation with Sonia, which I believe, is very valuable for anyone planning on doing business in South America, or targeting the US Hispanic market-. Here are the thoughts of someone who made it in both worlds.

Which is your experience managing a US company that builds bridges between the Hispanic and American entrepreneurs?

In my experience, managing a US company is different than managing a company in Argentina for different reasons. It was difficult for me in the beginning. I was not confident with the language. If you are not confident you can’t achieve anything. It took me a while to develop my confidence, and I was ok when I finally did. This is the normal process that we all have to experience. The first challenge comes with overcoming fears. We have to rewire ourselves and some people are faster than others. The faster you do it, the sooner you will succeed. A challenge is an opportunity to learn and to strategize is one of the things that I like the most. The problem is that we think that we know everything but the Hispanics bring a lot of knowledge on how to do business from their own country and diversity is great but we need to have a solid managing foundation. As we are in America, we feel things should work in a different way. We need to reeducate ourselves and to adapt to the circumstances. Changing ourselves first, things will start falling in place.

What does the US Entrepreneur need to know about Latin American and the US Hispanic markets?

An US entrepreneur should understand or at least should try to understand our culture and our differences, (i.e. it is different selling orchata and hot cocoa in Mexico than it is selling in Argentina.) We are not cookie cutters. But there is an interesting phenomenon that happens with the Hispanic market in the USA. There is a mixture of cultures. Because of this diversity we become one and we take a new culture; we not only eat empanadas, but popusas, texmex tacos, and maybe hotdogs etc. Our consumers are hybrid because we become “US”. And when we become “US”, US Latinos we will do much more and we will have a big impact in the market than we have today. I am looking forward to live to see this day.

Which would be in your opinion, the best thing we can do to foster relationships between countries, communities, associations, businesses and people from the US and Latin America?

Whatever you do, we always need a legal backup. Hispanic is supporting American companies and the laws should extend more work visas to those in need. An example would be the agriculture area. The politicians should see that USA is what it is today thanks to the immigrants efforts and we need to create opportunities for both to grow. If this does not happen from the government, my opinion will go to every American company regardless of what you sale; you will need to understand their cultures. Sooner or later you will need our assistance in marketing, importing, or you simply because you want to extend your business into Latin America. My advice is to extend more opportunities on bringing qualified people and give them and the companies the experience of working together. You won’t be disappointed, I promise you. I know how much capability the Hispanic communities have. I have experience doing business from Argentina for 8 years and I know how much good they can do for your company. My call to the Hispanic is simple but hard at the same time. Stop gossiping, stop complaining, you will never grow if you care more about your brother than how to improve yourself. Stop being so susceptible, start supporting and working with your competitors, start thinking with a business mind without judging. Learn from other cultures without forgetting your roots and language and the most important, don’t forget who you are for the generations to come.

Latin American Art is Hot: ARTEAMERICAS is back in MIAMI

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:20:00 +0000

Merrill Lynch arteaméricas, the world’s premier fair of art from Latin America, will be returning to Miami for the sixth year in a row. Starting on Friday, March 28^th through Monday, March 31^st, Merrill Lynch arteaméricas will showcase the latest trends in paintings, sculpture and multimedia from contemporary artists as well as renowned masters at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

This year in particular I had the honor of previewing the images of arteaméricas great artists and their art, as I was the coordinator of the fair’s catalogue.

You can view a list of all the participating galleries, artists that will be present and the art they are presenting in www.arteamericas.com

In six short years, Merrill Lynch arteaméricas has become the world’s most important and most prestigious fair of Latin American art.

Latin American art in the United States is widely represented by: Aldo Castillo Art Gallery, Chicago; PanAmerican Art Projects, Dallas; Alejandra von Hartz Fine Art, Amat Gallery, Arévalo Arte, ArtSpace / Viriginia Miller, Beaux Arts, Cernuda Arte, Dot Fifty One, Hardcore Art Contemporary Space, Diana Lowenstein Fine Art, Durban Segnini Gallery, dpm Arte Contemporaneo, Latin Art Core, PanAmerican Art Projects, Praxis International Art, Sammer Gallery, Signature Art and The Americas Collection, Miami; Cecilia de Torres LTD, Galería Solar, Henrique Faría Fine Art, Latin Collector and Leon Tovar Gallery, New York; A. Cueto, Gómez Fine Art and Latitude Art Project, Puerto Rico; and Ruiz-Healy Art, San Antonio.

Merrill Lynch arteaméricas is directed by Leslie Pantín serving as the fair’s President; Emilio Calleja as Vice President; and Diego Costa Peuser, publisher of Arte al Día Internacional and director of PINTA Art Fair in New York as Fair Director of arteaméricas.

Why is Everybody Looking at Latin America Now?

noreply@blogger.com (Lara Bersano) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:21:00 +0000

Because even if some countries are still trying to overcome some difficulties, the continent is growing at a fast pace. Growing means more business, and more business means wealth.

I am reading a lot about new companies doing business in Latin America, increasing their local budgets, hiring new personnel in key Latino markets and pitching new business opportunities in the region. 2007 was the first year in which I got emails from my clients telling me to increase budgets in Latino key markets and help them identify business opportunities even in the smaller Latin American markets.

As of today, I will start a series of reports and interviews to business and government leaders involved in the promotion of business between the Americas. I thought it would be interesting to start with a list of websites, blogs and portals I consider to have valuable information in English about Latin America and help increase your knowledge about the region.

Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America -

Mission: The 23 AmChams in 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean provide a wide variety of services to their members and to the citizens of the countries in which they operate. The AmChams work diligently to contribute to the growth of trade and investment between their host countries and the United States. (AACCLA)

What to look for: Up-to-date information about policy making and mutual interests between Latin America and the USA.
What you cannot miss: Publications. The portal includes a list of the magazines that each AMCHAM publishes in Latin America. These magazines are a must-read source of information for any business focusing in Latin American markets. Amcham members are not only US companies doing business in these countries but local companies that have interests in reaching top US executives and officials. Amchams are also a great place for continuing your education and business knowledge as they facilitate information and present events and forums from the most varied topics.

Lanic - Latin American Network Information Resources

Mission: to facilitate access to Internet-based information to, from, or on Latin America.

What to look for: The information in Lanic is divided in sections, topics, interests and regions. It is easy to find specific reports and they have more than 12,000 links of useful information (not that I visited them all but they are well organized and respond to the needs of someone searching for specific data).
What you cannot miss: “Country’s Section”. In every link you’ll find a complete guide to each country’s institutions (private and public).

Latin Trade -

The magazine managed by Mike Zellner has contributed during 15 years to increase the knowledge of the Latino and Hispanic business leaders in the USA and in Latin America. The online version can be accessed in English, Spanish and Portuguese. It covers non-profit and multilateral organization’s affairs and is a good source of information about what Latin American companies are doing in the USA.

What you cannot miss: Forecast 2008.A must-read and easy to understand one page PDF format report with updated data of each Latin American country.
Top 500 companies in Latin America. A good sources of information and a list of top companies that you must read if you are looking to invest.

Business News Americas -

If you read in Spanish and need up-to-date and daily information of every industry and the most important companies in Latin America, this is a great guide.

What to look for: Updated information about American companies doing business in Latin America. New investments, people changing places, arrivals, product launches, strategies and market overview.

What you cannot miss: If you have a special interest in an industry or business in particular, you’ll find updated information using its industry tags.