During June 10-12, LEXIA Insights & Solutions participated in the 2019 Culture Marketing Council Annual Summit, hosted at The Statler Hotel in Dallas, Texas, where we took part in valuable industry discussions and panels. We share our 12 takeaways from a great conference.

1. 1 2 TA K E A W AY S
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L E X I A’ S F I R S T
CULTURE MARKETING COUNCIL
2 0 1 9 A N N U A L S U M M I T
By PhD Guido Lara,
CEO LEXIA Insights & Solutions

2. A
na Navarro - Brilliant, friendly, sharp as we’ve come to know her,
always wielding strong arguments and solid principles. She shared
the great difference that exists between a political strategist and a
professional commentator. While one must keep quiet, the commentator
is free of ties and can give free rein to what goes on in his/her’s mind and
heart, just as she does whenever she is on a stage or television set. Another
relevant insight was the affirmation that the divorce between Latinos and
Republicans is not beneficial because it grants Democrats their support
almost unequivocally, obtaining our vote in exchange for very little. If there
is no competition, there is incompetence, that is why it is convenient for
new political actors of the GOP to build the bridges of communication and
understanding that Trumpism has broken so badly.
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B
eauty-While Latinos still have a long way to go in industries such as
science and technology, in areas such as the arts and aesthetics we
are in the forefront. Beauty is inscribed very clearly in our cultural
DNA, which we should feel proud of and manifest. Two campaigns that were
presented caught my attention the most. The first one was undertaken by
Casanova Pendrill for the California Lottery, in which they commissioned
a great artist that was able to translate the traditional cultural game of
‘Lotería’ in Mexico with characters such as ‘El Catrín, El Valiente, La Sirena’
into a contemporary synthesis depicted in a celebration of color and graphic
lyricism. The second, was the Shine Your Way campaign by the beer brand
Sol, which spoke to a bicultural generation in a fresh and luminous way,
highly contemporary with music and freestyle dancing as its flag.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwKe6YlpOzI -
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3. C
ulture-The voice of Hispanic marketing finds the concept of culture as
a powerful umbrella that feeds conversation, highlights differentiation
and creates a platform for the development of the industry. It’s the
values, beliefs, traditions, habits, aesthetic expressions and distinct priorities
in life, that make Latinos a segment destined to inject new blood in the
cultural richness that is the United States. We see culture not as a barrier
that creates isolated identities, but as a key resource and a rich patrimony,
open to mixture and to fusion to create a society that would be much more
integrated and a life that will be more beautiful and fun.
C
hair- Special acknowledgement to Isaac Mizrahi and the whole team
of colleagues that worked insatiably to create an agenda rich in
perspectives and inspiring presentations. Thank you, what is labored
in seriousness and professionalism, clearly stands out in the stage. You
have set the bar very high for 2020. The CMC can count on us to add to
those efforts.
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E
legance- An elegant presentation, full of style in depth and form was
made by Julia Estacolchic, Director, Affinity Brand Marketing, Match
who addressed an issue that is often surrounded by prejudices like
“tinderization”. Online dating mirrors the dynamics of real-life dating; however,
it multiplies the possibilities of connection by going beyond the person’s
acquaintance circuit. Match is innovating by taking segmentation to the
core of their business growth. The galaxy of existing applications (more
than a thousand according to her) serves different communities within the
framework of its culture and life cycle, such is the case of two applications
she presented: Chispa! (for Latinos) and Our Time (for empty nesters). Each
app is perfectly directed to the circumstances and needs of each target to
raise the quality of UX with a careful work of data analytics. By instance,
the first instruction for the prospect users of “Our Time” is simple: “Turn on
your computer.”
H
all of Fame- Special recognition to Ingrid Otero-Smart of Casanova
Pendril, Al Aguilar of Creative Civilization, Tony Dieste of Dieste, Alex
López Negrete of López Negrete and Luis Miguel Messianu of ALMA,
who were inducted to the CMC Hall of Fame. Hard work, passion, discipline,
leadership, and generosity is the common denominator in these giants of our
industry, those who have led the way and defended our position in this great
country. There is still a lot to do, but thanks to everything they’ve achieved,
an important first step to keep building has been made. It is significant to
mention that they are full of life, alive and kicking, with a capacity to keep
piling successes, as well as being leaders that inspire a generation of new
leaders themselves. It is worthy of celebrating the generous words that
honorees and presenters exchanged. Buena vibra inundó el salón.

5. I
nclusion- The dominant paradigm of old advertising rested on the notions
of exclusion and exclusivity. It illustrated a vision of the Darwinian world
where the strongest defeated the weakest. This vision has exploded into
pieces and much of the global political turmoil can be explained by the
reaction of the forgotten, ‘los ninguneados’ that with their vote of punishment
have put at the head of their nations a true circus freak (Trump, López
Obrador, Bolsonaro, Boris Johnson, Orban, etc.). Inclusion and the value of
inclusiveness are emerging as a paradigm that can bring great benefits to
the brands that adopt it. The LEVI’S Circles campaign presented by Karin
Onsager-Birch of FCB West is an exquisite metaphor about the economic,
political, social and commercial value of inclusion. The circle envelops us,
celebrates us and reinforces our sense of belonging.
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgcgFP9nGqY -
L
exia- For the first time we attended this conference as a strategic step
of forming part of this community. We found a group that is vibrant,
active, and ambitious, which shares our cultural coordinates and are
committed to making the world a more inclusive, diverse and better place
for everyone beyond borders. We will be back, and you can count on us to
keep on building this community. It was a real pleasure saying hello and
meeting everyone personally, as well as seeing industry leaders in action,
such as (in alphabetical order): Francisco Cárdenas, Manuel Campos, Felix
Contreras, Meghann Elrhoul, Julia Estacolchic, Gil Gastelum, Edgardo de la
Garza, Gonzalo de la Fa, Alex López Negrete, Hector Fernández, Jonathan
García, Louis Maldonado, Luis Miguel Messianu, Isaac Mizrahi, Isaac Muñoz,
Karin Onsager-Birch, Victor Paredes, Eduardo Perez, Aldo Quevedo, Angela
Rodríguez, Cecilia Rivera, Carlos Rodriguez, Ciro Sarmiento, and Cecelia
Wogan-Silva, among many, many others.
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arrative curve-The digitalrevolution transformseverything and destroys
old paradigms, among others, the old classic narrative schemes.
Cecelia Wogan-Silva, Director of Creative Agency Development of
Google presented her model based on three A’s: Attention, Authenticity, and
Assistance. Behind these concepts is the key to not getting lost in the noise,
in the simulation or in the disconnection with people who want and need a
tangible help that will generate value. The digital versatility allows generating
messages that are specially segmented and directed to the emotions that
characterize a genre, a life cycle, a culture, etc. The trailers to promote the
first season of Westworld were very eloquent. The first one addressed to
women was conversational, self-referential, and seductive. The second was
violent and made up of men as refugees in their own silence. Attractive and
effective for the chosen target.
R
esearch- It was very clear that market research is being transformed
in the era of big data and artificial intelligence, posing new questions
and facing relevant challenges to be more agile and at the same time
not losing depth. AARP (Edna Kane-Williams and Yvette Peña), hand in hand
with d’expósito & Partners LLC (Daisy Expósito-Ulla and Louis Maldonado)
highlighted the importance of researching culture, motivations, and life-
cycles of their target audience. Without research they would not have
achieved campaigns as successful as theirs, in consonance with desires of
love and health. Nielsen on the other hand presented a holistic scheme that
is relevant to articulate the multiple and diverse touchpoints that connect
consumers: “Media is often planned in silos, leaving the potential for cross
channel synergies untapped.” The whole conference was about building
bridges and transcending barriers. For his part, Isaac Muñoz from Southwest
contributed the relevancy of a strategic vision that asks the correct and
revealing questions to the almost infinite databases that are generated in
e-commerce.

7. S
tars on the rise- The annual summit recognized outstanding marketing
professionals aged 35 and under. A new generation is knocking on
the door, with innovative and fresh ideas that are taking the world by
storm. It is time to follow their leadership and learn from them. Recognized
are Jonathan García (Associate Creative Director – ALMA), Isabel Rafferty
Zavala (CEO – Canela Media Inc.), Veronica Ruiz del Vizo Pedrique (CEO –
Mashup Agency).
W
isdom- Rishad Tobaccowala, CGO, Publicis Group, arrived at the
stage in a full sense of tranquility and serenity, feelings known
only to those who know what they want to say, without graphic
help and by hypnotizing the audience with a torrent of ideas and relevant
experiences, not only for the marketing and communication industry, but to
life itself. He showcased with clarity the irreversible trends of globalization
and his personal experience regarding the need to place the Indian culture
in which he was raised in parenthesis to experiment American culture first
hand as an indispensable condition to keep growing in his profession within
the United States. Only the deep immersion in the culture for which we will
create advertising will allow us to achieve the objectives of the brands to
which we offer our services. Every good advertiser is a good seller and I
already bought in presale his book ‘Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying
Human in the Age of Data’ that will be released on January 28, 2020.
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8. contact@lexia.com.mx@LEXIALatinos www.lexia.cc