The Cannes Lions festival saw the inaugural Latin US Day, convening leaders from the Hispanic advertising industry to explore the burgeoning opportunities in this rapidly growing market. Produced by PRODU and co-sponsored by Adsmovil and Malka, the event partnered with the Hispanic Marketing Council, Creyentes, Hispanic Star, Círculo Creativo USA, MEL, MXN, and the Sammy Alliance, and was hosted by Advertising Week.
The prestigious gathering took place at the scenic Cannes Le Rooftop within the Advertising Week Deck. This event aimed to celebrate and highlight the Hispanic community's influence in the advertising and marketing sectors.
"Latinos lack a sense of representation in the media, and they don't identify with brands," said Claudia Romo Edelman, CEO & Founder of the We Are All Human Foundation, who kicked off the event alongside Chef Alfredo Oropeza.
Participants unanimously agreed that food, culture, music, family, and language are the elements that unify and give identity to Latinos. Following the opening remarks, the event featured five additional panels.
In one panel, Cynthia Kleinbaum Milner, CMO of Moneylion; Warren Marenco Chase, VP of Liberty Mutual; Andrea Siqueira, ECD at Energy BBDO; Pete Lerma, founder of LERMA/; and Claudia Romo Edelman discussed the influence of Gen Z on the industry. Moderated by Bill Davaris, CEO of Malka, they highlighted how Gen Z has opened new avenues of inspiration. “The new generation is always in search of inspiration and content,” said Kleinbaum.
Another panel featured Michael Roca, Executive Director at Omnicom Media Group’s Cross-Cultural Center of Excellence; Francisco Cárdenas, Principal of Digital Strategy & Integration at LERMA/; and Doug Melville, CEO of Jodie AI. They emphasized the necessity of diverse teams within agencies and brands to effectively connect with Hispanic users.
The next conversation, moderated by Mara Fernández, Chief Transformation Officer of PRODU. included Tanya De Poli, Founder & COO of FOUNDERS; Jessica Ricaurte, CRO of Adsmovil; and Santi Lucero, Global Creative Director at Samy Alliance, discussed the importance of cultural authenticity in campaigns, stressing that adaptation is not enough.
“The only way to achieve a campaign with global reach and impact is with a multicultural team,” said De Poli, noting that his independent agency boasts 65 employees from 15 different countries.
Highlighting the importance of an authentic connection, Luis Miguel Messianu, Founder-President-Chief Creative Officer at MEL, and Marco Vega, Co-founder, President & CSO at Creyentes, introduced the Hispanic Marketing Council’s #StopLatinoCoating campaign. This initiative aims to educate North American CMOs about the Hispanic market, which they described as the fifth largest country in the world.
“If you’re not doing Latino marketing, you’re not doing marketing,” concluded Messianu.
Read the Latin US Day special report here