The Bravo Group is a fully integrated Hispanic marketing and communications agency. The group, which serves a wide range of clients in the United States, was established in 1980 and is ranked #1 among Hispanic agencies in the country. Under the leadership of Daisy Expósito, President and Chief Creative Officer, the company has grown from capitalized billings of less than $5 million in 1985 to more than $200 million in 2000. Bravo's multidisciplined services include advertising, direct marketing, public relations, research, promotions and event marketing. The Bravo Group has expanded to include divisions specializing in e-marketing, Bravo 2.1; the Latino youth market, Bravo Lateeno; and Hispanic health care and well being, BravoMed. Clients include AT&T, Kraft Foods, Glaxo-Wellcome, Philip Morris, Columbia House, Banco Popular, Orchard Supply Hardware, Whitehall-Robins, the US Postal Service, Blockbuster, Sears and BestFoods. Call Daisy Expósito, President & Chief Creative Officer, 212-614-6000.

The American Advertising Federation (AAF) has been working for several years to empower the industry with a more diverse work force and information about emerging multicultural markets in the US. Recent initiatives of the AAF and its non-profit educational Foundation help facilitate the exchange of information and ideas between national advertisers, ad agencies and minority firms. Recent efforts include the Executive Roundtable on Multicultural Advertising and Diversity and the ad hoc Business Practices Review Committee (BPRC) to address long-standing complaints that some corporations' business practices restrict opportunities for companies that target multicultural consumers. Now in its 4th year, the Most Promising Minority Student (MPMS) program has presented the ad industry with over 250 top candidates. The MPMS program's two-day agenda, which is co-sponsored by companies like NBC, General Motors, Advertising Age and Procter & Gamble includes the annual Building Bridges for our Future national awards luncheon. Call Heide Gardner, Vice President, National Multicultural Initiatives, 202-898-0089.

Women- and minority-owned U.S. small businesses will spend over $48.2 million this year on telephone products, enhanced services, and Internet access says a new report by The Insight Research Corporation, a telecommunications market research firm. By 2005, women-owned businesses will nearly double their telecom expenditures, representing one of the fastest growing groups of telecommunication customers. According to "Small Business Telecom: Opportunities in the Women- and Minority-Owned Small Business Marketplace," small companies mean big business for telecom and technology suppliers. To successfully tap this swelling customer base, carriers and vendors need to understand the unique culture of women- and minority-owned small businesses. For instance, women business owners differ from their male counterparts in how they manage, make decisions, select vendors, and utilize credit. The 162-page report, available for $4,195, forecasts small business telecom expenditures through 2005 and projects the number of small business wireless phones, PCs, modems, and Internet connections. See http://www.insight-corp.com/wmsmall.html. Insight will release two other telecommunications studies this year regarding Internet and telephone usage among ethnic groups. Contact Tara D. Lazar, Director of Marketing and PR, 973-605-1400, tara@insight-corp.com.

Strategy Research Corporation is a full service marketing research company for Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic Market. Based in Miami Florida, SRC has been conducting marketing research for multinational corporations on a multi-market and pan-regional scale for over a quarter of a century. During this period SRC has collected and disseminated one of the largest knowledge bases on Latin America, the Caribbean and the U.S. Hispanic Markets. As a Market Facts Company, Strategy Research continues to grow, providing qualitative and quantitative solutions for ethnic marketers through custom, targeted and methodological approaches through our 500,000 household U.S panel by CATI or TeleNación our U.S.Hispanic Omnibus. Strategy Research Corporation is author of the U.S. Hispanic Market Study and the Latin American Market Planning Report. The 2001 Latin American Market Planning Report is being launched at a one day seminar on November 9th, 2000 at the Miami Airport Hilton. Call Johanna Strouss, Director of Marketing, 305-649-5400.

Dr. Andrew Erlich, President, Erlich Transcultural Consultants (ETC), has been selected to speak at the worldwide conference, "Ethnic Marketing: Where the Boundaries are not the Borders," presented by the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) on July 2-4, 2000 in Paris, France. The conference will address how the convergence of demography, technology and globalization is transforming marketing and forcing marketers to increasingly address ethnic minorities and multicultural communities when defining their strategies. Dr. Erlich's half day seminar will be based on his twenty years of work as a cross-cultural psychologist, ethnic marketing researcher and trainer. Erlich Transcultural Consultants' experience spans a wide range of consumer and business-to-business categories in the U.S. and abroad, including project assignments for a number of Fortune 500 companies and leading government institutions. ETC, based in Woodland Hills, CA, also provides custom-tailored cultural competency training. Call Dr. Andrew Erlich, President, Erlich Transcultural Consultants, 818-226-1333.

Multicultural Marketing Resources, Inc. (MMR) announces the launch of its new on-line newsletter, Multicultural E-Letter. Like MMR's Multicultural Marketing News, the on-line newsletter will feature short profiles of companies and organizations, news, announcements of conferences, press releases and articles on trends in multicultural marketing. The Multicultural E-Letter will be sent by e-mail on alternating months with additional frequent updates. This new addition will serve to better keep marketing executives abreast of the latest news and opportunities in marketing to Hispanics, Asian Americans, African Americans, women and other cultural and lifestyle markets. Companies may submit a press release to be distributed (fee applies). To subscribe, send an e-mail to subscribe@multicultural.com with the words "Subscribe" in the subject line. Call 212-242-3351.

The Asian American Federation selected Eliot Kang, President/CEO, Kang & Lee Advertising, as one of its honorees at its Gala Benefit held on May 17th, which celebrated the Federation's 10 years of working with the Asian American Community of New York. The special evening, celebrating The Spirit of Asian America: Leadership, Creativity, Innovation, paid tribute to distinguished business leaders and entrepreneurs as a highlight of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May) festivities. Kang & Lee Advertising has been frequently recognized with awards and honors. In 1999, Eliot Kang was selected as one of the 100 most influential Asian Americans in the past 10 years, the "A.100," by A. Magazine: Inside Asia America, the premier English-language magazine targeting Asian American professionals. Kang & Lee Advertising is the nation's largest full-service marketing communications company linking corporate America to the Asian-American and diversified marketplace. Contact, Saul Gitlin, VP, Strategic Svcs/New Business Development, 212-889-4509 ext 114.

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, HTVN is a rapidly growing Hispanic television media network serving the needs of the Hispanic population with over 40 affiliates and 17 owned television stations. It broadcasts to over 20 million US homes through cable and broadcast feeds, and through its affiliate Internet portal Cubico.com. Call Luis Estrada, VP, Creative Services, 817-222-1234 x 228.

The Association of Asian American Advertising Agencies (A5) held its Two-Day Annual Summer Conference in Los Angeles, June 2 - 3. Reaching Asian Americans online was the theme of day one. Executives from Hispanic and general market agencies shared their expertise in brand building, media planning, etc. Keynote speaker Hector Orci, La Agencia De Orci & Asociados and Founding President of The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, spoke about "Harnessing the Power of Association." Sponsors of the conference were The Korea Times, Sina.com, KSCI-TV, Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Corp., and Kalorama Information, LLC. The Association of Asian American Advertising Agencies (A5), established in February 1999, is made up of Asian American agency principals and representatives from the East & West coasts and strategic partners. Call 212-242-3351.

KSCI-TV, founded in 1976, is the preeminent Asian language TV station in the US, providing news, sports, dramas and entertainment in 14 languages including Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Tagalog. The station delivers upscale Asian families for advertisers such as AT&T, Colgate-Palmolive, Toyota, McDonald's, Metropolitan Life and Disneyland. The station's numerous community awards, including the Organization of Chinese Americans' Image Award and the Korean American Coalition's Community Service Award, shows its commitment to viewers. KSCI-TV was the first Asian-language station in LA to win an Emmy for its series, "U.S. Citizenship: A Dream Come True." Call Jon Yasuda, President & CEO, 310-478-1818.