Founded in 1977, The Chisholm-Mingo Group, Inc. is a full-service agency offering planning and execution of marketing and communications, creative, media, direct marketing, research, website production and public relations/promotion/events to its clients in order to reach African American, Hispanic and urban markets. A talented, diverse team of professionals with a common purpose of building business through building clients' businesses, they aim to leverage their ethnic roots and expertise by creating a pre-emptive emotional bond between the consumer and clients' products and services. The Chisholm-Mingo Group, with billings in excess of $55 million, is 100 percent minority owned. Clients include Denny' s Restaurants, General Motors Corp, Seagram Americas and The U.S. Army. Call Samuel J. Chisholm, Chairman & CEO, 212-697-4515.

African American Women on Tour (AAWOT) is the only nationwide empowerment conference series targeted to upscale Black women. AAWOT provides a forum for uplifting and enhancing the quality of life for African American women, their families, and communities through economic, intellectual, and spiritual development, and will tour to Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, attracting over 5,000 women in 1998. This tobacco- and alcohol-free conference offers over 150 dynamic workshops and keynote presentations by such internationally-recognized individuals as the legendary Gladys Knight and best-selling author Lyanla Vanzant. AAWOT offers corporate sponsors exposure in Essence, Emerge, Black Enterprise, and Heart & Soul magazines; identification on over one million collateral pieces, including registration and promotional materials; on-site exhibition, merchandising and sampling opportunities; and comprehensive national media and promotional campaigns. Call Maria Dowd, Executive Producer, 619-571-4548.

CulturalAccess is the outsourced marketing service company that provides clients with business development programs to reach high-potential "Culture Markets" (domestically and internationally) that have unique needs and expectations. This firm has the people, resources, technology and cultural understanding that are necessary to access and activate "Culture Markets" for incremental growth - sales, share and profit growth - combined with customer acquisition, retention and value growth. They help identify business-building opportunities that have resulted due to major changes in marketplace forces such as the cultural segmentation of the "mass" market, the strategic transformation of customer service and the emergence of electronic commerce. CulturalAccess works with clients to plan and execute cost effective and highly measurable marketing programs that bridge highly responsive "Culture Markets" and maximize the value of current customer relationships. Clients include Fortune 500 companies in financial services, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, media companies and utilities. Call Beth Broderson, Senior VP, Strategic Planning, 800-437-5200.

Any effective marketing and outreach campaign requires strong personal and business relationships between a firm and its community. This is especially important when approaching the Asian and Asian Pacific American communities, where personal bonds and trust play a significant role in sound business relationships. Since 1990, Imada Wong Communications Group has thrived as a full-service, fully integrated marketing communications firm, connecting such clients as AT&T, Chevron Corporation, Nike, Northwest Airlines, SmithKline Beecham, ARCO Products Company, and Merrill Lynch to these communities. In addition to expertise in advertising, public relations, community relations, event management and trans-cultural training, the firm's special services include the Asian Integrated Media Service (AIMS), that monitors more than 100 news publications in different languages in the U.S. and liaisons for public outreach campaigns. Imada Wong Communications has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and New York City. Call Bill Imada, President, 213-622-6513.

In its first year of operation, urban consumer marketplace experts Graham Gregory Bozell (GGB) has positioned itself as both a marketing firm and as an agent of social and economic change. In 1997, GGB helped mount the Presidents' Summit for America's Future; launched the Diahann Carroll Collection, the first-ever 'signature' clothing line by an African American woman; and won major clients such as JCPenney, Taco Bell, Bausch & Lomb and the Securities Industry Association. GGB recently released a landmark study, the Multicultural American Dream Index (MCAD.) The study shows that the accelerating growth rate at which African, Hispanic and Asian Americans have been improving their quality of life over the past 10 years - obtaining mortgages, owning small businesses, earning college degrees - is outpacing that of non-ethnic Americans by over 300 percent. And if current trends continue, ethnic Americans' participation in these "American Dream" categories will reach parity with the non-ethnic population. Call Al Schreiber, Executive VP and General Manager 212-727-5119.

With 7.8 million subscribers throughout the U.S., International Channel (IC) is the premier source for programming from around the world, providing outstanding news, sports and entertainment in over 20 Asian, European and Middle Eastern languages. Programming blocks include news from world capitals, exciting drama and comedic films every week from Hong Kong, France and India, international sports such as rugby, soccer and martial arts and popular Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Hindi dramas. IC serves new Americans as well as educators, students, international business people and world travelers. Advertisers include AT&T, American Airlines, Charles Schwab, Chase Manhattan Bank, Levitz Furniture, Men's Wearhouse, New York Life, Sony Pictures, the U.S. Postal Service, Western Union. Call Maryline Lewett, Director Ad Sales 310-893-2346.

Founded in 1996 by Russell Simmons and Anne Simmons (unrelated), Rush Media is a full service, marketing driven advertising agency experienced in strategy, "Fortune 500" branding and the business process as it pertains to the American youth culture market. Rush Media's services include account, creative, media, marketing and promotion. The company's primary objective is to engage consumers at every point of contact. Rush Media, a division of the nation's second largest Black entertainment company, is the only advertising company in the world that draws upon in-house entertainment resources. As the market leader, Rush Media understands how to translate the lifestyles and trends originating from urban America into sales of music, film, clothing, food and beverage by all youth. The "Rush Street Team" identifies trends originating from this marketplace and helps sell name brand consumer products catering to those trends in the top 25 U.S. markets. Rush Media produced the number one testing commercial among all youth for the Coca-Cola Company in 1996 by aligning the content of the spot with the music of Marvin Gaye and Method Man. Contact Anne Simmons, President 212-334-7290.

Antenna Satellite provides Ethnic/International Networks "turnkey" advertising sales, events marketing, PR and customer service support in several languages as well as distribution into the North and South American markets. Their expertise in recognizing the needs and the sensitivity in servicing the ethnic markets is an advantage for clients/agencies targeting multiple "niche" markets. Antenna Satellite develops and executes strategically focused marketing plans while building brand awareness, brand recognition and promoting brand loyalty within the Ethnic market. With Antenna Satellite, one-stop shopping delivers the Asian, Middle Eastern, European and Hispanic markets. Call Jim Grau, General Manager, 212-688-5475.

Michael Nix Communications (MNC), a full-service visual communications design studio that specializes in print advertising, website design, package design, and promotional/training videos, has just celebrated its second anniversary. MNC's array of specialties includes the creation and production of marketing campaigns for beauty and fashion, transportation, non-profit organizations, education, health care, audio books, independent films and publishing industries. MNC has recently completed designing a major 67-package hair care line for Carson Products, Inc., makers of Dark & Lovely, and was recently contracted to design a corporate identity program for The Studio Museum in Harlem. Call Michael Nix, President, 212-759-3893, or visit their website at www.MNCOM.com or E-mail: MNCDCOM@aol.com.

With a ratio of seven men for every woman online, the Internet is fast replacing bars, bookstores and malls as the venue of choice for meeting men. Now, "Men Are From Cyberspace: The Single Woman's Guide to Flirting, Dating and Finding Love Online," a hip, new guide for female cyberdaters, provides insightful, funny, woman-tested advice for those who want to go from E-mail to real male. Authors Lisa Skriloff (MMN editor) and Jodie Gould offer reviews of the hottest romance Websites, the best chat rooms and newsgroups for meeting men, a glossary of cyberterms and emoticons, tips for safe cyberdating and practical advice for writing and answering online personals that will attract hundreds of eligible men. Visit their website at www.MenRfromCyberspace.com. Call Chris Ahearn, publicist, St. Martin's Press 212-674-5151 ext 506.

Founded in 1993, Mosaica is a full-service agency created to provide unparalleled expertise in targeting the cultural mosaic of the U.S. As a division of Young & Rubicam, and with a heritage rooted in direct marketing, they have developed results-oriented campaigns for a variety of Fortune 500 companies. Their current clients include AT&T, The U.S. Postal Service, Colgate-Palmolive, MetLife, Citibank and Census 2000. Mosaica's staff of 50 bilingual and bicultural marketing professionals reflects the diverse ethnic communities of America. As part of Young & Rubicam's network of agencies, Mosaica has access to an international pool of resources unrivaled among agencies within the multicultural marketing arena. The net result is the agency's ability to "think globally while acting locally". Call Denise Leo, Senior VP, Group Director, 212-614-4432.

It takes more than great advertising and special events to effectively market to ethnic consumers. It takes culturally relevant consumer programs extended to the retail outlets where the customer shops. This is what makes Geo-Segment Marketing, a full-scope marketing services agency, excel in helping clients target the minority market - via strategic planning, consumer and retail promotions, and in-field execution. Their tightly-focused, high-impact promotional programs, ranging from in-store sampling and couponing to sweepstakes and special events, are designed to reach specific age and interest groups within the ethnic community. Led by an all-female marketing team, GSM is particularly able to provide clients with key insights into this segment given that over 50% of the African American population are women, the primary purchasers or influencers of a great many products. In 1997, GSM developed a comprehensive marketing program around client General Mills' sponsorship of the UniverSOUL Circus, the only African American circus, and the Essence Music Festival. Call Deborah Gray Young, Director of Marketing Services, 708-388-5799.

Specializing in the Asian market segment in communication and relationship-building between companies and customers with different cultural backgrounds, IDEEA is a powerful link between American companies and the minority markets. Their bilingual staff, comprised of Asian-born, American-educated advertising and marketing specialists, understands the intricacies and complexities of major Asian languages, customs and traditions and can address the needs of Asian Americans incorporating the essence of Western fundamentals. Services include: strategic planning, public relations, advertising campaign development, ethnic media, promotions, multilingual collateral and Internet advertising in Asian languages. Call Diane L.C. Chen, VP/Marketing, 626-793-3426.

With each issue, Urban Call reaches over 100,000 owners and managers of small and large urban retail outlets - independents and chain store operations. This free, qualified-subscription publication provides information on new products, consumer demographics, marketing, and trends among urban consumers-the fastest growing consumer group in America. Its publisher, Segmented Marketing Services Inc., (SMSi) specializes in marketing to niche groups, including women, teens, and urban and ethnic consumers (African Americans, Hispanics and Asians), and distributes millions of free product samples through its network of 2000 nightclubs, 9000 barber shops, 30,000 beauty salons, and 7000 churches in the top 20 U.S. markets. Call Lafayette Jones, Publisher/CEO, 910-759-7477 or e-mail urbancall@aol.com.