John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, Boston, MA 02117, the ninth largest U.S. insurer, has stepped up its efforts to reach Chinese American consumers. Hancock has opened agencies in Monterey Park, CA and New York City and is currently recruiting Chinese-speaking managers and sales representatives. The company also has created marketing materials in Chinese, translating the company name John Hancock as "everlasting health." Hancock is building awareness of its brand through advertising in Chinese newspapers, yellow pages, radio, and magazines, and through public relations and community involvement. The company believes its Worldwide Olympic Sponsorship will help create an image of strength and credibility among this name-brand conscious group. According to Hancock, the Chinese American market is attractive because of its size and expected growth. Also, the average level of education and household income make the market ideal for the company's insurance and investment products and services. Once its efforts in the Chinese community are underway, Hancock will expand the program to focus on other Asian American communities. Contact Celia Liu, Director of Asian Markets, 617-572-0892. (Reference Eth-014 CH 4/98) Email: cliu@jhancock.com.

Latin-Pak, a direct marketing firm linking businesses to the Hispanic market around the U.S., announces the addition of three holiday-themed door-hanger drops that will deliver 500,000 sample- and coupon-filled polybags to Hispanic homes in the Los Angeles area. Telemundo Spanish television is Latin-Pak's partner for this distribution, which will take place in May for Cinco de Mayo, in September in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month and in December for Xmas. In July, Latin-Pak will also distribute Zorro-licensed products to 3 million Hispanic homes throughout the U.S. Kraft, Nabisco and Campbell's are clients, using door hangers as well as Latin-Pak's two other vehicles, the FSI Co-op and the direct mail program. Latin-Pak is a proud annual sponsor of the National Hispanic Scholarship Foundation. Call Vincent Andaloro, Managing Partner, 310-457-5846. Visit www.Latinpak.com.

Kang & Lee Advertising, Inc. has received the first place award in the first annual O'Toole Awards Multicultural Advertising competition presented by The American Association of Advertising Agencies. Kang & Lee's winning first place entries for the category "Other Multicultural Advertising" included work for AT&T and Seagram Americas/Crown Royal. "Other Multicultural Advertising," includes Native American and Asian American groups. The new awards category honors creative excellence by member agencies for a body of work targeted to a specific multicultural or minority consumer audience over calendar year 1997. Kang & Lee Advertising Inc., established in 1985 under the name Amko Advertising by Eliot Kang, is the leader in linking corporate America to the Asian American marketplace for clients including AT&T, Oxford Health Plans, Bank of America, Steinway Piano, Sears, Roebuck & Co, Seagram Americas and others. Kang & Lee Advertising, Inc., has a staff of 100 Asian American advertising professionals and has offices in NY and LA. Contact Saul Gitlin, Director of Strategic Marketing Services, 212-889-4509 ext. 114. Email gitlin@kanglee.com.

KSCI-TV (Channel 18) is the pre-eminent Asian language television station in the U.S., providing news, sports, dramas and entertainment programs produced and aired in 15 languages including Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Tagalog. Founded to fill the void in Asian American news and entertainment within the existing broadcast industry, KSCI has been providing programming to Asian communities in So. California for 22 years. KSCI-TV's programming philosophy delivers Asian families with upscale demographics to national advertisers such as AT&T, Colgate-Palmolive, Toyota, McDonalds, Metropolitan Life, and Disneyland. Building on its strong relationship with viewers, KSCI-TV has won numerous awards, including the Community Service Award from the Korean American Coalition and the Image Award from the Organization of Chinese Americans. KSCI-TV was the first Asian-language station in Los Angeles to win an Emmy Award, presented for its multi-part series, "U.S. Citizenship: A Dream Come True. " Call Jon Yasuda, President and COO, 310-478-1818; Email jyasuda@msn.com.

For over a decade, Isabel Valdés, President and founder of Hispanic Market Connections developed leading-edge research techniques by integrating Hispanic culture insights and marketing strategies. In recognition of her trailblazing work with Fortune 500 companies and small businesses, her company was asked to join forces to create a new "in-culture marketing services company," CulturalAccessWorldwide, which is forging a reputation as the premier multicultural firm in America. The new company offers not only leading-edge qualitative and quantitative research services, but also consulting, business plan development, direct marketing, telemarketing, fulfillment and other marketing services in the U.S., Latin America and Spain. "We now are a total marketing services company," said Valdés. Valdés will leverage HMC's award-winning services and methodologies to other ethnic and generational "Culture Markets," including African American, Asian, teen, mature and pharmaceutical markets. With headquarters in Los Altos, California, Valdés is President of CulturalAccessWorldwide's Market Connections Group, with offices in LA, NY, Texas, Florida and Virgina. Call Mary Lou Demers, Exec. VP, 650-965-3859.

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR,) the largest constituency-based Hispanic organization in the U.S., presents two high profile events. The ALMA Awards (American Latino Media Arts Awards) celebrates the positive portrayal of Latinos in film and television. The ALMA Awards is the only Latino awards special to air nationally on primetime television, airing June 4 on ABC. Gold Sponsors include Frito-Lay, AT&T, Allstate Insurance Company, Kraft Foods, J.C. Penney Company, Chrysler Corporation, Johnson & Johnson and the Pepsi-Cola Company. The NCLR annual conference is considered by many to be "the single most important event in the Hispanic community." The 1998 Conference is scheduled for July 19-22 in Philadelphia and will bring together over 15,000 participants to discuss key issues in the community. The Latino Expo features over 200 exhibitors and is the hub of the convention. The Conference has over 80 corporate sponsors. NCLR is a nonprofit organization established in 1968 to reduce poverty and discrimination, and improve life opportunities for Hispanics. Call David Chavez, Director of Marketing, 816-471-4383; Email dchavez@NCLR.org.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) announces the newest addition to its Council & Segment Services, the Asian American Marketing Council. The DMA Asian American Marketing Council will educate marketers on the viability and profitability of promoting to Asian Americans in a culturally and ethnically sensitive manner. It also will provide a professional networking forum and be a resource for the dissemination of information pertaining to this high-growth market. Cindy Lin, assistant vice president, Database Management was selected chair of the new council. This council joins three others which address issues in the emerging economic markets: the African American, the International and the Directo-Hispanic Marketing Councils. For more information call Lisa Merizio, Director, Segment Services at 212-790-1567. E-mail lmerizio@the-dma.org.

Admerasia, Inc. is a full service advertising agency that specializes in creating marketing campaigns that target Asian Americans. Since 1993, Admerasia has practiced the art of marketing to Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian and Russian cultures. With a talented and experienced multi-cultural staff, they have successfully executed campaigns for Fortune 500 companies. Their services include advertising, direct marketing and collateral, media planning and buying, market research and event marketing. Admerasia believes that every creative idea must be born from the client's image and service, and then must be expressed in the visual and verbal language of another culture. Their thorough knowledge of Asian culture combined with exciting creative builds a bridge of communication between a corporation's marketing goals and the hearts and minds of Asian Americans. Founded by Zan and Joseph Liu, their clients include MCI Telecommunications Corp., Citibank N.A., American Express and Ajinomoto USA. Call Ms. Atsuko Watanabe, General Manager, 212-686-3333.

As a reader of this newsletter, you recognize the potential of today's US ethnic population. IIR's "Marketing to Multicultural Consumers" conference builds on that understanding, and illustrates specific strategies that have worked for successful marketers, including direct marketing, telemarketing, integrated communications, retail marketing, online marketing, and much more. A distinguished conference faculty includes representatives from Mutual of New York, Pacific Bell, BMG Direct, People en Español, Bell Atlantic, and Avon. This conference also features sessions on professional development and management issues, ie Selling Management on Multicultural Marketing, Partnering for Success, and Getting Publicity for Your Multicultural Marketing Activities. The conference is moderated by Multicultural Marketing Resources, Inc. All attendees receive a free six-month subscription to this newsletter. Conference fee $1,395. Call Amber Crowell, IIR, 703-875-3197.

The Ad Club Foundation's Business Resource Guide is a practical "how-to tool" that was developed following requests for practical approaches to address diversity. Designed to help maximize both business opportunities and workforces, The Guide helps companies develop a strategic diversity initiative. Developed by the Boston Ad Club Foundation in partnership with diversity experts and business leaders, the Guide's seven sections cover "How to Get Started" through training information, best practices, case studies and resource lists. The Ad Club also presents the 1998 Multicultural Marketing Day, "Gaining the Competitive Advantage through Multicultural Marketing and Advertising" on May 20, 1998 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel from 7:45am -12:00 noon. Attendees will hear first-hand accounts from three of the largest advocates of multicultural marketing - The Gillette Company, McDonalds and AT&T. To purchase The Business Resource Guide (@$500,) or to register for the conference, call 617-262-1100.

interTREND, a full service, integrated marketing communications firm, helps companies target the Asian American market with a full complement of services, including advertising, public relations, events and community relations. Fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Cantonese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean and Tagalog, much of its staff has had experience in large, mainstream advertising agencies. Most recently, Western Union awarded its account to interTREND as its Asian Agency of Record, joining long-term clients Disneyland, Northwest Airlines, GTE, Nestle, JC Penney, the Gas Co. and Sumitomo Bank on the agency roster. Results that have maximized the marketing efforts of the diverse clientele and the level of professionalism demonstrated through its work position interTREND as one of the most esteemed Asian agencies in the U.S. Based in Los Angeles, interTREND's presence is not just unique to the west coast but spans across the U.S. President Julia Huang has 15 years of marketing and corporate strategic planning experience with companies on both sides of the Pacific. Call Julia Huang, President, 310-324-6313; Email jych@intertrend.com

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ,) the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ,) the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and The Native American Journalist Association (NAJA) will attract a combined total of over 5000 journalists to their annual conventions this summer. "Two Worlds, Two Views, One Truth," the NAJA conference will be held in Tempe, Arizona from June 16-20. Of special note: a seminar, "Covering Native America from A to Z." Call 612-874-8833 or visit www.naja.com. "Uniting the Americas," NAHJ's 16th annual convention, will be held June 24-27 in Miami. Call 202-662-7145 or visit www.nahj.org. Washington, DC is the site for the NABJ 23rd annual convention, "Media & Power: Shaping Our Images," set for July 29-August 2. Call 301-405-8500 or visit www.nabj.org to print out a registration application. For more info on the AAJA conference, "Diversity Works," to be held August 5-8 in Chicago, call 415-346-2051. In 1999, a Unity convention will bring together members of all four associations at one convention in Seattle in July.

The 1998 Asian Pacific American Media Guide (APAMG), available in disk and print versions, provides detailed information on the ethnicity, language(s), circulation size, service area, key contacts, target audiences, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses for nearly 500 Asian media sources throughout the United States including print media (directories, magazines, and newspapers), broadcast media (radio, cable, and television) and wire services. The new edition also includes a profile section which highlights special features and programs and gives a brief background of the organization. The APAMG is the first of its kind to be offered in an electronic format (Macintosh or PC,) offering versatility and flexibility by allowing the user to search, sort, and customize the database. It also offers different templates and printing options for the creation of labels, envelopes, business letters, and other formats. Annual upgrades are offered at discounted rates, providing users with the most up-to-date information without paying for an entire new guide. Contact Dennis Chen, Media Services Manager, 213-622-6513 ext 240; Email dchen@iwcg.com.