The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Bring In 'Da Noise, Bring In 'Da Funk, Titanic, Beauty and the Beast: These top Broadway shows are now accessible for non-English speaking audiences thanks to ShowTrans, an infrared sound system that transmits a scene-by-scene synopsis in a listener's choice of Japanese, German, Spanish, Portuguese or French. (Languages vary by show.) For a $10 fee, theater goers rent a hearing device for use during the performance of these shows allowing the theater patron to follow the action of the show. Enthusiastically received by the public and media alike, ShowTrans has expanded to theaters in Los Angeles and San Francisco and will now concentrate on community outreach into ethnic neighborhoods in these markets by distributing ShowTrans discount coupons redeemable for savings on theater tickets and meals at participating restaurants. Co-marketing opportunities are available for companies looking to reach non-traditional audiences, specifically the Hispanic, Japanese, Chinese and Brazilian communities. Call ShowTrans president Susan Lee, 212-575-3117.

Erlich Transcultural Consultants (ETC), a full-service marketing and consumer research firm specializing in multiethnic and multilingual research and consulting, provides the full spectrum of research studies. This research includes an unusually broad range of in-language, culturally-sensitive qualitative and quantitative research studies. ETC has implemented strategic research projects involving the Hispanic, Asian (Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, and Vietnamese), African American and U.S. General Market populations. ETC's insights have resulted in record-breaking sales and award-winning advertising campaigns. 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 also provides custom-tailored cultural competency training. Contact Andrew Erlich, Ph.D. or Joan Lawton, 818-226-1333. Email etcethnic@aol.com or visit www.etctranscultural.com.

Partners for Women's Growth Inc., a coaching company for women executives, has developed a unique program for Cornell University entitled Leadership Training for Women, which will be held on November 2-4 in New York City. This offering helps executive women gain insight into their own leadership abilities, understand leadership in the context of their organization's culture and explore the choices, priorities and tradeoffs that they need to make as working women. Vivian Eyre, President, contends that one of the barriers to women's advancement is their inner focus on being competent to the exclusion of being organizationally savvy. Professional women's need to "get it right " can be a blind spot to positioning themselves for advancement in the long run. Eyre's view is supported by the recent study, "Gender Differences in Organizational Leadership " conducted by the Management Research Group. Contact Vivian Eyre, President, 212-274-0914. E-mail: partners@womensgrowth.com.

While best known for All Things Considered, National Public Radio's first program which celebrated its 25th birthday in 1996, NPR has a diverse line up of 30-plus news, information and cultural programs, attracting over 20 million listeners. Diversity at NPR is emphasized not only in its coverage topics but in its talent, both on-air and behind the scenes. Talk of The Nation, NPR's two-hour national call-in show, presents intelligent talk on issues of the day and the issues behind the headlines with host Roy Suarez. Launched in 1991, Roy Suarez has been the voice of Talk of the Nation since 1993. It's Suarez's eye to the unusual and the humorous, as well as the dramatic news events of the day, that attracts nearly 2 million listeners. Latino USA presents public radio audiences with the unique perspectives of US Latinos. In keeping with its diversity goals, NPR is reaching out to minority candidates to fill openings currently available in the newsroom, production and cultural programming departments. (See list enclosed with this newsletter.) Contact Donald Washington, Human Resources Associate/Staffing, 202-414-2915. Email dwashington@NPR.org. View complete job postings at www.npr.org.

Hispanic & Asian Marketing Communication Research, Inc. investigated the recent surge in computer purchases by Hispanics. According to studies, about 30% of Hispanic households now own computers compared with only 13% in 1994. In order to find what is motivating Hispanic consumers to buy computers, H&AMCR conducted focus groups with Hispanics who have purchased their first computer in the past two years. It seems the Hispanic market has reached the "take-off " point in the diffusion curve. Additional findings include helpful insights for companies interested in selling to this lucrative market, such as respondent's imagery of computer companies and products, how they use computers and the Internet, their motivations and decision making processes. H&AMCR is a full service market research firm, providing custom qualitative and quantitative research in diverse Hispanic and Asian markets in the US, and throughout Latin America and Asia. Those interested in details about this study should contact Dr. Felipe Korzenny or James Loduca at Hispanic & Asian Marketing Communication Research, Inc., 650-595-5028.

DFA Advertising truly understands how to target multicultural consumers and businesses throughout the United States. DFA produces innovative multicultural direct response, sales promotion and radio campaigns for blue-chip clients, including Citibank, Bell Atlantic, NYCE, Coca-Cola, The Art Institute of Chicago and The Chicago Tribune. Gustavo Asensi, our Chief Creative Officer, was named "One of the most important creative directors of the decade " by "Anuncios, " Spain's "Advertising Age. " He has won 16 national and international awards and created Hispanic television advertising for Domino's Pizza, Bailey's, Procter & Gamble - Pantene Pro-V and Oil of Olay, Dannon, La Equítativa, La Tila and Banco Urquijo. Clients who target the Hispanic market know they can turn to Gustavo and DFA Advertising for a full spectrum of strategic solutions and services. We have earned a strong reputation as a highly creative, hands-on, cost-effective and results-driven firm by exceeding clients' expectations. Call Gustavo Asensi, 212-252-1501. Email: asensi@dfaadv.com.

The spending power of ethnic groups is on the riseÑand companies are responding with advertising messages that address and recognize the growing force of the U.S. Hispanic, African-American, and Asian-American markets. On Nov 16, Advertising Age will publish a special report on the growing influence of America's ethnic consumer, providing a comprehensive update on this key multicultural market. Applying the same careful research that is the hallmark of Ad Age's special reports, Multicultural Marketing in America will examine how these marketers advertise along cultural lines. Multicultural Marketing News, the newsletter dedicated to following these trends, will be featured in an advertorial page in the Ad Age special issue, with profiles of some of the top experts in multicultural marketing in America. The 344,000 advertising decision-makers who receive Ad Age will be able to order more information about the companies highlighted on this page. Discounts available to Multicultural Marketing News readers on advertising placed in Ad Age. Request your discount order form by calling Lisa Skriloff, MMN, 212-242-3351.

Today's executives recognize the emerging opportunities in the multicultural market segments and that they must acquire and incorporate new skills and techniques for successfully approaching these new markets. For this reason, The Institute for International Research has developed a conference to perfect marketing strategies by understanding the cultural patterns and nuances of the Asian-American, African-American and Hispanic markets. By attending you will leverage the knowledge of cultural patterns to impact diverse segment marketing, and identify the strategies that are cultural "hot buttons " to effectively reach your target. Some of the companies you'll hear from are: Allstate Insurance Co., Miller Brewing Co., Pacific Bell, American Express Financial Advisors, Inc., The Principal Financial Group, Pepsi-Cola Co., Denny's, and more. To register call 888-670-8200 or visit www.iir-ny.com.

Strategy Research Corporation's (SRC)1998 U.S. Hispanic Market Report is a groundbreaking study which, for the first time, provides comparative market data on Hispanics living in the U.S. using socioeconomic strata identifiers for five economic levels ranging from upper class to below poverty level. This allows marketers to compare Hispanic populations in specific Latin American countries to Hispanic groups in the United States. This eighth edition of the study includes new sections covering shopping habits and sports marketing as well as population and demography, language usage and market characteristics of the Top 50 Hispanic markets. With over 27 years of marketing research experience, Miami-based SRC has provided survey research and focus groups on the Hispanic market throughout the Western hemisphere. Contact Raul L-pez, Sr VP, 305-649-5400.

Multi-Ethnic Talent is a 50% Hispanic and 100% woman-owned company dedicated to guiding and promoting the careers of diverse ethnic actors, in other words--multi-cultural representation. Owners, Annette E. Alvarez and Joan C. Silverman, Esq. met in law school in 1987. The company was started in 1994 with one client: an East Indian actor, still with them. Between them, they brought years of education, a love of films, and their respective former careers to the table, advertising and law (Joan) and television, film publicity and acting (Annette.) Their previous life experience has helped them negotiate the difficult waters of building a small, home-based business from the ground up. They have to be multi-faceted themselves: press agent, bookkeeper, computer repairperson, network administrator. When they started the business, they were ahead of the curve in recognizing the importance of diverse ethnicities in today's popular culture. Today, the media is catching up by seeing the power of the Hispanic, the Asian, the African-American markets. Will the next be East Indian, Croatian, French? Multi-Ethnic Talent will be there. Call Annette or Joan, 212-832-2668.

Companies wanting to reach emerging markets are now looking towards their own internal databases. Ethnic Technologies, LLC, a pioneer in database development, offers E-Tech, a file appending system which enables companies to mine and then utilize information about their customers, leading to increased sales. E-Tech uses a series of computer programs and extensive tables of both first and last names to perform a detailed analysis of each name on either a residential or business database. A company can then target offers by ethnicity, religion and language preference. E-Tech classifies over 170 ethnic groups with a better than 90% accuracy rate. How many of your customers are Hispanics? How many communicate in Polish? Does your customer named Maung Khaing speak Burmese or Chinese? E-Tech answers these questions, enabling marketers to both tailor sales messages for maximum effectiveness and respond to the growing recognition that ethnically sensitive promotions impact the bottom line. Call Ginger Nelson or TJ Lindsay, 201-440-8923.

The Asian American Marketing Midwest Conference, to be held October 27, at the Rivercentre convention center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, is designed to inform and assist the business community to reach one of the fastest growing ethnic markets in the United States. The conference is produced by Twin Cities based Aguilar Productions in cooperation with the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce with major sponsorship from the Star Tribune. The full day conference will feature experts from the world of Asian American advertising, marketing and research who will provide powerful information to help reach this growing segment of the U.S. Consumer market, a group that will spend $150 Billion in 1998. Speakers include: Saul Gitlin, Director of Strategic Marketing Services, Kang & Lee Advertising; Elcid Choi, Director of Marketing, Segment Data Management; Gregg Sullivan, Vice President & COO, Asian Media Sales and Wanla Cheng, Principal, Asia Link Consulting Group. Aguilar Productions custom-designs and produces marketing seminars, conferences, workshops and special events focusing on the U.S. Ethnic Markets. Registration for the conference is $350. Call Rick Aguilar, President, 651-665-0633.