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Finger on the pulse: Alex López Negrete

Brands in the United States that are looking to connect with the colossal Latino community have turned to Lopez Negrete Communications for the better part of four decades. Co-Founder and CEO Alex López Negrete believes such a connection is more lucrative than ever.

Over 40 years in business, Lopez Negrete Communications has grown to become one of the largest independent, Hispanic-owned advertising and marketing agencies in the United States. More than that, however, Co-Founder and CEO Alex López Negrete believes the business is one of the industry’s foundational agencies.

"We’re probably one of the longest standing at this point," he tells The CEO Magazine. "Certainly among the longest-standing independents."

Entirely self-funded, Lopez Negrete Communications’ success comes from a laser focus on its target consumer segment, the United States Latino community.

"We haven’t just concentrated on the Spanish language or the Spanish-dominant Latino, though," Negrete says. "The promise we make to our clients is to reach the entirety of that community, which generates a GDP of US$3.6 trillion."

Full potential

While much has changed in the four decades since Lopez Negrete established the business with his wife and partner, Cathy, he believes modern complexity allows Lopez Negrete Communications to reach its full potential.

"The environment is a lot more layered, nuanced and precise, but what the changes in technology have done is allowed us to be more precise in how we reach and touch the consumer," he explains.

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"What the changes in technology have done is allowed us to be more precise in how we reach and touch the consumer."

Those two words have significantly different meanings in this context, he points out.

"It’s one thing to reach and another entirely to connect. Our responsibility has always been to do both. They go hand in hand," he says, adding that the secret to connecting is to stay grounded.

"We’ve had a constant ability to change and evolve by being in touch and having our finger on the pulse. We’re very proud of that, and it’s going to continue, albeit at a faster pace."

Connecting communities

Lopez Negrete Communications has prepared for the future’s quick clip by filling the business with technologists and the absolute best media talent, as well as fully integrated platforms and communications plans designed to connect corporate America with Hispanic America. To date, clients wishing to make this connection have included McDonald’s, Hyundai, Bank of America and Unilever.

"Representing Fortune 50 brands is a good calling card and it provides a certain amount of trust for brands seeking a new marketing partner," Lopez Negrete says.

"But what potential clients really consider important is how well we know the Latino community. Are we a part of it? Are we connected? Can we open doors for the client? That’s why we’re hired, and we’ve never lost sight of that.

By way of example, the company’s long-standing partnership with Bank of America has been instrumental in supporting the community.

"Bank of America has been one of those engines that has empowered this community to be dynamic, to enjoy growth, to open businesses, to make investments and to bring that talent forward," he says.

"For us as an agency, through the communications that we have created, through the platforms that we've developed, we've played a role in not only Bank of America being the leader among Latinos in America, but also helping Bank of America do really good business.

"You have the perfect illustration of our mission and vision at work."

"It’s stunning to see how much we’re now part of the mainstream."

The company uses a term to describe its unique market proposition: ‘Maximum Return on Cultural Intelligence’. This is achieved by the Strategic Business Unit at the heart of the agency, consisting of distinct teams dedicated to analytics, consumer insights and planning and media insights.

"When you have that strategic consultancy feeding your entire enterprise, you have the context that will allow every discipline to stay on the same page," he says. "It’s made us a powerful resource for our clients, one that transcends advertising and marketing."

It also means that when Lopez Negrete Communications enters a boardroom, it’s to talk about where growth will come from and what one point of growth represents in terms of volume or sheer dollars.

"Most agencies aren’t prepared to have those conversations, but we are," López Negrete says. "Because yes, marketing to Latinos is the right thing to do and should be done, but it’s also a growth business imperative, and you must deal with it in that sense.

"Otherwise it could just be a fleeting exercise for some corporations."

Cultural shift

Something else that has changed since 1985 is the extent to which Latinos have become a part of the cultural landscape of the United States. While they’ve always had a presence, it’s never been bigger.

"Culture, arts, music, film, cuisine – we are in it," López Negrete says. "It’s stunning to see how much we’re now part of the mainstream.

"We’re like the architects of connection."

"It was long thought that as our growth as a community became organic, our language and culture would wane. It’s been quite the opposite.

"Language and culture have become more important to Millennials and Gen Z because it makes them unique. It’s also become their economic superpower."

The Lopez Negrete Communications approach to connecting brands with this blossoming community is to create ownable assets.

"Ownable by the community and ownable by the brands," he explains. "Once brands and communities embrace these concepts, they start living them and embodying them. And we’re responsible for creating them.

"In that way, we’re like the architects of connection."

 

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