The 2012 Latino Vote – Turning Numbers Into Clout

Latinos will turnout in record numbers in the next Presidential election, with at least 12.2 million casting ballots, according to projections released today by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund. This analysis also reveals that Latinos will account for a significant share of the electorate in several states.

According to NALEO Executive Director Arturo Vargas, “Latinos continue to reshape the nation’s political map, and the Latino electorate will play a decisive role in Election 2012.” The NALEO Educational Fund projects that the Latino vote will increase 26% from 2008, and Latinos will account for at least 8.7% of the country’s voters.

California, Florida and Illinois are likely to see the greatest percentage increase in turnout since 2008. In three states – California, New Mexico, and Texas – at least one in five voters will be Latino, with the Latino share of the electorate in New Mexico reaching 35%.

Not yet registered to vote? It’s super easy! Just Click HERE.

Photo Source

As we all know, no business can function without a team of dedicated people at its core. We all rely on each other to help Lara Media be the very best that it can be. And, as with all good advertising agencies, the team working behind the scenes at LMS are perfectly happy to remain invisible, letting the quality of their work speak for itself. But we felt it would be unfair not to recognize all of the incredible people who work here and their amazing efforts. Everyone has a story to tell and our staff has some great stories!

Today we are pleased to introduce a brand new video series called “LMS Staff Profiles.” Each week we will introduce you to a member of the LMS team and share with you their incredible stories.  First up is our awesome visual effects artist and event logistics coordinator. Check out his story below!

  “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”  -John F. Kennedy

The Hispanic population, 50.5 million in 2010, will rise to 128 million in 2050, tripling in size. Latinos will be 29% of the population, compared with 16% in 2010. Latinos will account for 60% of the nation’s population growth from 2010 to 2050.  (US Census). Overall, the Hispanic population of the United States grew from 35.3 million in 2000 to 50.5 million in 2010, accounting for more than half of the nation’s overall population growth during that decade. (Passel, Cohn and Lopez, 2011)

There’s no denying the impact that the Latino consumer continues to have on the economy of the northwest. The growth is astounding, and the growth is growing, meaning Hispanics in the US are growing at an exponential rate. New births are far surpassing new immigrant arrivals, with there being almost two births per every new immigrant when it comes to the growth of Mexican Americans (Pew Hispanic Center).

As our communities continue to grow and diversify, advertising and marketing professionals must strive to understand this changing landscape. In the approaching fight for Latino market share and continued brand loyalty, the winners will be the companies that have actionable knowledge about the consumer behaviors of Latinos and what is most important to them.

New markets require new ways of collecting and analyzing information. What has worked well for the general market will not necessarily capture information well from Latinos. Language itself is an extremely significant barrier, as well as culture and different channels of communication. Considerations such as recruiting, sampling and research planning must be centered around the community model that is the cornerstone of Latino culture.

Lara Media combines a natural understanding of Latino culture and the Spanish language (as we are Latino) with market research expertise and flexibility of approach. We offer customized solutions to get at the heart of what is most important to both your customers and potential customers and we use the latest industry proven technologies to analyze results. While the barriers to entry and challenges are great, so are the opportunities that come hand in hand with understanding this unique population.

A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate. Tribes need leadership. Sometimes one person leads, sometimes more. People want connection and growth and something new. They want change. You can’t have a tribe without a leader – and you can’t be a leader without a tribe.

- Seth Godin, Tribes

PATRICIA VERDUZCO
Hello! I am Patti Verduzco, the new Office Manager and Media Coordinator for Lara Media Services. I was born and raised in Oregon. My family is originally from Mexico. I have years of experience in office management. My heart beats to the sound of music and family is everything to me. I play accordion, dance, and sing in a popular family band, Grupo Antifaz. I’ve been performing all over the Pacific Northwest for since I was twelve years old. I am so excited for being part of such a great team at Lara Media Services.

HUGO ANGUIANO
I am Hugo Anguiano, Layout Artist and Brand Identity developer at Lara Media Services. I was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. I moved to the United States when I was 16. Coming to a different country with a language barrier and culture change, I developed an interest in what had no boundaries or rules — art and design. After high school, I followed my love of art and attended school for Graphic Design. In my free time, I choreograph and dance many styles, including Latin Jazz. I am excited to share my passion with Lara Media Services.

For the uninitiated, the 5D Mark II is a High definition single lens reflex cameras (HDSLRs) designed primarily for photographers. You’ve seen these types of cameras before – whether at weddings and Quinceañeras, studio photo shoots or simply hanging around the neck of friend or family member who loves to take pictures. While many of the earlier incarnations of these cameras came with video functions that allowed the operator to shoot some rudimentary video, the cameras were almost never used for anything other then still photography.

So how does this pertain to Lara Media and to you, our readers? As we enter into this new year Lara Media Services hopes to work with our local Univision affiliate and other media outlets to make the switch from standard definition analog broadcast to high definition. With a substantially higher resolution than what was the norm for the past few years, this new standard will conform to the higher resolution of the high definition televisions on the market right now.

Since early 2009 though, there has been a seismic shift in the technology being used for professional video production, with DSLRs (specifically Canon’s 5D and 7D) moving to the forefront of professional preference. In an industry that had been dominated for years by lower quality video cameras, DSLRs have revolutionized the game for professionals and consumers alike. And all for the affordable price of $3,000 or less. In contrast to the sharp, flat and altogether unexceptional images produced by video cameras, these remarkable cameras have a more cinematic look, akin to the 35mm film that was industry standard for most of the past century. The focus is sharper, the depth of field more shallow and impressive.

Pictured: Seanacey Pierce. LMS 2012.

After cinematographer Vincent Laforet released his short film “Reverie” to the online community, filmmakers all around the world began to take notice. The film, which was shot entirely on the 5D, showed the potential of the camera to a brand new audience. Since Reverie’s release, the technology has been embraced by such high-profile TV shows like 24, House, and Californication and big budget feature films like Black Swan and Captain America, all of which used either the 5D or 7D for portions of their shoot.

All of us in the media production department at Lara Media are excited to have the 5D in our inventory, especially now that the broadcast technology has caught up with the quality of the equipment producing the content.

It’s a powerful tool but in the immortal words of Spider-Man – “with great power comes great responsibility.” At the end of the day, the quality of the camera means very little if the story being told isn’t interesting or unique. What we at Lara Media are constantly trying to do is raise the bar for storytelling. Commercial production, like all other forms of media production, boils down to one very simple concept – the viewer has to care. If they aren’t interested in what is happening on screen, no connection has been established and you’ve failed. Any hope you had of selling your client’s product or promoting their business has been forfeited and then it’s the just tedious wait for your favorite show to come back from the commercial break. So putting our best foot forward to tell the most innovative story we can has always been priority number one. It’s not easy but in the end the payoff is much more rewarding.

Think you have what it takes to get into commercial video production? Want to go out and purchase a 7D or 5D for your own collection? Great! There’s never been a better time to jump into the industry. But before you do, I urge you to sit down, unmute the TV, and really watch some of the commercials playing on TV right now. How do they look? Are the shots clever and exciting? Is the story compelling? Do the creators do a good job making you interested in the product? Are you interested in learning more? What separates a successful ad from an unsuccessful one? It’s not an accident. Each one had a group of dedicated storytellers working behind the scenes, making it all happen. They were conscious of the details, of which camera they would use and why. Even though the technology is always changing, it is the most old-fashioned of tools that remains the most important. Find a good story and the rest will follow.

We are very excited to share the work we’ve done in video production in 2011. Here’s to a productive and creative 2012!

Portland, Oregon – New findings about the health of Portland’s Latino population were released today, showing alarming rates of uninsured and considerable concern in the Latino community about diabetes, dental and vision related issues. VIEW FULL REPORT HERE.

The report, A Snapshot of Portland Latino Health was presented by Lara Media Services to increase awareness about the health of Spanish speaking immigrants living in the Portland metropolitan area. The report contains results from a community health survey administered to 198 Spanish speaking respondents as part of the Binational Health Week fair held at Madison High School in conjunction with the Mexican Consulate.

The survey found that 69.7% of respondents lacked health insurance which is more than double the national rate of 32.4% (Hispanics who lack health insurance,) according to the US Census Bureau.

“There is a real lack of health coverage for the immigrant workers in this region and their families” says Victoria Lara, Executive Director of Binational Health Week and Lara Media Services. “Most employers either do not offer health insurance to these workers or the employee contributions for their health plans are too expensive to afford, especially when adding spouses or children to the policy.”

Even if employer health plans include medical coverage, that alone is no guarantee that Latinos will receive the proper dental and vision care that they need.

Ultimately, as immigrants move from more active cultures in their countries of origin and assimilate to more sedentary lifestyles and high calorie diets in the US, diabetes represents the biggest threat to Latino health. 43% of respondents said that they were worried about diabetes affecting them and many lack the access to care needed to provide early detection and treatment at the onset of the disease.

The report recommends increased education and information which specifically targets these groups, citing the fact that 32.3% of respondents felt that they didn’t have any access to health information. The full report goes on to cover other issues such as state of overall health, last time visiting a doctor, occupational industry and other demographic information.

LARA MEDIA SERVICES is is an all-in-one media agency based in the Portland Metro Area. We devote ourselves to build connections between our clients and their market trough creating compelling and culturally relevant design, media and advertising strategy products.

ATTN: Victoria Lara
Lara Media Services
Ph: 503-317-7253
E-Mail: victoria@laramedia.net
3800 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97232

An infographic, in short, takes a complex idea and represents it graphically in a common visual language. It is a great tool for journalists, educators, and marketers to get dense information across in an understandable way.

But touting statistics is a dangerous game! They can be manipulated, misrepresented, even unintentionally misleading. Here is your guide to making the most factually accurate and effective infographic, as well as what to avoid:

1. The Good

Some infographics do everything right.

Like any marketing campaign, the best infographics tell a story. The graphics are cleverly designed to fit with the theme of the information being presented and enhance the reader’s understanding of the subject. The best infographics are:

1. Relevant and Accurate. Facts should be sourced and accurately represented. It is important to not let the artistic license of the graphic designer reign over truthful representation.

2. Not Too Wordy. Infographics should let the images do the talking as much as possible!

3. Easy on the Eyes. The typeface should be easy to ready and the flow of information should be natural.

4. Interesting! I can’t stress this enough. The point of an inforgraphic is to educate and be shared! Teach us something new!

Gorgeous Examples of Infographics:

Sitting Is Killing You: The Truth About Sitting

A Bloody Mess: How Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Works

The Royal Wedding in Numbers

The Anatomy of a Librarian

Look Who’s Coming to Dinner: Interracial Marriage on the Rise in America

2. The Bad

A bad infographic is typically hard to read and/or is difficult to understand.

The title of this infographic (published on Newsweek) is “A majority of Americans say Japan is an Innovative country, Not so China and India”

What does this even mean? The world will never know…(SOURCE: Infosthetics.com)

Poorly Executed Infographics:
Really Confusing
When Pie Charts Equal More than 100%

I Dare You to Read This For Longer Than 15 Second Without Getting The Spins

3. The Ugly

Some inforgraphics are worse than bad: They are misleading and manipulative of the information presented. These infographics present facts without context, obvious bias, and bafflingly dishonest graphic representations.

This infographic (from The Nation) is terribly misleading. Not only is the information represented by the blue and red bars not to scale, the entire conceit of the infographic is flawed: what other factors might influence this information? What proof is there that the party’s were the sole creators of jobs? This is shady manipulation of data that readers might accept without critical analysis of the information. (SOURCE: Smashing Magazine)

Other Examples Of Junk Charts:
50% Does Not Equal 20%
Metro v. AM New York

______________________________________________________

FURTHER READING

The Infographics Showcase

Daily Infographic

Junk Charts

An Epidemic of Bad Infographics: Depression