BY MANNY RUIZ
In Spanish, we would say the response to last month’s announcement about Hispanicize 2011, the 2nd Annual Hispanic PR & Social Media Conference slated for L.A. April 6-8, has been “tremendo.” Tremendous! In one month it already feels like we’ve seen more email and Twitter inquiries about next year’s conference than we received over six months for ALL of this year’s first annual conference COMBINED!
Between us and our conference partners at the Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA) we’re fielding a lot of the same common questions so I thought I would group the top seven queries into one post and answer them in depth below.
Q: What is the process for submitting a presentation or panel proposal for the conference and what are you looking for?
A: The top tips for submitting presentation ideas for the conference are:
- The deadline to submit your speaking request is STRICTLY December 20, 2010.
- We are no longer accepting direct email forms so please use the new online form as it’s meant to streamline the process. That form is available at http://www.hispanicprconference.com/speakers/speaker-application-form.html. If you do not receive a timely acknowledgment to your application by email in one business day, please contact us.
- In general keep in mind that Hispanicize 2011 is focused on delivering quality, professional development content that is relevant to a diverse audience of communicators that includes brands, bloggers, agencies, non profit and government marketing professionals.
- The 2011 version of the conference has a particularly strong focus on topics related to social media best practices and bloggers but will also have more than 10 sessions (yes, we’ll easily have more than 22 sessions combined) that are directly about traditional Hispanic and multicultural public relations topics.
- The conference has a strong bias for case study-driven presentations that include brands as either presenters or co-presenters.
- All final decisions on speakers and sessions are being handled by the 25-member national advisory board of the conference in consultation with organizers and will be announced by late January 2011.
Q: Is the conference solely focused on Latina bloggers?
A: No. Although it’s true that we have a major focus on Latina bloggers, the largest and most sought-after blogger group that our brand and agency sponsors seek, Hispanicize 2011 is not focused solely on them. In fact, based on recommendations from the brands, agencies and bloggers that are on our board, we’re launching a national initiative to attract ALL multicultural bloggers with opportunities and sessions that will also be tangibly important to them. This conference is for bloggers of creeds and cultures: Latina, African American, Asian American and yes, even men.
Q: What brands and agencies are you expecting to attend?
A: If the composition of our amazing national advisory board and the first wave of sponsors we’re about to announce are any indication you can expect anybody who is a major brand in the marketplace to attend, particularly consumer related brands. On the agency side we are already booked solid with every major Hispanic player planning to sponsor, attend and/or present.
Q: What kind of bloggers will be attending the conference?
A: The majority of the bloggers attending will be women bloggers who blog in Spanish, English or both languages. Given the success of our 2010 conference and the fact that next year’s conference is already attracting major brand and agency participation, we’re anticipating that Hispanicize 2011 will be the largest national conference for Latino and multicultural bloggers ever assembled.
Q: It seems this year’s conference is heavily focused on Latino social media best practices and bloggers. What is the program agenda going to be like as it applies to other aspects of public relations and diversity?
A: The conference will have two parallel tracks going at all times and hours of the three day schedule so we don’t expect the heavy focus on social media and bloggers to negate the quality type sessions we did in 2010. Brands, non profits and government agency communicators will find the same type of sessions on traditional public relations best practices, media relations and diversity that they saw in 2010. Two entire sessions, for example, are being planned with top Latino media outlets.
Q: How is the conference incorporating the needs of non-profits?
A: As organizers we recognize that cash-strapped non-profits are oftentimes the backbone of the Hispanic communities that they serve. It’s for this reason that we’re offering non-profit organizations an unprecedented opportunity to get comprehensive media and social media training that otherwise would cost thousands of dollars. Hispanicize 2011 will also feature powerful opportunities for non-profits to connect in person with all of the nation’s most influential Latino bloggers, a key audience that non-profits have only begun to fully explore.
Q: What is the relation between Hispanicize 2011 and the new Hispanicize blogger/brand platform that you recently disclosed would be launched soon?
A: Hispanicize 2011 is the conference and Hispanicize.com is the Latino social media tool for marketing and blogger professionals. One way to look at it is that Hispanicize 2011 is a three-day event that empowers and connects marketers with bloggers. Hispanicize.com, which will be launched in just a couple more weeks, is a year round version of the conference. To stay connected with the Hispanicize platform you can become a Facebook fan at www.Facebook.com/hispanicize. Bloggers who complete this interim form on Hispanicize.com, http://hispanicize.com/user/register, will also get special VIP offers from conference sponsors and will be included in blogger campaign outreach organized by Hispanicize.
