BY MANNY RUIZ
Publisher, Hispanic PR Blog
A week after previewing their ambitious digital plans at the 2010 Hispanic PR & Social Media Conference in Dallas, General Mills made it official. General Mills unveiled a re-designed version of its successful Spanish-language, lifestyle web site for women, QueRicaVida.com, last night at a VIP Miami gala event attended by more than 100 Hispanic editors, reporters and bloggers from around the country. Several Latina celebrities, including actress Adamari Lopez, Despierta America! morning show host Karla Martinez, and Univision Network health spokesperson, Dra. Aliza, were also present for the unveiling, along with several hundred invited guests.
For many, including myself, a veteran of many major Hispanic press and VIP events, this was one of the best and largest ones coordinated in the nation in a long time. It is a rare day when you have a Hispanic press event that so perfectly marries substance with style so special kudos should go to my friend Sergio Lopez-Miro and his General Mills account team at Hispania Public Relations. In addition to performances by a top notch Latina mariachi band from San Antonio and guest appearances from some of Univision’s top personalities like Javier Romero, a great highlight of the event for me was to meet and interview 34 of the nation’s top blogueras, all of which became especially delighted to meet me when they discovered that I not only publish the Hispanic PR Blog but am the daddy behind PapiBlogger.
Event attendees were provided with an exclusive preview of the re-vamped site, which seeks to become the #1 food and lifestyle online resource for Latina moms. Among the site’s numerous enhanced offerings will be regular health tips by Dra. Aliza, advice on parenting provided by Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Center, information on education-related issues and hundreds of Hispanic-inspired recipes and money-saving coupons for numerous General Mills brands. A partnership with other major platforms such as AOL Latino, Univision: Cocina, Yahoo! En Espanol and MSN/Telemundo will further extend QueRicaVida.com’s reach among Latina consumers.
The re-designed website will also facilitate navigation of its enhanced content, making it easier to explore and providing users with a more interactive experience. The new format will allow Latina consumers to rate and post opinions about the articles, videos and recipes they find in the site, as well as upload their own recipes, which will become a part of QueRicaVida.com’s ample listing of meals.
According to Ursula Mejia-Melgar, General Mills Hispanic Marketing Manager and editor of Que Rica Vida, the magazine, “QueRicaVida.com aims to empower Latina moms and make their lives easier by providing them with information that can help resolve four key tension points in their lives – raising their children, tending to their illnesses and preventing them, making sure they don’t fall behind at school and making the daily cooking experience easier and less stressful. I know, because I am a mother of two young children, myself.”
“QueRicaVida.com has become indispensable for our Latina consumer,” said Rodolfo Rodriguez, General Mills’ Multicultural Marketing Director. “General Mills has invested resources to better understand and serve our Hispanic consumers, and the emotional link we have achieved with our audience has been an amazing result.”
It was such a pleasure meeting all the wonderful Latina bloggers! I am very encouraged and motivated by this “first of its kind” event. I applaud the efforts of General Mills for reaching out to us the way they did. They have set the bar pretty high and hopefully this will be the standard for many companies to follow. Bravo General Mills!
-Jennifer aka @Mami2Mommy
I am as grateful to General Mills for having invited me to attend the launch of the new QueRicaVida.com, as I am impressed by its enlightened approach to communicating with the Latino community. The group of mommy bloggers assembled in Miami for this event was brilliant, and each one I met struck me with her intelligence, tech and marketing savvy and commitment to sharing information and resources with other Latinas. Mi vida was certainly enriched these past two days. Thank you General Mills and Hispania Public Relations.
The planning and hard work of General Mills was evident throughout the whole event. The information that Que Rica Vida is providing for the Latina moms on their site covers is nothing short of amazing. My thanks to all who made this possible. Most of all, a very special gracias to Hispania PR, for bringing the Latina Bloggers together for the very first time.
Manny, well said and completely true. It was a wonderful event. And big, giant kudos to General Mills for knowing what rich potential they have in reaching out to Latinos, Latino press and Latina/o bloggers.
Those of us in the blogger category are impressed by their outreach and their expressed desire to work with us in the smartest way possible.
Looking forward to seeing how other corporations follow suit…they’ve got a great example in General Mills.
And finally, I also was so glad to be at the event to connect with so many smart, funny and multi-talented Latina blog publishers.
Manny, thank you so much for highlighting and covering the QueRicaVida.com event. We are truly delighted that a major corporation, General Mills, is taking notice and creating opportunities for the Latino market. Mil Gracias for sharing with all of the Latina bloggers and making us part of your experience.
Manny, I’m disappointed that we did not get a chance to meet in person. Though, I was in Miami for Que Rica Vida, some circumstances resulted in me missing the main event Thursday night, and thus, missing the opportunity to meet you. It sounds like it was a great time, and I’m sure we’ll soon meet. 🙂
Hi Manny!! Aunque no salí en la foto, estoy contenta de haberte conocido en persona, gracias a la presentación de Rory.
Este evento realmente es un orgullo para toda la comunidad hispana y demuestra el alcance y lo fuerte que venimos pisando, y aún queda mucho por andar….
Saludos!!!
I join all of you in applauding General Mills and Hispania PR for putting together an amazing and well-thought out event.
I keep repeating that there will be a before and after the Que Rica Vida launch in Miami for the Latin blogosphere. The effort they did in bringing together Latina bloggers for this unforgettable experience has served as a catalyst that is shaping the way we work together and strengthening our bond. This benefits us as well as the brands that are looking for a strong blog platform and network to work with.
Que Rica Vida helped set these wheels in motion. Latina bloggers are already a force to be reckoned!
Manny, it was great meeting you. I hope we get to chat more.
It was nice meeting you in Miami.
I am very grateful to have been part of this well planned event and be surrounded by such smart and great bloggers.
Estoy de acuerdo, el lanzamiento de QueRicaVIda.com estuvo muy padre, me dio mucho gusto conocer a todas las amigas bloggers y al papiblogger tambien ;)!
Saludos!
It was such a fun time, getting to meet all of you!!!
Manny thanks for getting this picture!!! It was a pleasure meeting you!
[…] moms and families. They celebrated its re-launch by inviting Hispanic journalists and bloggers to a special gala in Miami and of course the very special guests are the mami blogueras because they are the key […]
[…] their own experiences of being a parent. General Mills created a website earlier this year called Que Rica Vida (What a Good Life). Created for Latina mothers, you can find recipes, tips, coupons and information […]