Online word-of-mouth agency ElectricArtists launched a division to target the Hispanic market in the United States.
ElectricArtists En Espanol will offer Spanish-language initiatives to clients like AOL Time Warner, Citigroup, Starwood Hotels, Vivendi Universal and Schlumberger.
ElectricArtists creates buzz in online chat rooms and message boards with agency representatives identifying themselves and recommending clients' products.
The division was born after ElectricArtists discovered the steady proliferation of Hispanic communities on sites like Yahoo, Yupi.com and MiGente.
The 2000 U.S. Census counted 35 million Hispanics. That figure rises by 1 million yearly. But advertisers have not matched that population growth. Sixty-four percent of the top companies spend less than 3.2 percent of their total budgets on Hispanic marketing, the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies said.
