Anita Santiago Advertising Returns to Entertainment Roots With Launch of Division

Anita Santiago Advertising Returns to Entertainment Roots With Launch of Division

Leading Spanish-Language Agency Opens Entertainment Marketing Division Led by Industry Veterans

SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The explosive growth and importance of the Hispanic market to the entertainment industry has led Anita Santiago Advertising to return to its roots with the launch of a new entertainment marketing division. The agency was founded in 1987 with Columbia Pictures and La Bamba as their first client and is now widely recognized as one of the pre-eminent full-service Spanish-language agencies in the country.

The division will be led by agency principal Anita Santiago along with industry veterans Linda Ortiz and Patricia Gutierrez, and is committed to providing partner studios with comprehensive, targeted and custom Spanish-language marketing and advertising programs for all genres of film.

"The days of simply translating a commercial, trailer or print ad for the latest release are over," said Santiago. "Hispanics spent $1.5 billion at the box office in 2002, and that is expected to double by 2012. According to a 2004 Arbitron report, Hispanics are 81% more likely to see a film opening weekend than the general audience. This group must be courted, and that courting must be done the right way."

Anita Santiago Advertising enters the Spanish-language entertainment marketing arena with significant experience and a wide range of services. The agency has established successful marketing communications and advertising campaigns for blue chip clients including IKEA, Wells Fargo Bank, the California Milk Processor Board, and Carl's Jr. Restaurant. Campaigns for these and other clients include integrated creative, media planning and buying, publicity and promotion.

"Mainstream marketing strategy for opening weekend, branding, ancillary products, corporate promotional relationships, home video and more, are developed by studios long before a film is released," said Ortiz, director of the new division. "We want to help studios address and initiate their Spanish-language programs in the same manner, by working with them during the creative and production process to ensure that they capitalize on opportunities and are properly positioned."

Santiago led the La Bamba campaign and is one of the most respected Latina advertising professionals in the country. She has been featured in numerous national publications, serves as a director on the board of the Los Angeles Branch of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, and is on the Women's Leadership Board of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Ortiz comes to Anita Santiago Advertising with extensive general market and Spanish-language entertainment marketing, promotion and media relations experience. She was a key member of the team that launched the Disney Channel, and has been a part of successful marketing programs for major films from Universal Pictures, DreamWorks, Disney and Lion's Gate.

Gutierrez is the agency media director and possesses in-depth knowledge of Spanish-language broadcast and print media throughout the country. She also has wide-ranging entertainment experience, including planning and buying television, radio and print for Warner Bros., Disney, Touchstone, and Miramax.

The division will be supported by a significant staff, tapping into the multi-cultural and industry expertise of 30 professionals.

"The audience and dollar numbers show that this is a critical moment for studios to address their Spanish-language marketing of entertainment properties," said Ortiz. "It is vital that studios show a commitment to, and understanding of, the Latino culture, and we feel that we can help them do that like no other agency."

Contact: Kevin Mortesen Remote Control 310-607-0017 kevin@remconmc.com

Source: Anita Santiago Advertising

CONTACT: Kevin Mortesen of Remote Control, +1-310-607-0017, kevin@remconmc.com, for Anita Santiago Advertising

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos and interviews available.

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