Lopez Negrete Communications

Lopez Negrete Communications is a Hispanic marketing and public relations agency that says it's "where Hispanics are made to feel at home with Corporate America." Lopez Negrete was founded in 1985 and, according to a January 2005 press release, has "billings totaling approximately $150 million (projected year-end 2005) and ... over 150 employees." In an October 2006 article, Advertising Age reported that Lopez Negrete is "the seventh-largest Hispanic agency" in the United States. 

Practice Areas
The firm offers creative, media (advertising) planning and buying, account management, public relations, and promotions / events services. 

In September 2005, Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter reported that Lopez Negrete was adding "a direct marketing practice to handle direct mail, broadcast, telemarketing, digital and alternative media. Alex Lopez Negrete, president/CEO, acknowledged direct marketing to Hispanics is in its infancy, but said the practice is growing steadily. He sees relatively few shops handling the work. The firm points to a recent Direct Marketing Association study that found 66 percent of Hispanics are open to reading their advertising mail." 

Wal-Mercado of the 21st Century
"Wal-Mart Stores accounts for 65% of Latino music sold in the U.S. -- more than double the giant retailer's market share in the general market," Advertising Age reported in October 2006. "Now, it wants to get even better at marketing to Hispanics." 

The plan involves "revamping hundreds of stores during the next two years," according to Simon El Hage of Lopez Negrete, which has been Wal-Mart's "Hispanic agency of record" for 12 years. Lopez Negrete "is leading the effort to develop Wal-Mart's 21st-century Hispanic store model." A Houston, Texas, prototype store features a larger "Hispanic-oriented dry grocery" and an in-store bakery, run by "an outside Hispanic operator." El Hage said, "Because the general-market population is aging, guess who's going into rural America today? Latinos. So the new rural format for Wal-Mart will also have to accommodate the new Latino." 

Clients
From the firm's website and media reports:
 * Azteca Milling
 * Bank of America


 * LNC
 * Microsoft
 * Reliant Energy
 * Shell
 * Sonic
 * Tyson


 * Wal-Mart Stores
 * NBC Universal Pictures Group
 * Dr Pepper Snapple Group
 * MillerCoors (Miller LIte)
 * Kraft Foods (Kraft Singles)

Personnel
From the firm's website:
 * Alex Lopez Negrete - president, CEO, chief creative officer
 * Cathy Lopez Negrete - executive vice-president, CFO
 * Howard Brown - vice president, GM


 * Luis Gonzalez - creative director


 * Jim Irvine - senior director of media strategy
 * Javier Gonzalez-Herba - vice-president, creative director


 * Adalis Arroyo - group account director
 * Marisol Cruz - group account director

Contact Information
Lopez Negrete 3336 Richmond Ave. Suite 200 Houston, Texas 77098

Website: http://www.lopeznegrete.com/home.htm Tel: (713) 877-8777 Fax: (713) 877-8796