Ne-Yo Brightens Futures Through His Compound Foundation; Holds Quarterly Board Meeting at IMAGES USA

IMAGES USA CMO Ricki Fairley-Brown with Ne-Yo, star of the motion picture Red Tails, now in theaters

Three time Grammy Award recipient and Singer-songwriter/ Actor Ne-Yo‘s Compound Foundation recently held it’s quarterly board meeting at IMAGES USA. The foundation was founded by Ne-Yo and his business partner Tango to enhance the well-being of youth growing up in foster care and group homes. The organization’s mission is to support bright futures for young people by helping them to forge healthy relationships, pursue education and training and realize their dreams. The Compound Foundation focuses on programming that provides grants to non-profits giving housing and scholarships to young people with a history of foster care and/or group home placement; youth enrichment via mentoring and empowerment events; an annual giving tour where holiday cheer and gifts of toys, books and clothing are provided to children in foster and group homes in Las Vegas, Chicago, Boston, New York, Orlando, Atlanta and Washington, DC.

Ne-Yo with one of the Compound Foundation's star students. The 19 year-old from Waleska, GA grew up in foster care and has now achieved National Honor Society recognition and amassed a 3.7 GPA

Our own CMO, Ricki Fairley-Brown is a proud and passionate member of the Foundation’s board. Among her ranks are the board’s president, Lorraine Smith, Ne-Yo’s mom, Michael Strahan, former NFL player, Lisa Price, founder of Carol’s Daughter, Will Packer, Chairman of Rainforest Films, Kevin Carr, VP of NBA Community & Player Programs, and Atlanta’s own Denise Leggett, Attorney/Philanthropist to name a few.

We applaud Ne-Yo on his efforts to help youth and look forward to seeing this Foundation fulfill their mission and favorably impact our community. Ne-Yo also stars in the new blockbuster Red Tails, an epic cinematic rendering of the Tuskegee Airmen’s contributions during World War II.

To learn more about The Compound Foundation, visit their website here or support their mission by making a contribution here. Love The Compound Foundation and want to give Kudos to Ne-Yo? Let him know through his Twitter @Neyocompound!

Weigh In: President Obama’s State of the Union Address

Over 38 million viewers nationwide tuned in to President Barack Obama’s State of The Union Address on Tuesday evening, eager to hear the POTUS cover everything from the economy and foreign policy to immigration and healthcare. Naturally, opinions on the strength and validity of the contents have varied; some feel the POTUS connected directly with the essence of American values while others feel he left far too much to be desired. Opinions aside, most pundits and talking heads did acknowledge the eloquence and poise the Commander in Chief displayed while addressing Congress for little over an hour.

What was your reaction to the State of The Union Address? Did you love the ideas, despise the rhetoric or are you somewhere in between? Feel free to weigh in below or through IMAGES USA’s Twitter

Whether through our CMO Ricki Fairley-Brown’s State of the Union Watch Party or our resident Millennial posse posting play-by-play reactions through various social media outlets, all of us at IMAGES absorbed President Obama’s State of The Union Address. Read thoughts from our staff members below, then make sure you share your opinions through our comments section or through IMAGES USA’s Twitter
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As a Cuban-American, seemingly positive statements like “equal opportunity for all” or “everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share” sound all too familiar and actually make me cringe…The #SOTU address itself was well rounded and embodied all the reasons I admire this country.

– Priscilla Benitez, Account Coordinator

Quite inspiring. He finally had the form of the Senator we as a nation elected [almost 4] years prior. He had the confidence, authority, and bipartisan plans persuasive enough to get translated into bills. He exhibited his humor, personality, confidence, seriousness, and left no subject untouched. It seemed to be a political speech devoid of “politics,” and for that, I salute him.

– Justin Jordan, Senior Art Director

How do you feel about our staff members’ opinions? Weigh in!

Target Market News Covers Amtrak’s AOR Renewal with IMAGES USA

IMAGES USA recently announced our AOR Renewal with Amtrak, continuing our longstanding relationship. The story was covered by Target Market News early this week, emphasizing IMAGES USA’s contributions to the Amtrak business over the years. We always enjoy our efforts and relevant news being recognized on any level by peers, and we would like to thank Target Market News for spreading the word around the industry. Kudos!

You can read the full story on Target Market News here

IMAGES USA Remembers Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

As we recognize the annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, the IMAGES USA staff takes time to reflect on what the day and the man has meant to all of us and our lives. More than just a civil rights leader, Dr. King was a loving father and husband; like IMAGES USA’s CEO and founder Bob McNeil and many other IMAGES family members past and present, he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; he was an icon for equality, hope and justice.

Below are reflections from IMAGES USA family members about what Dr. King and his legacy has meant for their lives:

I recollect his leadership. His ability to influence, inspire, encourage and train others to lead is an irremovable mark in history.

– Sadie Domineck, Account Supervisor

MLK is a symbol of social justice for me. The holiday is still important as it serves as a reminder of injustice around us. It also serves as a motivator to become a better activist and help to resolve those injustices. The MLK holiday is a great day to reflect and put a plan into action to better serve your community and help your fellow man.

- Kelly Mayfield, Senior Media Planner

What does this special day mean to you? As always, IMAGES USA wants to hear from our readers.

A Day Off or a Day of Service?

Although we certainly understand how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s accomplishments in the world call for celebration, one could ask if using the long weekend as a call to action for clubbing is the way to do it. The Washington Post’s Fritz Hahn recently covered how party promoters are using MLK and his image to promote their events. You can read the original story here, as well as see an example of one of many flyers below (complete with the “I Am The Dream” drink special).

Although Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a day when most people are excused from their professional obligations, should it really be a day off? Do you find this use of MLK’s image offensive? IMAGES wants to hear from our readers!

Happy Holidays from IMAGES USA!

Portada Survey: U.S. Hispanic Market to grow by 5% in 2012

The U.S. Hispanic Advertising Market will grow between 4%-5% in 2012, according to a survey conducted by Portada. Portada interviewed 50 client, agency and media executives.

Expected Growth Rate of Hispanic Advertising in 2012

-10% to 0% 14.29%

0% to 5% 38.1%

5% to 10% 42.86%

10%+ 4.76%

Average Growth Rate:4.4%

The expected Hispanic market growth rate isrelatively high, particularly in the light of renewed concerns of a double dip recession in the U.S. which may affect 2012 overall U.S. advertising. The latest Zenith Optimedia forecast shows the overall U.S. advertising market growing by a meager 2.2% in 2012 to US$ 155 billion.

The economy is cited as one of the main risks going forward. “As the recession continues, it will force companies to tighten their purse strings and look for efficiencies in targeting the Hispanic marketplace”, says Lateef Sarnor, Industry Practice Head for the Multicultural category at AOL.. Most survey respondents expect Automotive, Financial (particularly Insurance) to be among the strongest Hispanic advertising categories in 2012.Telecom is expected to continue being a strong category.

What do you think?

Thanks Ricki for sharing!

Hispanics Are Online, But do Marketers See Them?

eMarketer expects U.S. online advertising spending to reach $31 billion in 2011. How much of that is spent targeting U.S. Hispanics? Industry figures show it at only $200 million in 2011, a mere 0.65% of the total investment in U.S. online advertising, according to an article in MediaPost’s “Engage: Hispanics.”

Woefully low, even if you’re only targeting Spanish-dominant Hispanics. This has to change in 2012 as studies continue to show Hispanics prevalence for on-line from both traditional and mobile/tablet platforms.

Thanks to Wilson Camelo at Latino Lingo for sharing this great information!

Library of Congress receives Twitter archive

Today, the Library of Congress announced there recent partnership with social networking site, Twitter. They have signed an agreement that will keep an archive of every public Tweet ever sent over to the library’s repository of historical documents.

“We have an agreement with Twitter where they have a bunch of servers with their historic archive of tweets, everything that was sent out and declared to be public,” said Bill Lefurgy, the digital initiatives program manager at the library’s national digital information infrastructure and preservation program

So the next time you send a tweet, be sure to think twice!

Study finds: African-American women the most optimistic about future opportunities

(November 11, 2011) Though often stressed over money, work, and lack of free time, across ethnicities, American women exhibit optimism with regards to their future and their daughters, according to a recent Nielsen report.

Women are the world’s most powerful single demographic. They control the majority of household spending decisions, their influence is growing and they are increasingly exercising this new-found power in a variety of ways. It is only natural that marketers around the globe would take notice and seek ways to better reach women in terms of the media they watch and the products they buy.

Nielsen surveyed women across generations and from all corners of both developed and emerging economies. Reaching out to 21 countries representing 60 percent of the world’s population and 78 percent of GDP, this study provides insight into how current and future generations of female consumers shop and use media. While there are some surprising differences — especially between women from developed countries and those from emerging countries — there is one very positive commonality: women believe their roles are changing for the better.

As overall consumer demand shrinks and companies look for new segments of growth, the multicultural consumer represents a significant opportunity now and in the long term. This report highlights the differences and similarities of American women across the four primary ethnic groups: African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American and Caucasian/White.

Optimism was highest among African American and Hispanic women, especially when it came to how they viewed the opportunities they have had compared with those of their mothers. The optimism does not stop with the women of today: they are extremely positive about the outlook for the women of tomorrow — their daughters — and expect them to have more opportunities available to them than they themselves have now.

Thanks Ricki for sharing!