Texas Upfront to showcase live music, Latino TV networks fall programming

Texas Upfront to showcase live music, Latino TV networks fall programming

Live music and a sneak peak at the Spanish-language TV networks fall programming will highlight the Texas Hispanic Upfront event in early June.

The first annual Texas Hispanic Upfront is being hosted by SAVisión and the American Marketing Association and will be held 5:30-10:30 p.m. June 5 at the Scottish Rite Museum and Library, 308 Avenue E at 4th St.

According to organizer/ SAVisión chair Diane Huth, The list of entertainers to perform include Mariachi del Pueblo, Paraguayan harpist Juan Cabrera, Rosalinda Risso & Trio Janítzio, Ballet Folklórico Festival and the high-energy Latin group Pochimex. Sonny Melendrez, local radio celebrity and professional speaker, will be the Master of Ceremonies.

"Upfront" is the ad industry jargon for the gala presentation of new programming and advertising data aimed to convince media buyers to contract "upfront" for annual sponsorships and media packages. For the first time, the American Marketing Association and SAVisión, its Hispanic Marketing arm, will unite the 5 broadcast networks for a joint presentation to hundreds of media decision makers unable to make the week-long trek to New York to learn about such programming news.

Univision, Telemundo, LATTV, Azteca and V-Me (the Spanish-language PBS network) will all present their media offerings at the Texas Hispanic Upfront, and will meet one-on-one with potential advertisers at the Media Fair that precedes the multimedia show. 

Advertisers will be able to take advantage of special "Upfront" packages and

deals offered by the networks, which will put local agencies and advertisers on the same footing as the New York agencies which have traditionally had access to such specials.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about more than just television programming, as the Media Fair will also feature other Hispanic media, including local Spanish-language newspapers Cancha, Conexión and Mexico Express, all published by the San Antonio Express-News.  Insignia System will present InsigniaPops, an innovative in-store shelf signage program. Valassis will showcase their RedPlum line of multimedia print offerings including shared mail, solo mail, newspaper inserts and free-standing inserts, and direct-to-door sampling programs.  CommonSense will allow media pros to interact with its exclusive Doppler bilingual email marketing system.  

The Upfront will begin with a Media Fair 5:30 to 7:00, and will feature food stations and live entertainment.  The network presentations will follow in the theater, along with additional entertainment.

Additional event sponsors include HEB, Republic National Distributing Company, Brown-Forman (distiller of Jack Daniels), Absolutely Everything Catering, Accu-Print printing, Marie Ferrante, graphic designer, Wickley Advertising, TMS Total Media Solutions, The Wedding Connection, and many other companies who have donated goods and services to ensure the event's success.

Tickets range from $35-$60.

For more details contact: Diane Huth, SAVisión Chair, (210) 601-7852, dxhuth@valassis.com, or Scott Keeler, Upfront Chair, (210) 859-6914, scott.keeler@citcomm.com. Or check out: www.valassis.com or www.savision.org