multicultural Archives - Good News!

‘Getting ethnic consumers’ is not just about leaving money on the table, it will determine which brands win or lose. We are at the tipping point where the American critical mass is Multicultural and ‘minority-majority’ is an oxymoron. The need to do Multicultural marketing right is painfully obvious.
Multiculturals are nearly 40% of U.S. consumers who spend $1.7 trillion yet still get under 18% of all ad dollars, and less of company resources. U.S. kids are already majority-ethnic, Millennials will be in 2022, and all of America by 2040. Key states like Texas, California and Florida are led by Hispanics, and ethnic-skewed top 15 DMAs, which make up half of our economic activity.
Hispanics, African Americans and Asians will power all future growth in population, jobs, new HH formations and new customers – as aging Non-Hispanic Whites decline. National minority-targeted media, digital, and social platforms and content continue exploding, as do sophisticated research and data analytics to develop and evaluate multicultural marketing efforts, and a shift of cultural openness in overall attitudes to foster Multicultural marketing.
While major players in telecom, CPG, QSR, Automotive and banking have been effectively addressing ethnic consumers for decades, they still drive the bulk of MCM ad spend growth. Most of the Fortune 500 are still reticent, late in the game or not doing it right. It is not just about a few adjunct in-language TV spots, influencers, soccer, events or social. It’s about a top-down, thoughtful, holistic and organization-wide approach that impacts the company’s goals, metrics, research, operations, resource allocation, strategies, target segmentation and execution. And tactically, hopefully make English ethnic efforts BAU because it is way overdue – we did our first English McDonald’s Hispanic spot back in 1989.
Recently, a Univision C-suite executive asked me ‘Liz, don’t you get tired of the constant education to deaf ears and wish you had gone Wall Street like your Stanford buddies?’ The answer: No, I am still an avid preacher and believer in marketing, love the multicultural, uber connected world we live in, and never give up… because money talks.’ So I urge Fortune 500 stakeholders to get it right. And here are my top ten pitfalls to watch out for.

1. Approaching The Market As If It Were A Blended or Monolithic Reality.
Don’t assume one size fits all or that the lowest common denominator approach is viable for long-term growth and success.
The answer: Personalized marketing will be even more critical based on the expectations and needs of Multiculturals, Millennials and Gen We. The optimal marketing approach is more of both ethnic targeting plus leveraging broader-appeal strategies for all.
Multicultural marketing has certainly evolved from the orphan regional efforts and silo years, to the post-pubescent total market homogenization, and now the Multicultural-led total market. Yet few have matured to the adulthood rich with complexity where the truth lives. For Hispanics, there is granularity by country of origin, acculturation, integration, generational distance and language; for AA, single female HOH decision-makers vs. traditional families, single young influencers or matures; and for Asians, by acculturation, or country, like Chinese vs. Filipino vs. Korean. Marketing can be incisive, geo-targeted, layered, or general as desired, depending on the objective and ROI parameters. But the first priority is honing the common base to maximize the brand voice and investment, and as a DDB-bred ad executive, I totally get finding the universal truths of human nature. Yet while a LCD approach works at times, it’s not going to drive consistent growth. The need to address target specificity and needs to drive deep relevance is vital in the increasingly geo-targeted, digital and social me-centric era we live in – where we must know customers profoundly and use customization on a grand scale for two-way brand connections with multiple targets, platforms and technologies.

2. Oversimplifying and Under-estimating the MCM Potential.
Don’t delegate MCM sizing to a junior person or intern, or think it’s just a big deal in a few markets.
The answer: Dig deep, understand and quantify the size and potential of each segment rigorously, the sub-segments within, roll-up by market and product, and reapply per initiative.
To build sustainable and profitable brand relationships, you must delineate an accurate ‘lay of the land’ view with the bandwidth of data, information, evidence and expertise to make the best and most judicious choices. Quantify the national impact by aggregating the target potential by market, by product, by store or zipcode. Figure out how to package meaningfully so it resonates within your organization. Establish the right metrics to identify the priority targets and roll out plans applying the proper analytics, research partners and tools like Simmons, Nielsen, TNS, Millard Brown and Horowitz.

3. Not Grasping the Ethnic Differences Related to Your Category.
They are likely not at the same point of category lifecycle or brand development, and culture lifestyle, demos and preferences impact their category behavior, needs and response.
The answer: Knowledge-based strategies require discipline to ensure all consumer factors weigh in. Identify the category differences that matter, and assess how far to drill-down efforts.
Some differences matter to drive sales, some don’t, but the assessment is necessary to answer that. Understand their differences in demos, family dynamics, culture, lifestyle, psychographics, product usage, preferences, and buying influencers which trigger perceptual and behavioral differences in how they define quality, value and loyalty; buy and use products, media and services; what motivates them and how they respond to marketing and ads. For example, in telecom, Hispanics are the heaviest mobile and data users, AA the highest TV entertainment and latest gadget users, while Asians skew broadband Internet – and this varies by market and sub-demos. Thus, address strategic, message and tactical implications for the common segment approach, and then pertinent sub-segment variances.

4. Inadequate Allocation Of MCM Company Resources.
Don’t say ‘This is all we have for Multicultural this year’ or allow territorial departmental silos to cause ineffective resource allocation to Multicultural marketing and hinder business growth.
The answer: Understand upfront the market in totality and by segment to objective budget allocation on segment revenue and upside, identify any programs/processes requiring recalibration, and address nuanced needs/opportunities across 360 strategies-tactics.
Inadequate pre-planning, lack of sound research, analysis or metrics, limited efforts, sub-standard concepts, and poor execution devalue the MCM potential. MCM should be an integral part of the top corporate strategies and planning process. There are likely disconnects in strategy, unidentified chances to leverage data, or missed opportunities from internal and external stakeholders. Within total resources, properly allocate MCM budgets by target share, revenue and potential, and weigh spend trade-offs across all the 5 P’s. Think about the money spent researching GM customers and identifying breakthrough product, insights or ads, while MCM cultural relevance, response, understanding or motivations dwarf in attention. The more this is done, the more impact ethnic marketing has in the mix. The best MCM marketers have recalibrated the organizational culture and programs where needed, and the way teams work so efforts are sustainable.

5. Executing short-term MCM Programs that Must Immediately Pay Out.
Multicultural efforts, generally added by switching dollars ‘from the GM’, are unrealistically expected to incrementally pay out in a limited time, with little costs for customer loyalty.
The answer: The right expectations and metrics, consistent marketing, engagement and two-way communication are all critical, and the base cost to maintain and grow customers.
There is a base cost for attracting, getting, growing and keeping Ethnic customers, and the MCM Program should not pay out solely on incremental sales. Short-term messaging and lack of customer engagement leads to poor brand perception, discounting, and churn. And don’t assume that brand affinity among AA will remain so without deep roots in their community; or brand familiarity in Mexico/LatAm will automatically transfer here without nurturing that relationship. A great example is Colgate-Palmolive left behind by P&G. Just like the GM, you need a consistent, integrated branding, retail, promotional and loyalty plan, a sound campaign across media and touch-points in the purchase path and customer lifecycle. Employ the proper research to ensure Ethnic segments are well defined and represented; and have realistic, measurable goals. We call this effective Transculturation, making your company Ethnic-relevant.

6. Not recruiting or Staffing Multicultural Marketing Appropriately.
Don’t have staff who happens to be ethnic lead Multicultural efforts, assume interspersing Multiculturals across departments is the holy grail, or recruit your housekeeper to evaluate work done by an experienced creative with a Masters.
The answer: Cultural leadership driven by a central group is foundational to success, layered with some cultural competency across all decision-makers, and an understanding of its importance across the organization. Effectiveness is not found in either extreme of silos or total market blending.
Assure Multicultural efforts are led by a multi-disciplined Ethnic marketing group with the depth of experience to guide strategies upfront at the high-level; have ongoing strategic oversight to feed into the brand as a whole; define where it makes sense to align or diverge; adeptly develop, execute and assess initiatives; assure ads are tested for validity; and be fully accountable for MCM performance. While also integrating Ethnic personnel across departments is beneficial, this alone fails as departmental management is still GM-driven, no one is accountable, and insufficient time is allocated to the ongoing depth of MCM segment knowledge and analysis required. While leaders like McDonalds entrench this philosophy with all marketing filtered by Multicultural leadership, I have also witnessed the loss of MCM accountability, dilution of efforts, and business erosion with various clients taken by the total market ‘efficiency’ model.

7. Consistently Opting For GM Translations, Benetton or Blended Casting.
Sometimes a concept or initiative transcends ethnicities, but consistently employing and force fitting a ‘universal’ approach is ineffective and dilutes all efforts and impact.
The answer: Leverage both universal commonalities and unique segment needs or opportunities. While always within a single brand platform, the target consumer should ground the segment efforts.
Seek synergies where it makes sense but don’t force-fit. It’s about transculturation, a relevant application of your brand essence to Multicultural segments, which usually results in a successful combination of three approaches – universal, parallel or unique. The ‘universal’ approach is a program, message or execution that works equally well across all segments (with minor tweaks); the ‘parallel’ approach makes strategic sense for all segments but may vary in product, message, nuances or casting; and the ‘unique’ approach is an initiative, promotion, channel or strategy necessary or opportunistic for one single segment, which may or may not cross-over to others.

8. Mistaking Language for Culture And Not Knowing the Difference.
There are the ‘fixers’ who use in-language as the solution to effective MCM marketing; the ‘uninformed’ who minimize the impact of cultural relevance regardless of language; and the ‘blinders’ who do not see the importance of either culture or language.
The answer: The currency of culture is how and where Multiculturals spend their time and money, the basis of effective marketing, with both native and English efforts key to maximize reach and impact.
Multiculturals, while integrated strongly or somewhat into the dominant culture, are set apart from others by their roots, context and idioms language abilities because they have access to a unique world of culture, people, way of relating, values, passions, content, music, food, sports experiences and media, and that they desire to maintain. There are three types of marketers that miss the mark. The most common are the ‘fixers’ who rely only on in-language efforts to define Hispanic or Asian efforts, but as most Multiculturals are bilingual/bicultural, they transition seamlessly in between, thus both in-language and English-targeted ads are important. The ‘uninformed’ misguidedly believe their GM spots work equally well, and while at times it does, it is not as effective as targeted efforts, as it’s foremost about cultural relevance, and staying culturally rooted is an inherent choice made by most African-Americans, Asians, and Hispanics whether foreign or US-born. Lastly, I’ve had Client ‘blinders’ who say ‘Half of them see our English spots, so we are covered since they’re the ones with the money anyways.’ They don’t get that over 20% of Hispanics have income over $100k income and Asians the highest of all, so they can likely afford the product, and their connection to cultural content and in their native language remains strong because is the language of the heart, even among bilinguals.

9. Assuming You Know the Target, Stereotyping & Cultural Appropriation.
Making generalizations about Multicultural consumers results in superficial or ineffective work, missed opportunities, negative stereotyping, and at worst, inadvertent racism and backlash.
The answer: A knowledge and demand based view and cultural lens and insight are key to a sound marketing strategy and ads. Assure you have the personnel, research, listening tools and hard data competency to know the difference, and avoid cultural appropriation.
We all know Hispanics are group-oriented, but showing a family with grandma in tow is not effective advertising – it’s how this collective lens affects their lifestyle, influencers and decisions. A Benetton Millennial cast piled into a car does not assure car buyers. Salsa is sold more than ketchup, but only 15% of buyers are Hispanic, and suburban White men consume 80% of urban AA hip-hop music. False assumptions and faux pas stem from ignorance, lack of perspective, and unvetted bad judgment. I almost choked when asked to translate Taco Bell’s ‘Run for the border’ for Hispanics. Another client wanted a ‘high level’ Asian campaign since ‘All Asians are smart’. Home Depot got ostracized for a tweet with African-American drummers and a Caucasian disguised as a gorilla, asking, ‘Which drummer is not like the others?’ Houston 1836 failed as the new MLS team name tied to its founding year, but also Texas winning independence from Mexico, offending its Mexican soccer fan base. Starbucks’ good intentions of engaging customers in race-related discussions was rejected by most ethnicities, and Kendal Jenner’s Pepsi ad showed just how bad it could get. And beware of poor GM translations, from the classic ‘Got Milk?’ campaign launched in Spanish as ‘Are you lactating?’; ‘Come alive with the Pepsi Generation’ translated in Chinese as ‘Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave’; to ‘Life Takes Visa’ translated in Spanish as ‘Life Drinks Visa’ which was confusing and culturally clueless. And be careful not to be seen as a quick fix, cliché or offensive when localizing regional text, radio or video. All of this counts as cultural appropriation, the ‘silent racism, disrespect, ignorance, tokenism, discrimination, pandering or cultural white-washing of marketing and advertising’ – which you must be aware of to avoid potentially catastrophic blunders.

10. Not Finding The Right Agency Partners.
Don’t settle for your GM agency hiring a few ‘ethnic experts’, just because Multicultural is now one of the few growth areas left, and also dominates youth, digital and social.
The answer: Hire the right ethnic agency with proven success, depth of knowledge and experts, which takes years to develop and effectively guide Clients strategies and profit.
Find the right ethnic agency that lives and breathes Multicultural. By definition, Multicultural experts have a uniquely broader perspective, as they have to be well versed in ‘GM/White’ consumers to lead the client and identify the commonalities and differences, whether in cultural cues, behavior, preferences, needs etc. Thus, are in the best position to feed the core MCM insights that will help fuel better ideas, opportunities and growth. Make them a part of the broader agency team that helps drive the company’s efforts. They are used to working collaboratively, have an engrained philosophy to work harder and smarter, and love challenging the status quo. Also, in shifting your GM strategy to be more culturally relevant, in addition to culturally focused efforts, there are several viable approaches. The ‘multi-agency reconciliation model’ has Ethnic agencies weigh in on overall marketing strategy and efforts (e.g., Wal-Mart); the ‘GM agency co-option model’ where they co-opt or buy-out a MCM agency, or create multicultural competency internally to better serve a Multicultural total market (e.g. Ogilvy); and the ‘Ethnic agency inversion model’ where Ethnic agencies go after the total market, competing on their deeper consumer knowledge. Bottom-line, hire a true MCM agency, and try a new one – like INFUSION by Castells.

About Liz Castells-Heard
CEO/Chief Strategy Officer of INFUSION by castells
Liz Castells-Heard is a ‘tell it like it is’ strategic thought leader and industry force with a Stanford MBA, finance and psychology training, 37 years of Multicultural, GM and Client experience with hundreds of brands, and unique brand of ‘brains, heart and grit’ with her analytical acumen, diverse skill-set, energetic style, solid values, and fearlessness.
Her agency, INFUSION by castells, is a leading national Multicultural agency providing Clients best-in-class marketing leadership and consistent results ‘no matter what’ by infusing strategic acumen, cultural insights and ROI-powered ideas. They create strategic brand and performance-driven creative with innovative 360° activation. The creators of Transculturation, they guide clients McDonald’s, Toyota and Charter Communications to profitably integrate Multicultural efforts across the P’s. The agency, founded in 1998 and formerly known as Castells & Asociados, is now minority and women-owned, expanded its Multicultural capabilities, and now has offices in both NY and LA.
Liz is regularly tapped industry source, speaker, and sits on the board of The LaGrant Foundation, which offers scholarships, internships and mentoring to Multicultural youth in pursuit of marketing/advertising careers. Education is her passion, which she calls the ‘equalizer’ to possibility. Liz is also a member of Easter Seals, AHAA/CMC, AMA, City of Hope, New America Alliance, SBSAA, Mentoring Partnership, Women In Management, and Who’s Who.
Fully bilingual and bicultural, Liz was born in Cuba, raised in Europe, Puerto Rico, and ten diverse U.S. cities. She lives with her husband Alan of 34 years in LA, has 7 godchildren, 2 German-Shepherds, a Chihuahua, and loud macaw (whose colorful personality matches hers).

Contact:
Liz Castells-Heard | CEO, Chief Strategy Officer | INFUSION by castells
liz@adcastells.com, Executive Asst.: carolina@adcastells.com
865 S. Figueroa St. Suite 1100, LA, CA 90017 | m: 213-305-4129 | p: 213.688.7217
122 East 42nd St. Suite 2305, NY, NY 10168 | p: 606.649.5600
www.adcastells.com

The post Top Ten Things To Avoid In Multicultural Marketing appeared first on Good News!.

Celebrate FLAG DAY, How?

admin — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 15:14:59 +0000

– by thinking about our flag of course.

conversation and demonstration of diverse clothing and wine courtesy of grapefriend. You can expect a surprise too.

Please join us tomorrow:

Flag Day Opening Reception: Wednesday, June 14, 6-9pm
Featuring diverse cultural clothing demonstrations.

Chashama at 485 Madison Ave (South)
New York, NY
(Between 52nd and 51st)
Space provided by Jack Resnick & Sons

Nearest Trains: 6, E, M

Exhibit: June 14 – July 15, 2017
Open Hours: Monday – Thursday*, 12 – 8pm
(* Except for Monday, July 3rd and Tuesday, July 4th)
Visible through storefront window 24/7.

If you can’t make it tomorrow consider the following:

Independence Day Diversity Celebration: Wednesday, July 5, 6-9pm
Featuring diverse food experiences.

E Pluribus Closing Reception: Thursday, July 13, 6-9pm
Featuring a discussion of sacred cultural symbology.

Thank you Chashama for this opportunity.

The post Celebrate FLAG DAY, How? appeared first on Good News!.

25th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York, August 8th & 9th, Queens ,NY

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 18:15:05 +0000

A colorful Hong Kong tradition returns to New York City – the 25th annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York (HKDBF NY) the oldest, largest, most traditional dragon boat festival in the US.

Queens, New York, Aug 3, 2015 – In Celebration of the “Year of the RAM,” the Board of Directors of the 25th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York (HKDBF-NY) has announced that this free multicultural festival and sporting event will be held THIS Saturday, August 8th & Sunday, August 9th, 2015 at Meadow Lake, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY. The Festival will be held rain or shine.

The Festival will feature entertainment for the entire family and exciting racing, with cash and prizes for competitors in this year’s US Dragon Boat Open Championship.

HKDBF-NY is an international, multi-cultural celebration and sporting event, the largest multicultural Festival in New York, and the largest festival of its kind in the U.S. HKDBF-NY keeps up the age-old tradition of Dragon Boat Racing in colorful, custom made teak boats, which are virtual works of art gliding on water. Custom-made by a small coterie of craftsmen in Hong Kong, weighing one ton each, colorfully painted with a Dragon head at the front and Dragon tail at the rear, the boats are piloted by up to 20 crewmen, including 18 paddlers, a drummer and navigator. For twenty-four successful years, HKDBF-NY has attracted a diverse, multi-cultural audience of more than 50,000 attendees throughout North America.

With a record number of over 200+ teams participating, involving more than 2,500 participants competing from across the U.S. and Canada, this year’s 25th Anniversary festival is expected to be notable in its scale and fierce competition. With cash and prizes at stake for the US Dragon Boat Open Championships, the festival takes place over two days on the site of the 1964 World’s Fair, featuring events for the entire family. The opening day parade at noon on Saturday, August 8th will be followed by the New York City Heritage Championship Races. The U.S. Dragon Boat Open Championship finals will be held Saturday/Sunday, with the teams vigorously competing for their share of the cash & prizes.

Racing starts at 9:00 a.m. and events last throughout the day until approximately 5:00 p.m. each day. Other festival events consist of the media invitational, corporate youth, charity race, women’s invitational, and sponsors challenge; a photo contest; as well as presentations on the Main Stage of traditional Chinese arts, martial arts demonstrations, the traditional Dragon dance, music and other diverse performances and demonstrations of folk arts and crafts. An International food court, and booths staffed by sponsors of the event, many of whom will be giving away promotional items, and many community-based organizations, help make for a unique, action packed, multi-cultural, New York City weekend.

This year’s races feature six new 10-person boats from China, and several Special/Invitational Cup races are planned, including the 25th Anniversary Invitational, the HSBC 150th Anniversary Invitational, and the Municipal Invitational race featuring various teams from the elected officials. Mayor De Blasio, Queens Borough President Katz, Congresswoman Meng and Assemblyman Kim’s office were invited to field a team as well as the NYC government agencies NYPD, NYFD, DEP and Parks Department. Other special races include the Hong Kong Family Invitational, the Health Care Invitational and the Educational Invitational. This year’s Corporate Invitational looks to be a good one, with ten Corporate Teams joining in to race for their companies.

Henry Wan, Chairman of the HKDBF-NY board stated that “The board and I are very proud and excited to have been a part of the growth of the festival from ten boats on the Hudson 25-years ago when the festival began, to commemorate the opening of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York (HKETO NY), to this year’s festival with over 200 teams participating in celebration of the 25th anniversary. HKDBF NY has become one of the largest international Dragon Boat Festivals in the world and a much anticipated event on NYC’s summer calendar.” Steve Barclay, current Director of the HKETO NY confirmed their support of the festival, by stating that “the HKETO is very pleased to have started HKDBF-NY, and to remain as the Title Sponsor. We look forward to having our largest contingent of racing teams ever, and expect the biggest crowd in HKDBF history to visit Flushing Meadows Corona Park to experience the 25th anniversary festival.”

Full Event Information: www.hkdbf-ny.org

The tradition of Dragon Boat Racing is an annual Chinese rite commemorating the idealistic poet and reformer Qu Yuan who drowned himself in the third century B.C. to protest against his emperor’s policies. The locals raced in their boats in an attempt to rescue the poet. To prevent fish and water dragons from eating his body, the locals beat their drums and splashed their paddles. This was the beginning of Dragon Boat Racing.

Directions to the Festival by car – take the Long Island Expressway to Van Wyck Expressway to exit 11 South, then stay on service road to the Park. Parking is severely limited. Take the MTA or car pool. Directions to the Festival by bus/subway: Festival goers can use their MetroCard to take the #7 Train to the CitiField stop and transfer from there to special MTA shuttle buses that will take them directly to the Festival site, or they can walk from the CitiField stop (about 15 minutes) or take the colorful park trolley to the festival site. Parking on-site is limited, you can park at CitiField and take the special MTA shuttle with your MetroCard or use correct change.

This year’s Sponsors include ; the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, NY; Corporate Supporter HSBC Bank USA.,N.A.; Emblem Health, Con Edison, New York Community Bank, Toyota, AXA, Nielsen, Shanghai Commercial Bank, New York -Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, Resorts World NYC, Standard Chartered Bank, Flushing Bank, Delta, Geico, UPS, AARP, Empire City Casino, New York Hospital Queens, Sheraton La Guardia East Hotel, Vallo Transportation, Ltd., Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens Chamber of Commerce, Office of the Queensborough President, Melinda Katz, NYC &Co, Discover Queens.

Media &Creative Partners: WNBC TV 4, New York Daily News, Sing Tao Daily News, The Queens Courier, GoodNews Broadcast.com, MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc. (AM1480, Sino Television, Sinocast, M-Weekly Magazine), Fusia Communications, Inc., Inak Design , Yelp,. Additional support provided by The Times Ledger Newspaper Group.

The post 25th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York, August 8th & 9th, Queens ,NY appeared first on Good News!.

Celebrate DIWALI at THE MET, Part 1 + 2

admin — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 17:42:23 +0000

Wish You All Happy Diwali
Diwali Celebration
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, New York, NY 10028

Sunday, November 10, 2013 2:30-4:30 PM
Hosted by Advisory Committee
Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium,
Lal K. Motwani, Chairman
Free with Museum Admission
National Federation of Indian-American Associations (NFIA)
The Museum’s Multicultural Audience Development
Initiative invites you to join in a celebration of the
Performance
“Festival of Lights” in which lights or lamps signifies
Members of the East-West School of Dance the victory of good over evil with every human being.
Tell the story of Diwali

We hope to see you there.

With best wishes and fond regards,
Lal K. Motwani
Chairman
National Federation of Indian-American Associations (NFIA)
Metropolitan Museum of Art Multicultural Advisory Committee Member

The post Celebrate DIWALI at THE MET, Part 1 + 2 appeared first on Good News!.

The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in NY

admin — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 12:59:23 +0000

Henry Wan, Chairman of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in NY, joined by Anita Chan, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, to Ring the NYSE Opening Bell® to Highlight the 23rd Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York Colorful Dancer and Custom Made Dragon to Visit NYSE Trading Floor

About the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in NY 2013 The annual, free 2013 Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York, taking place THIS Saturday, August 10 and Sunday, August 11, features the New York Dragon Boat Championships and the U.S. Dragon Boat Open Championship Races, at Meadows Lake, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, home of the 1964 World’s Fair.

The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York is the largest multi-cultural festival in the New York metropolitan area and the biggest festival of its kind in the U.S. In Celebration of the “Year of the Snake,” the 23rd Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York (HKDBF-NY) will feature cash & prizes for competitors in this year’s US Dragon Boat Open Championship.

Other festival events consist of Several special/Invitational Cup races including The 30th Anniversary HKETO NY FAMILY INVITATIONAL, the HKETO Business Invitational, The Health Care Invitational, The Educational Invitational and the Municipal Cup/Invitational featuring various teams from our elected officials. This year’s Corporate Invitational looks to be a good one, with many Corporate Teams joining us to race for their company.

The Festival will be held at Meadow Lake, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, New York rain or shine. Admission is free. HKDBF-NY, an international, multicultural celebration and sporting event, the largest multicultural Festival in New York and the largest festival of its kind in the U.S. HKDBF NY keeps up the age old tradition of Dragon Boat Racing in colorful, custom made teak boats, which are virtual works of art gliding on water.

Custom made by a small coterie of craftsmen in Hong Kong, weighing one ton each, colorfully painted with a Dragon head at the front and Dragon tail at the rear, the boats are piloted by up to 20 crewmen, including 18 paddlers, a drummer and steers person. For twenty-two successful years HKDBF-NY has attracted a diverse, multi-cultural audience of more than 50,000 attendees throughout North America. With more than 180 well-trained teams, involving more than 2,500 participants competing from across the U.S. and Canada, this year’s festival is expected to be notable in its scale and fierce competition. With cash & prizes at stake for the US Dragon Boat Open Championships, the festival takes place over two days on the site of the 1964 World’s Fair, featuring events for the entire family.

The opening day parade at noon on Saturday, Aug. 10th will be followed by the New York City Championship Races. The U.S. Dragon Boat Open Championship will be held on Sunday, August 11th with the teams vigorously competing for their share of the cash & prizes. Racing starts at 9:00 a.m. and events last throughout the day until approximately 5:00 p.m. each day, rain or shine.

Other festival events consist of the media invitational, corporate youth, charity race, women’s invitational, and sponsors challenge, a photo contest as well as presentations on the Stage of traditional Chinese arts, martial arts demonstrations, the traditional Dragon dance, musical and other diverse performances and demonstrations of folk arts and crafts. An ethnic food court, and booths staffed by sponsors of the event, many of whom will be giving away promotional items, and many community-based organizations participating help make for a unique, action packed, multi-cultural, New York weekend.

Admission to the HKDBF-NY is Free, Events take place Rain or Shine. Directions to the Festival by car – take the Long Island Expressway to Van Wyck Expressway to exit 11 south, then stay on service road to the Park. Parking is severely limited. Please take the MTA or car pool. Directions to the Festival by bus/subway –Again this year we’ve worked with the MTA to insure easy and safe transportation to the Festival site. Festival goers can use their MetroCard to take the #7 Train to the CitiField stop and transfer from there to special MTA shuttle buses that will take them directly to the Festival site, or they can walk from the CitiField stop (about 15 minutes) or take the colorful park trolley to the festival site. Parking on-site is limited, you can park at CitiField and take the special MTA shuttle with your MetroCard or use correct change. Downloadable photos are available at www.hkdbf-ny.org Special hotel rates are available at several local hotels to encourage out of town team participation.

FOR SCHEDULE & INFORMATION VISIT WWW.HKDBF-NY.ORG OR CALL 1-718-767-1776.

The post The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in NY appeared first on Good News!.

Why Is Good News Important? Special Edition

editor — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:57:18 +0000

Good News Planet presents a new film by Intern/Employee Joseph Lodispoto about what we do here at Good News Planet and why we do it. Enjoy the film.

ABOUT GOOD NEWS PLANET (GNP)

Since July 4, 1998, GNP is offering a new media concept for news and entertainment about people making a positive, constructive impact on society, no matter what the obstacles are. UP-BEAT, NOT BEAT-UP, SOLUTIONS ORIENTATED MEDIA.

Good News Planet (GNP) was established by Milestone Broadcast Corporation, est. 1985 and is a rapidly growing media lifestyle publications covering and distributing news and entertainment from domestic and international sources related to health, science, business, international relations, and multi-cultural and niche community interests. GNP publishes and syndicates content on-line, on-air, and in print under the Good News Planet Brand. We are one of the first news, entertainment and events media to combine the article with the audio interview and continuously to develop innovations in news media, especially on the WEB. .

Approximately 80 percent of GNP articles and attached audio interviews are made available forever on demand, from the internet, at all times. GNP’s current story archive contains over 5,000 audio, video and text stories and events, indexed by most major search engines. Most stories are indexed by major search engines within four weeks.

Serving a niche but extraordinarily influential community with excellent brand equity that ranges from international lawmakers and industry shakers, GNP is a powerful community of people and organizations who have contributed stories to the site. Currently, 100,000 unique visitors from this audience generate 1 million hits each month. . The audience is made up of a highly-influential, professional persons concerned about making a positive impact on the World and future generations through media. They collaborate with Good News Planet, via their agencies and in person at Good News Planet events, to network with individuals who share their interest in leveraging the power of media to make a positive impact on society.

ABOUT THE GOOD NEWS PLANET BRAND. This is the international place of record to build good will for brands by ‘walking the talk’. GNP IS A HUMANITARIAN AGGREGATOR OF CONTENT. We encourage you to make your mark to investors, lawmakers, and citizens from around the World as a sponsor and supporter of the publication, and let the World know that you support people and organizations that care about doing good things for the benefit of all kinds of communities. We offer the following information to those seeking to place content on Good News Broadcast:

‘Good News’ Brand Essence: A place where people can participate in news media in positive ways.

‘Good News’ Brand Promise: We promise to provide voice, in audio, video and text media, and any emerging technology platform that helps to fairly present constructive, unbiased, newsworthy information to all audiences – without preference to any single political, religious, business or social agenda. ‘Good News’ Brand Tone and Manner: Positive, life-affirming, thought-provoking, and up-beat. Content Example One: We would cover news about an earthquake just like any other news organization. To make the story ‘Good News’, we cover multi-national relief efforts, provide unedited audio and video interviews for download, and offer information how our audience can participate in those efforts.

Another content example: We would cover the introduction of a new medicine for heart attack patients. Because Good News is defined as presenting the story without preference to any business agenda over another, we merely present the product as ‘a solution’, but not ‘the best solution’. We then give the audience resources to do their own research and supply the various media resources we can to help audiences make a decision about the story.

Programming for GNB comes from leading independent or network producers throughout the world who care about the power of and responsibility of using media to create a positive dialogue within audience communities.

In addition, inspirational writers, lecturers, celebrities and world figures will be part of the “team”. But the team is larger than that, as it requests you to become part of it and help create the content.

Bottom Line: We are offering our archives to serve as a resource for people making a positive impact on society through news, entertainment and events, no matter what the obstacles are.

Legal Note:

Any audio/video segment or text message sent to goodnewsplanet.com is being given to us with the permission to use for worldwide broadcast or print. Segments can be edited. No segment or message will be returned. Note: goodnewsplanet.com cannot be responsible for content on any external website that we are linked to.

News desk and Media Contact: Paul Sladkus, Metropolitan Exchange Bank, 33 Flatbush Ave. Suite 400, Brooklyn, New York 11217. Tel. 718-522-1202. Email.
goodnews@goodnewsbroadcast.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
paul.sladkus@goodnewsbroadcast.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Milestone Broadcast Corporation has exclusive rights to all video, audio, text, photos content on our website, GoodNewsPlanet.com.

The post Why Is Good News Important? Special Edition appeared first on Good News!.

Why Is Good News Important?

editor — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:52:47 +0000

Good News Planet presents a new film by Intern/Employee Joseph Lodispoto about what we do here at Good News Planet and why we do it. Enjoy the film.

ABOUT GOOD NEWS PLANET (GNP)

‘Good News’ Brand Essence: A place where people can participate in news media in positive ways.

Bottom Line: We are offering our archives to serve as a resource for people making a positive impact on society through news, entertainment and events, no matter what the obstacles are.

Legal Note:

Milestone Broadcast Corporation has exclusive rights to all video, audio, text, photos content on our website, GoodNewsPlanet.com.

The post Why Is Good News Important? appeared first on Good News!.

Michelle D. Hare, State Farm

editor — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:22:33 +0000

Michelle D. Hare, Multicultural Business Development, State Farm Insurance, shares Good News at the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival

The post Michelle D. Hare, State Farm appeared first on Good News!.

TIME WARNER CABLE STRENGTHENS ITS SPONSORSHIP OF HONG KONG DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL IN QUEENS

editor — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 20:28:41 +0000

Time Warner Cable Celebrates ‘Year of the Dragon’ with the Chinese Community

Sponsorship Is Part of Time Warner Cable’s ‘Enjoy Queens Better’ Campaign

New York City, July 12, 2012 – Building upon its long-standing support of the annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival (HKDBF) in Queens, Time Warner Cable today announced that it will be the official media sponsor of this year’s festival taking place August 4-5 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. As part of the sponsorship, Time Warner Cable will decorate the park’s centrally located footbridge and offer fun and exciting activities to help celebrate the Year of the Dragon.

HKDBF is a multicultural celebration and sporting event that is one of the largest multicultural festivals in New York City, as well as the largest annual festival of its kind in the United States. Time Warner Cable’s sponsorship is part of its ‘Enjoy Queens Better’ campaign, which celebrates the borough’s rich culture and how improvements in the company’s TV, Internet and Home Phone services help local residents enjoy more of the things they love.

“Time Warner Cable is thrilled to participate in this year’s Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival as an official sponsor and continue the celebrations of the Year of the Dragon,” said Alessandra Otero-Reiss, Vice President of Multicultural Marketing for Time Warner Cable’s East Region. “It’s important for us to support and participate in cultural events that are significant to the Chinese community. This sponsorship demonstrates our continued commitment to the Chinese community and the borough of Queens.”

In addition to celebrating the Year of the Dragon, visitors can stop by to learn about career opportunities with Time Warner Cable. The company is actively hiring local residents who speak Cantonese or Mandarin, and has immediate positions available in customer service and technical operations, among other areas.

HKDBF keeps up the age old tradition of Dragon Boat racing in colorful, custom-made teak boats, which are virtual works of art gliding on water. Attendees can cheer on the dragon boaters in the competition, be entertained by the many live performances, soak in the festive atmosphere and celebrate the Chinese culture. For more information about the HKDBF, visit http://www.hkdbf-ny.org.

Time Warner Cable’s New York City footprint serves over 1.3 million customers in four New York City boroughs (Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and western Brooklyn), Mt. Vernon, Hudson Valley (Orange, Sullivan, Ulster Counties and parts of Dutchess, Greene and Delaware Counties), and Bergen and Hudson Counties in New Jersey.

About Time Warner Cable

Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) is among the largest providers of video, high‐speed data and voice services in the United States, connecting more than 15 million customers to entertainment, information and each other. Time Warner Cable Business Class offers data, video and voice services to businesses of all sizes, cell tower backhaul services to wireless carriers and, through its NaviSite subsidiary, managed and outsourced information technology solutions and cloud services. Time Warner Cable Media, the advertising arm of Time Warner Cable, offers national, regional and local companies innovative advertising solutions. More information about the services of Time Warner Cable is available at www.timewarnercable.com

www.twcbc.com

www.navisite.com

and www.twcmedia.com

The post TIME WARNER CABLE STRENGTHENS ITS SPONSORSHIP OF HONG KONG DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL IN QUEENS appeared first on Good News!.