Why Hyundai Should Buy Saturn

So GM is in bankruptcy and it has definitively noted it will be shedding the Saturn brand. Apparently there are up to 16 suitors. I hope one of them is Hyundai.

Hyundai and sister brand, Kia, have long struggled to make a name for themselves in the US market. They have tried to position themselves as the car for the smart buyer - one who understands quality and good value. The problem - consumers don't think that way in spite of all of those consumer reports and meaningless industry accolades. Trusted brands sell cars - sometimes crappy ones. But if your brand doesn't have any real equity or simply holds a terciary role in the mind of consumers - you're sunk.

Despite Hyundai's best efforts, snazzy marketing campaigns and developing some truly spectacular cars which have won countless awards - they still sell fewer cars than many luxury brands without the profit margins to match.

Perhaps it's time to shed the Hyundai brand and help revive a name that actually means something to Americans? The Saturn brand stands for great value, affordable cars for young people who don't want to deal with sleazy car dealers or silly marketing speak. When GM launched Saturn - they asked then agency, Hal Riney, their opionion of the name for their new sedan, the Aura. Hal Riney's response - call the damn thing the Saturn Sedan. Enough with the stupid naming conventions.

This and many other innovations developed a brand with a strong following. While GM has certainly let Saturn slide, Hyundai would be smart to pick this puppy up and truly establish the Koreans as players in the US market.

Swine Flu on the Web

I've been monitoring the news coverage on the swine flu outbreak and have noticed signs of panic on the web as chatter touches on a potential pandemic. No one is more concerned than Mexican-Americans - folks that not only are concerned about their health here in the U.S., but also for relatives back in Mexico. MySpace Latino has seen an increase in talk within its forums on the subject and no doubt thatMexico’s national newspaper, La Reforma, and its site, are seeing an increase in traffic as people try to stay abreast of the developments.

This is really scary stuff, but I'm thankful the web provides access to information at our fingertips to stay informed, and dispel myths or clarify misinformation. I think about the early days of HIV and imagine how frightening it must have been to not know what the disease was, how one contracted it and not have any place to find out info.

What an amazing time we live in to be able to share information and track developments in real time. I hope that this sickness is contained and those affected, recover. Certainly, the web will continue to be my destination for the latest and greatest.

Hispanic Behavioral Targeting

As the Hispanic online audience has grown to over 20 million, so too have the methods for reaching them. The level of sophistication for behavioral targeting increased rapidly over the years.

Today, several networks, including AOL’s Platform-A, have introduced several options for advertisers to reach Hispanics via content type, language and geotargeting. Not to mention, there are ways for these ad networks to get as granular as identifying purchase intent for various categories like auto or finance.

While certainly this is a positive for advertisers who want to avoid wasteful, untargeted investments, what about those who are being targeted? Many of us online go about our business without giving much thought to the recording of our actions online by cookies. Yet, the more one sits to think about the level of data being recorded about our activites, it becomes a bit scary.

On one side of the debate, you could argue that this recorded information will make our lives easier. We'll have an online experience that is more customized, personalized to our interests and needs. On the other side, you could argue that big brother watching over us is nothing short of a police state.

As the law struggles to catch up to the realities of today's technology and the promise of more advanced methods tomorrow, how will the world's governments address the growing concern over consumer privacy?

iPhone App Gives Apple an Ethical Headache

Apple pulled a controversial iPhone application just two days after the software designer, Sikalosoft, put the app on sale for .99 cents. The problem: the application, "Baby Shaker" gave users the opportunity to shake a gerber-esque baby so harshly as to put a stop to its crying.

This is straight from the promotional materials: "Babies are everywhere you don't want them to be! They're always distracting you from preparing for that big presentation at work with their incessant crying. Before Baby Shaker there was nothing you could do about it."

Apple's decision comes after harsh criticism from several organizations including the Shaken Baby Syndrome Foundation. Certainly, the slack from this will weigh heavily on Apple over the coming weeks.

Apple may have to decide to put limits on its extremely democratized application development software. The ethical dilemma persists, to be free for all or limit the freedom to monitor and control?

Social GPS Convergence

Over the past 2 months, I've been tracking my friend, Heidi, on Google Latitude. We've opted in to see where each of us are at throughout the day via our mobile phone and online. Just the other day I texted her to find out why she was in Southport, CT. (She was outlet shopping.)

Loopt is another service that offers folks the opportunity to see small profiles of friends and strangers alike and connect with them. Imagine spotting an attractive guy/gal within a two block radius and asking them out for coffee? Unlikely? Not really - my roommate did just that. Certainly this is a dangerous technology - you may not want everyone to see where you are at all times.

But I thought, given Hispanics' propensity to socialize - maybe this technology will find huge adoption amongst Latinos? Does that data exist? No. But impromptu connections and a fluid idea of personal space make Latitude and Loopt interesting social enhancers for Hispanics. It will be interesting to see how the use of social GPS application evolves and how multicultural audiences adopt and adapt these technologies in the future.

Immigration Reform Groundswell

Latino chat rooms, forums and blogs have been abuzzing the past two weeks as Hispanics discuss the potential of real immigration reform in the next 12 months. Univision.com's forum on immigration has seen an increase in activity and traffic. While the Obama administration has been coy about their plans, many political watchers thought the issue would come to light following Obama's visit to Mexico last week prior to the Americas summit.

The web has become a critical tool in uniting political activists, community members and other constituents. As Hispanics have mobilized via the web, their strong networks have given them more political capital. It seems that immigration reform is going to be a key issue that Latinos are interested in investing in. The truth of the matter is that while the economy is just as important to Hispanics, there are personal issues being raised with illegal immigration that affects all Hispanics regardless of legal status. Families are being torn apart, racism and anti-Hispanic sentiment is rising and these negative issues all tie back to immigration reform.

African Americans have historically been the most organized minority group in actualizing and wielding their political capital. However, the web is becoming an equalizer for Hispanics who do not have the same extensive grassroot footprint. Hispanics with their size + the web's ability to unite via the groundswell = political power that is being redistributed every day.

Hispanic Online Banking

Many are surprised to discover that Hispanics participate in online banking. Comscore reports that nearly half (47 percent) of Hispanics looked up bank account balances online. And 12 percent paid their bills online, as opposed to 5 percent of non-Hispanics.

Despite these strong numbers, Latino banking activity still has some growing to do. The challenge: according to Simmons, 52% of Hispanics don't have any bank account at all. On the good side, banks can expect $200 billion in new business over the next few years and Hispanics have the least amount of debt of any ethnicity. However, on the negative side, Hispanics are not fully realizing their financial potential and building their credit history. This impedes their ability to secure better financing on homes and new cars in the future.

Several banks and MasterCard have engaged Latinos for years via financial education campaigns to reduce the number of the unbanked. Prepaid cards have recently been introduced as a stepping stone to building credit history. Similar to prepaid phone cards, a concept that Hispanics are intimately familiar with, is a great way to teach them about the product benefits. However, these efforts have been spotty and certainly have not had the same level of push as other initiatives.

Banks should take note, a financial sleeping giant is starting to wake up. Perhaps more aggressive courting of this key demographic can help pull the industry out of its slump?