Flowers Communications marks 15^th anniversary with new Hispanic division

(August 15, 2006) Chicago-based African-American public relations firm, Flowers Communications Group (FCG), has announced the launch of FCG Latino as its Hispanic practice. This expansion makes it one of the largest minority-owned, multicultural integrated marketing communications firms in the U.S.

D. Michelle Flowers (above), founder, president and CEO states, “This year marks a milestone year for us as we celebrate our 15th anniversary and build on our guiding principles for the future of the agency. We have embraced the evolving demographic landscape with the launch of this new division and are now in a position to truly address and service the multicultural growth in the United States.”

It is estimated that by 2010, Hispanic buying power will surpass $1 trillion. Recognizing the potential of this 40-million-strong Hispanic market, Flowers adds, “FCG Latino will ‘reach and respect’ this burgeoning market while taking into account its complexities. We have immersed ourselves in our Hispanic practice with the same focus and passion that we do with our African-American accounts. Our team of Hispanic marketing professionals represents and understand the nuances of our communities, which we believe is critical in successfully marketing our clients’ brands.”

Respected industry veterans Joseph Nebolsky de Ochoa and Gigi Ybarra join the agency as the leadership and creative talent of FCG Latino. Nebolsky de Ochoa, senior vice president, will head the division and oversee new business development. As account director, Gigi Ybarra will be charged with client management. The team was most recently at Indeo co., a multicultural agency where Nebolsky de Ochoa was the principal. They bring more than 30 years of combined domestic and international niche marketing experience on brands such as McDonald’s, Harris Bank, Peoples Energy, Kellogg’s, Kimberly Clark and Albertsons, among others.

“We have hit the ground running with a client tour and numerous new business presentations to showcase our Hispanic capabilities and new multicultural structure,” says Joseph Nebolsky de Ochoa. “The expertise and true understanding of African- American and Hispanic marketing enables us to bring to the forefront a unique agency point of differentiation, which is our Ethnic Fusion™ model."

This strategic model explores African-American and Hispanic commonalities, merges cultural nuances and creates an innovative, customized marketing program.  “As an example, we presented a program where we highlighted key common traits among ethnic moms and their preference to cooking from scratch," continued de Ochoa. "The brand had always approached each segment separately and never in this common insights approach. We don’t propose a ‘one-size fits all’ strategy, or to implement this model for all of our clients; we’re just capitalizing on the synergies. Each segment is unique in its own way, and we respect that.”

Flowers Communications Group was founded in 1991 with a mission to provide quality public relations and marketing programs to reach and respect the African-American market. FCG is an independent, minority and woman-owned integrated multicultural marketing communications firm. The agency executes national, regional and local programs in the top 20 urban markets.

FCG’s current client roster includes American Honda Motor Co., the Black McDonald’s Operators Association of Chicago, Courvoisier, Lawry’s Foods, Luster Products, Inc., Miller Brewing Company, Philip Morris USA, The Support Group and Walgreens.

FCG has received numerous honors throughout its 15-year history and most recently was awarded the prestigious 2006 Platinum Trumpet award bestowed by the Publicity Club of Chicago for the best overall public relations campaign.



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