Cultural Strategies Inc

3rd Anniversary of Houston’s Smoking Ordinance, September 1, 2010

Cultural Strategies Inc. — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:14:45 +0000

Physicians, elected leaders, and health advocates mark anniversary by rallying Houstonians to “To put down cigarettes for good”. Minority health coalitions, including the Hispanic Health Coalition, advocated in support of the City of Houston’s Smoking Ordinance and have continued to work over these last three years to help thousands of residents and workers stay healthy. Smoke-free workplaces and public spaces are essential to ensuring the public health and wellbeing of our residents. “Smoke-Free for 3” is a coordinated effort lead by Houston’s minority health coalitions and physicians to celebrate the city’s commitment and encourage Houstonians to seek their doctor’s advice on how to quit smoking.

Sebastian Puente Featured as In-Studio Expert on KLRU Live

Cultural Strategies Inc. — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:13:49 +0000

Sebastian was invited to join Bill Stotesbery on Monday June 7th at the KLRU Studios during the on-air pledge. Along with his insights on Austin’s Mexican American community he shared a touching story about watching American Experience: A Class Apart together with his daughter and the important discussion on culture and history that followed.

See full article here.

Paul D. Shinkman from OhMyGov.com on Engaging Latinos

Cultural Strategies Inc. — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:22:44 +0000

Go beyond language to engage Latinos online, expert says
Armando Rayo addresses the “wave” at Gov 2.0 Expo
By Paul D. Shinkman May 28 2010, 10:54 AM

The Latino population is a demographic that politicians cannot ignore. Latinos are densely populated in some of the country’s most politically influential states and metropolitan areas, including almost 5 million in Los Angeles, CA, and roughly 1.5 million in both Harris County, TX and Miami-Dade County, FL.

Speaking at the Gov 2.0 Expo on Tuesday, Armando Rayo of Austin, TX, vice president for engagement at Cultural Strategies, Inc., said that social media is key to reaching Latinos, but that any social campaign needs to go beyond just the language and also address Latino culture.

Read full article

Are you an Active Leader?

Cultural Strategies Inc. — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:09:00 +0000

ACTIVE LEADER is a training that was developed for the Active Life Community Challenge by Mando Rayo. The video is part of an online leadership development training that engages & equips young people to becoming active, healthy civic leaders.

Join the Active Life Community Challenge!

CS Eng 2

Cultural Strategies Inc. — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:10:58 +0000

Statesman Texas Social Media Awards

Cultural Strategies Inc. — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:09:14 +0000

The Austin American Statesman rolled out the digital carpet on March 14 to honor 25 Social Media Award Winners. Our engagement Capitan, Armando Rayo was among the list.

Read the Story
BIO: Mando Rayo’s work spans multiple roles, and social media is a major instrument in this toolkit. As vice president of engagement at Cultural Strategies, Mando offers clients insights into the Hispanic community as well as strategic and effective ideas that enable clients to enlist more Hispanics to their cause. As director of community engagement at United Way Capital Area/Hands On Central Texas, Mando specializes in creating opportunities for community engagement, with a focus on leadership development and social innovations. In both these roles, he’s developed innovative cultural programming for a variety of clients, including MPower Foundation/RISE Conference, Tate Austin Hahn, Lance Armstrong Foundation, Goodwill Industries of Central Texas, CASA of Travis County, The Cipher-Austin’s Hip-Hop Project, ACTIVE Life and the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Social media allows exponential outreach for his mission by empowering like-minded community members with information they use to build this community together. His alter ego, as Austin’s resident taco ambassador for TacoJournalism.com, brings flavor and fun to his work.

Judges’ Comments: Mando Rayo is all about doing good work and eating good tacos. His day job is to use technology to build support for the United Way, but he’s also a creator of TacoJournalism.com, a great site dedicated to finding Austin’s best food wrapped in a tortilla.

Congratulations Mando!

Rayo to Present at Experience Gov 2.0 Expo 2010

Cultural Strategies Inc. — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:00:16 +0000

May 25-27, Washington, DC
When citizens interact with their government, powerful things can happen. Government 2.0 means doing more with small teams, and even the power of one. It means exploiting global creativity and changing workplace models and traditional designs for carrying out missions. It means infusing old processes with new technology. It means unlocking stores of data that can better inform and empower people about their communities, and governments about decision making. It means change has come to America.

Web 2.0 technology has shown that transparency, participation, collaboration add up to increased efficiency for the technology industry. Gov 2.0 harnesses this same effect for the public good. Gov 2.0 is the power to change the world.

Gov 2.0 Expo will showcase the real-world application of Web 2.0 technologies in government and municipal sectors, featuring a practical program that will teach government employees and contractors how to apply technology best practices to government programs, and in turn introduce new companies to the government market.

Conference Tracks Will Include

* Policy
* Technology
* Challenges
* People

Hispanic Engagement Session
Latinos are now the largest minority in the United States. By 2050, 30% of the U.S. population will be of Latino descent, making them a significant economic force. Understanding Hispanic population trends, how diverse this community truly is and utilizing effective engagement strategies will help you create advocates with this booming population.

RISE Multicultural Entreprenuers Series

Cultural Strategies Inc. — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:33:30 +0000

Imagine yourself being surrounded by creative ideas, innovative people and the inspiration to work on something your passionate about! Yeah, that’s pretty much where I’ve been in the last two months. I’ve been engaging, reaching out, brainstorming and connecting with Austin’s most talented and creative people, and now you get to experience that with the RISE Multicultural Entrepreneurs Series. The series is part of the 2010 RISE Entrepreneurship Conference that takes place next week, March 1-5th. RISE is a conference for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs; it is intimate, relevant and inclusive. And it really is inclusive! I’ not just saying that because I happen to work on the project, well, maybe I am. The Multicultural Series brings entrepreneurs from different communities including Latinos, African-Americans, Asians – South Asians y mas. We have 60+ session hosts kickin’ real world knowledge via social media, start-ups, marketing, philanthropy, politics, life lessons and culture. I’m so appreciative for having the opportunity to work with these amazing people.

Ready to engage in learning and building relationships? Sign up at www.riseaustin.org for sessions in the Multicultural Entrepreneurs Series.

2010 Multicultural Entrepreneurs Series session highlights:

Can Political Engagement Help Your Business Succeed?
Ann del Llano, Southern Shift

Think Like a Banker
Piensa como un banquero
Anna Sanchez/Luisa Gavino Martinez, Wells Fargo

Best Bet: Why You Should Go All-In With Content Marketing
Ben Van Horn, Talk Back Media

Create and Hustle: How to make it as a grass roots promoter
Brandon Badillo, Bembe Entertainment

Media Incubator 2.0
Carl Settles, Texas Diversity Council

YouFM: Podcasting your Business and Yourself
Social Media en Español: cual es el punto?
Carlos Borberg, Pyrat Republik

You don’t know me but you should!
How to Use Public Relations Tools to Build and Manage Your Personal Brand
Christine Moline, Jane Doe Ink

Blogging for Cash and Prizes: How I left corporate America and got to work in my pajamas.
Cindy Casares, Guanabee Media

Don’t Quit Your Day Job: And Other Fairy Tales My Mother Told Me
Dr. Moe Anderson, TyMAC Books

Las 5 Lecciones de como atacar el mercado hispano (Para organizaciones y empresas)
Elias Hermida, 1800Hispano

What Makes Marketing go Viral
Elijah May, Encompass PR

From Strangers to Community
How and Why be a Certified Woman Minority Owned Business (WMBE) and DBE
Elizabeth Quintanilla, EQ

How to launch a trans-national services business using social media and bi-lingual skills
Cómo lanzar un negocio trans-nacional usando los medios sociales y tus habilidades bilingues
Fernando Labastida, Latin IT Marketing

The Marketing Investment
La Inversión en Mercadotecnia
Frank Garza, Vamos Marketing

Eight Points
Gary Hoover, Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship/UT

Como Iniciar Su Propia Empresa
Helena Escalante, All Things Mexico

People Over Process: An Approach to Small Business Hiring and Partnerships
Jason Villarreal, Villa Consulting Group

Stay lean, stay multifaceted, stay in business – An introduction to a freelancing, self employed and entrepreneurial mentality
Jay B Sauceda, Photographer

Hacking Online Cultures with Offline Behaviors: How to Turn Negative Feedback into Cheerleaders
Jennie Y. Chen, MisoHungry, Keep Austin Dog Friendly, Austin Drive Clean

Social Media Jam: A Hands-On Experience
Jennifer Navarette, Social Media Consultant

Cultural Competence: Leading diverse teams and engaging clients across cultures
Jeremy Solomon, Jeremy Solomon & Associates

Building a Solid Foundation – Liability Issues Facing All Small Business Owners & Entrepreneurs
Jerry Rios, Law Office of Jerry Rios, P.C.

Marketing to the Federal Government
Joyce Scott, Superb Speakers and Trainers Bureau

Entrepreneurship for Baby Boomers
Juan Carlos Mercado, 360 Solutions

Social meets Media: How today’s collaborative technologies are shaping the future of media.
Juan Garcia, New Media Producer, The University of Texas

The Changing Face of Philanthropy
Leo Ramirez, MiniDonations

Cause Related Marketing: How to incorporate your community and nonprofit collaboration into your marketing strategy
Lisa Goddard, Capital Area Food Bank

Building a Visible and Profitable Brand Online
Luis Sandoval Jr., Brand Evangelist/Speaker/Media

The First 2 Years: From Ideas to a Funded, Viable Start-up
Manoj Saxena, IBM Global Business Services, Vice President and Global Solutions Leader

Essential tools to start a social enterprise. (a practical workshop)
Martin Montero, SOLVE L3C

Twitter? Who has time for Twitter?
Maura Thomas, Regain Your Time

Trick or Tweet – Taking the Scary Out of Using Social Media to Promote Your Food Business
Michelle Cheng, Whitehurst, Harkness, Brees & Cheng, P.C.

Passion Test for Entrepreneurs
Why Vanilla is the best thing in the World
Monica Peraza, MexNet Alliance

Latinas Want More: How to Market to this Growing Segment & Why It Matters!
Rebecca Trevino, Dell

Stwittergy
Ricardo Guerrero, Stwittergy

Lights.Camera.Business
Rich Vasquez, David Neff, Aaron Bramley, Lights.Camera.Help

How to promote your company through PR
Roberto Hernandez, LatinWorks

Design Your Value Proposition to Separate Yourself from Competitors
Roy Nieto, SureScore, Educational Consulting

Social Media Marketing Lessons Learned from Politics
Shaine Mata, Shaine Mata & Associates

From Idea to Product in 60 minutes
Subramanian Rama, Intel Corp

Subliminal Branding: Make It Work for You. 7 Tips to Branding Success
Tina Balderrama Kubicek, B.S., M.Ed., Ph.D., Author, Speaker, Consultant

Five Hispanic Engagement Strategies for 2010

Cultural Strategies Inc. — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:48:05 +0000

It’s 2010! One year closer to 2050, the year Hispanics become the majority in the U.S. If you’re not engaging Hispanics in your work; as volunteers, leaders, donors or board members; 2010 is a great year to start. It’s time nonprofit advocates (yes, I’m one of them) recognize the population shift and how these changes will impact communities across America. As of 2008, Latinos became the nation’s largest ethnic minority (*46.9 million) and by July 1, 2050, *132.8 million Hispanics will live in the U.S. That’s 30% of the U.S population! (*U.S. Census Bureau)

So let’s get started with Hispanic Engagement.

Hispanic Engagement is a process of building community, relationships, & trust with Hispanic communities. Hispanic Engagement utilizes authentic engagement strategies that create advocates for people, neighborhoods & issues within communities. It is an inclusive, innovative & culturally relevant approach that informs, educates, engages & strengthens communities.

That’s my official definition but let me make it easier for you. Enclosed are five strategies that will help your organization engage Hispanics in 2010.

Relationships
Building relationships with Hispanics is not much different than building relationships with other groups. When you build authentic relationships with Hispanics, treat them as valued stakeholders and keep their needs in mind. Once the trust is built, they will support you and open doors for you and your organization. Keep in mind that we like our platicas so get to know us first before you engage us in the business at hand.

La Cultura
Hispanics are as diverse as the American melting pot; we have varied traditions and experiences. One thing we have in common is that we value culture; and not one culture fits all. Hispanics born and raised in the U.S. will have different experiences from newly arrived immigrants from Mexico, Central or even South America. A Latino living in Los Angeles will have different cultural traditions from other Latinos living in Miami, Houston and yes, even Akron, Ohio.

Go to la gente
Find out where Latinos live; where they gather and go to them. Hispanics live in rural and urban areas, Latino neighborhoods and they gather in places they trust. Do some research, show up and start building relationships.

Collaborate
Forge relationships (notice a common theme?) with organizations deep-rooted in Hispanic communities. Learn from organizations that were founded in Latino communities and ones that have built trust with this population (i.e Hispanic professional groups, Catholic Diocese, LULAC, El Concilio, NCLR, etc.)

Be a resource
It takes two to form the relationship. Nonprofits have needs and so do Hispanics. Take the time to listen & understand what the needs, wants and aspirations are for Hispanic communities. Ask yourselves, “How can I be a resource for Hispanics in my community?” By helping and being a resource, you’re showing that you care about this community and you’ll create advocates along the way.

I hope these five Hispanic Engagement strategies will help you get started. Muchisima suerte en 2010!

Adelante,

Armando “Mando” Rayo

CS Advertising Image

Cultural Strategies Inc. — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:11:34 +0000