Fairfax, Va. (April 7, 2021)–Today, the Hispanic Marketing Council (HMC) announced the call for entry for the HMC Strategic Excellence Awards, the only award of its kind that honors multicultural strategic thinking and cultural competence in marketing. As Hispanics continue to fuel U.S. cultural and demographic shifts—with the 18-and-under-segment already a multicultural majority—Hispanic strategies and insights are more important than ever.

“The role of Hispanic-driven insights can make a significant difference in crafting an effective marketing program that impacts the mainstream. Why? Because multicultural audiences are the American mainstream, making Hispanic and other multicultural segment account planners in high demand,” said Victor Paredes, chair of the HMC Strategic Excellence Awards Committee and VP of creative strategy at UniWorld Group, Inc. “HMC is proud to celebrate and recognize the power and importance of great insights and the people behind them.”

Previously the Culture Account Planning Excellence (CAPE) Awards, the HMC Strategic Excellence Awards are open to U.S.-based agencies whose media has run since January 2020. The categories include:

1. Best Cultural Insight: when a Hispanic insight impacted the overall campaign;
2. Mainstream Impact: when a Hispanic insight impacted the mainstream market;
3. Impact on Innovation: when a Hispanic insight led to an innovation in a product, service or brand offering;
4. Pro-Bono: when a Hispanic-based insight led to an idea that drove results/impact for a cause, unpaid by any client;
5. Shopper & Experiential Excellence: when a Hispanic insight is effectively applied in the design and execution of a shopper or lifestyle activation program for multicultural and mainstream audiences;
6. Media Connections & Content Strategy Excellence: when Hispanic intelligence is applied to connections and/or content strategy to drive effective reach and engagement with multicultural and mainstream audiences.

A jury of thought leaders from the Hispanic marketing and advertising community, including strategists, creative directors, and leading marketing professionals from the client side will judge all entries. The winners will be announced in June 2021 and featured as part of a series of thought leadership webinars.

Click here to apply for the 2021 HMC Strategic Excellence Awards—deadline to enter is May 7, 2021 at 5pm EDT.