CENTRAL FLORIDA.- As Puerto Rican businesses find fertile ground in Florida, the public relations firms Eleven 11 Communications and Upfront Communication, located in Central Florida and Puerto Rico respectively, have formed a strategic alliance seeking to help brands successfully crossover to the Florida market while solidifying their footprint on the island by offering wider range of communication services to clients in both markets.
A robust number of Puerto Rican companies are exploring the viability of tapping into Florida, looking to capitalize on the significant Puerto Rican population living in the state, whom have a strong connection, especially that first generation who recently moved, with brands from the island stated Idia Martínez, president of UpFront Communication.
“It still represents a challenge for the Puerto Rican entrepreneur to maintain or increase their sales volume locally. That is why the crossover is so appealing. During this process, one of the main concerns is always how to developed a unified strategy to protect the brand, which is the ultimate goal. In order to solve this challenge we decided to establish the strategic alliance” explained Martinez.
For the past five years, the firms have been collaborating on multiple projects due in part to the client list they share, Cervecera de Puerto Rico, Maximo Solar Industries and Florida Technical College.
“We have already worked together in a number of projects and have no doubt that this will be a successful partnership for our clients. Brands have had benefited from developing and nurturing a close relationship between the agencies in both markets” said Maria Isabel.
“Market knowledge is key to build strong foundation and minimize risk. Florida represents a much broader territory, Puerto Ricans are usually our main audience thanks to the brand recognition, but we have to keep an eye on making adjustments to appeal to a larger Hispanic audience and an American one as well in order to grow and be profitable. The synergy we provide, as an alliance, ensures a solid and consistent brand positioning in Puerto Rico and in Sunshine State“ added Sanquirico.
The two agencies will retain their independence but will co-operate on a range of services to provide a ‘one-stop-shop’ facility, with the offer of public relations, crisis comms and marketing.
Since 1995, Upfront Communication has been offering integrated communications services to established and emerging companies in the fields of technology, manufacturing, health, solar energy and education.
Since 2011, Eleven 11 Communications have been partnering with brands serving the Hispanic market in Florida to help them achieve their integrated marketing and public relations goals.