la comunidad (the community) Appoints Media Pioneer Antoinette Zel as President

la comunidad, one of the most awarded advertising agencies in the world, has appointed Antoinette Zel as agency president in the Miami office. A media pioneer, Zel, 43, most recently held the position of Senior Executive Vice President, Network Strategy for the NBC Universal/Telemundo Network. Prior to NBCU/Telemundo, Zel, a longtime MTV Networks executive, served as President of MTV Networks Latin America.

Zel’s appointment will enrich the leadership slate of la comunidad, the independent global creative leader, and position the agency for expansion in the US, targeting both the US Hispanic and general market consumer. Zel will be responsible for long-term strategic vision, business development and management of the US office, in tandem with la comunidad’s Buenos Aires office.

“I’ve known Antoinette for a long time and she’s always been an innovator. She knows the challenges faced by advertisers, and the current state of traditional media given her Viacom and NBCU experience. She knows the vehicles to use to get consumers to care – whether through branded extensions or original digital applications, and that’s very exciting for us,” said Jose Molla, la comunidad founder and Creative Director. “Plus, she has a great reputation as both an inspiring and effective leader; she’ll help us take la comunidad to the next level.”

With a track record growing businesses that thrive on creativity, Zel brings a broad perspective on marrying strong creative to the needs of consumers and marketers that result in tangible performance. She is especially known for her expertise in targeting the hard to reach 12-34 multi-cultural youth segment. In 2006, Zel and NBCU/Telemundo garnered its first Peabody Award for Excellence in Journalism for a news special, “For My Country? Latinos in the Military.”

A 13-year veteran of MTV Networks, as President of MTV Networks Latin America, Zel led all creative, commercial and strategic operations for MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1 in 22 countries in Latin America.

Trained as an entertainment attorney, Zel is a frequent keynote speaker who has been widely recognized by the media industry including Hollywood Reporter’s “Top 25 Hispanic Women in Entertainment (2007)”; and Ad Age “Top 25 Women to Watch,” (2006), and Billboard’s Top 20 Power Players in Music (2005).

About la comunidad

Founded in 2001 by brothers Jose and Joaquin Molla, la comunidad (the community) is a global independent agency known for excellence in multi-platform advertising and for authentic communications on multinational brands. La comunidad has three offices one in Miami Beach and two in Buenos Aires. La comunidad was named the 2006 Agency of the Year by Adweek’s Marketing y Medios; the agency has won numerous international advertising awards, including two Gold TV Lions and one Bronze Lion in the 2007 and 2008 editions of Cannes.

After just two years, la comunidad was ranked as the 13th most awarded agency in the world, according to The Gunn Report. La comunidad clients include Best Buy, Remy Martin, Johnson & Johnson, Citibank, Virgin Mobile, MTV/VH1, Volkswagen (Latin America), Disney Channel, Coca Cola Company and Rolling Stone Magazine, among others. For more information visit www.lacomu.com. “

• Johanna Guerra, Sr VP of Network News at Telemundo has left the company – Ramón Escobar, who last held the title of Sr VP of Network Entertainment at Telemundo, is back… as a full time consultant
• The current global crisis will cause the number of poor people in Latin America to rise by 9 million to 189 million this year, the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean said in a report presented on Thursday.
• The leader of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Latin American division, Vicente Trius, is leaving the company after having served less than five months in the position.
• Telefonica and Vivo gain on the Latin Wireless Index, while America Movil and NII lose.
• Beginning with the 2009-2010 season, Terra will stream select games live throughout Latin America, in both Spanish and Portuguese
• After a 3 year trial of producing regionalized news for several top 10 Hispanic market stations via the Telemundo Production Center in Dallas, the network is reverting to producing local news. Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Phoenix and San Jose will once again have locally produced news.
• Video: Senator Menendez Speaks on Behalf of Hispanic Farmers’ Discrimination Lawsuit + update
• T-Mobile Complete(R) Offers Hispanic Consumers Flexibility and Value with New Pay-in-Advance Packages
• Telemundo, Billboard and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company Sign Agreement to Broadcast the 2010 Billboard
• The Associated Press on Wednesday announced changes in its Latin America and Caribbean operations, closing a service limited to Puerto Rican news within Puerto Rico while adding editors and reporters elsewhere for the expanding Spanish market in the Americas.
• A report published by The Hispanic Institute and Mobile Future highlights the opportunities presented by mobile broadband access for the nation’s 48 million Hispanics.
• Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco was among four statewide co-chairs named today of Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman’s Latino Coalition.
• Money Transfer Service to Latin America – ATMCASH launches online and over the phone money transfer service to Latin America
• Reviewed: Gringo: A Coming-of-Age in Latin America, by Chesa Boudin
• Ray Gomez, news director for Pro 8 News (NBC affiliate), the CW and Telemundo in Laredo, passed away last night.
• Trend Toward Smaller Families in Latin America – The number of people per household in Latin America will fall by 18 percent by 2020, according to a study released in this capital Tuesday by consulting firm Euromonitor International.
• Eva Mendes- “Ser latina en Hollywood aún es difícil”
• Eleventh-hour criticism is arising over President Obama’s nomination for United States attorney in northern Iowa of a prosecutor who had a leading role in the criminal cases against hundreds of illegal immigrants arrested in a May 2008 raid at a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa. – Stephanie Rose
• For the first time in its more than 20-year history, the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards will take place in Puerto Rico, marking the first time the show goes on the road from its traditional Miami homebase. The awards, presented by State Farm, will be broadcast live on April 29, 2010, by the Telemundo network.
• From a group calling themselves Electronic Civil Disobedience comes the Transborder Immigrant Tool, a simple mobile application intended to aid and abet border-crossers from Mexico to the United States by mapping the safest routes to take. – This GPS app is built to work on the cheapest cell phones available.