Rapp Collins Worldwide, HispanAmerica Form Joint Venture

Direct marketer Rapp Collins Worldwide and HispanAmerica Response Marketing on Thursday formed a joint venture to tap the U.S. Hispanic market, using both online and offline initiatives.

Beatriz Mallory, who was previously president of HispanAmerica Response Marketing, has been named CEO of the new entity, to be called simply HispanAmerica. The venture’s headquarters will be located in New York.

The deal, the financial details of which were not disclosed, is a move to capitalize on the growing US Hispanic population. According to Rapp Collins, the Hispanic population is expected to be the second largest in population (exceeding 41 million) by the end of the decade, and its buying power will nearly triple to more than $965 billion annually.

“We will be the only single source for managing the convergence and integration of e-marketing with direct print, broadcast, mail and telemarketing in the Hispanic market,” says Mallory.

Rapp Collins Worldwide is part of the Omnicom Group, and it recently formed an interactive unit called RappDigital. HispanAmerica has developed marketing programs for clients such as Cendant Corp., Montgomery Ward, Procter & Gamble, Bertlesmann AG, Fingerhut and telecommunications giant SBC Communications, a client which it shares with Rapp Collins Worldwide.