Black and Hispanic newspaper publishers form national advertising task force

(Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Target Market News) – The National Newspaper Publishers Association and the National Association of Hispanic Publishers have announced the formation of a National Advertising Task Force to educate marketers on the benefits and importance of the African -American and Hispanic newspaper market. This is the first time the NNPA and NAHP have joined forces for such an effort.

The two organizations will be joined in the effort by Refuel Agency, a nationally recognized firm in youth, military and multicultural marketing and media placement.

The NNPA, the trade association of the more than 200 African American-owned community newspapers along with the NAHP, a non-partisan trade advocacy organization representing the nation’s leading Spanish language publications, have a combined total reach of over 43 million readers per week.

The task force will be in charge of increasing awareness and advertising for member newspapers and will be meeting with major auto, financial and political advertisers in the coming months.

“With close to 97 million African Americans and Hispanics in the U.S. today, representing 33 percent of the total population, this consumer segment demands attention,” said Martha Montoya, VP of the NAHP. “The buying power of the African-American and Hispanic communities, currently at over $2.3 trillion combined, continues to outpace the national average.”

“This historic media alliance is a gigantic step for our two organizations,” said Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President and CEO of the NNPA. “We believe our working together has tremendous potential mutual benefits in today’s marketplace.”

“This task force also marks a historic partnership between the NNPA and NAHP, the nation’s most influential publishing organizations that are currently led by women. Martha and I have a shared vision and commitment to empower our communities by strengthening the voices of the media we serve,” said NNPA Chair Denise Rolark Barnes.

Refuel Agency will continue to assist both the NNPA and NAHP with print advertising duties. “We are thrilled to be a part of this initiative to bring one united voice to this very important mission. With African-American and Hispanic populations continuing to surge, it is the perfect time to promote the importance of reaching these communities,” said Derek White, President and CEO of Refuel Agency.

For more information, contact Greg Anthony, EVP National Sales Manager at 805.690.7011 or ganthony@refuelagency.com.

This article originally published in the November 2, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.