2008-07-21 21:01:16 - The Hispanic PR campaign won the Crystal Award in the category of Public Relations and was designed and developed by Houston-based Hispanic marketing firm, Agua Marketing (www.aguamarketing.com).

Houston, July 21, 2008 --- The Houston Chapter of the Boy Scouts of America was recently honored by the American Marketing Association for its results in reaching out to the more than one million Hispanic families in Houston.

The ceremony was held at the InterContinental Houston Hotel on May 22, 2008 and was attended by more than 500 Marketing professionals.

The

Crystal Award ceremony represents Houston's premier event honoring the best marketing work in 50 categories. A panel of eight judges from across the nation selected the finalists and winners from more than three hundred projects nominated.

The strategic approach of the PR program was to make Scouting more attuned to the expectations and needs of Hispanic families, while dispelling some of the most common myths held by Latinos, primarily the misconception that the Boy Scouts were only for Anglos and wealthy families.

'We are delighted by the results of our Hispanic PR efforts. Our team at Agua Marketing has enabled the Boy Scouts of Houston to be front and center when Hispanic parents are choosing activities for their children,' said Jason Volz, Marketing Director for the Houston Boy Scouts. 'We know how important it is to communicate the values our organization provides to young people, especially to families who may not fully understand our programs.'

'Recent years have brought dramatic changes to face of the United States, with an enormous increase in the number of Hispanics,' said Manuel Delgado, CEO of Agua Marketing. 'Organizations like the Boy Scouts are aware of this shift, and are strategically addressing this new opportunity with great creativity and hard work in order to fortify the mission of their organizations or businesses for future generations.'
'Agua was truly honored to work for the Boy Scouts of America. We firmly believe that the Scouting program can significantly help Hispanic parents raise better children. The program develops values that are relevant for the Latino families,' Delgado said.

As part of the effort, Univision aired a two-day special report featuring Latino Scouts, as well as other Hispanic Scoutmasters, leaders, volunteers and families, all sharing tasks and spending valuable family time. As a result of the PR program, the number of information inquiries from Hispanic parents and the number of new Hispanic scouts have increased significantly.

Agua Marketing obtained two additional nominations in the Crystal Awards program. One was in recognition for its work with Imperial Sugar, in which the company was a finalist in the category of 'social network or blog' with the entry entitled 'Mama Rosa blog'.

The second nomination, in the category of Qualitative Research, was obtained for an ethnographic study conducted for Hewlett Packard and entitled 'Technology and the Latino Consumer.'

About the Sam Houston Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America
For over 90 years, the Sam Houston Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America has been dedicated to leading youth to lifelong values, service and achievement. The council serves the southeastern area of Texas including the following counties: Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Colorado, Fort Bend, Harris, Grimes, Madison, Matagorda, Montgomery, Robertson, Trinity, Walker, Waller, Washington, Wharton and Western Chambers. This service area encompasses 1,600 schools in 72 school districts and has grown to serve approximately youth annually through 2,604 Scout units. The Scouting program is values-based leadership training for youth that encourages them to pursue their special interests, make new friends, and give back to their community. Learn more about Scouting at www.BuildingStrongValues.org.

About Agua Marketing
Agua Marketing, formerly known as 'Reality Hispanic Marketing,' is an award-winning, Hispanic marketing agency founded in 2003. Agua Marketing focuses on providing the best strategic approach and execution to the Hispanic market in the US. Its clients include blue-chip companies such as Hewlett Packard, Best Buy, Imperial Sugar and Georgia Pacific. To learn more, please visit www.AguaMarketing.com