Hispanic Marketing Veteran Ed Cantú Named as New Director of Consumer Insights at Lopez Negrete Communications 

HOUSTON (Dec. 11, 2009) – Lopez Negrete Communications, the second largest independent, Hispanic owned and operated, full-service agency specializing in Hispanic marketing, announces the appointment of Ed Cantú to the position of Director of Consumer Insights. Cantú will lead the agency’s Account Planning and Consumer Insights team for the agency and will play a key role as a member of the Strategic Planning Team of the agency.

“I am elated to have Ed join the Lopez Negrete Communications family. I have known him from the beginnings of his career and have followed his path, which includes some of the finest agencies in the Hispanic arena and in the general market. He brings an extraordinarily well-rounded background and skill set that will help take our already established, first-class cadre of account planners to the next level,” says President, CEO and Chief Creative Officer Alex López Negrete. “I have tremendous respect for Ed and, while I have enjoyed having him as a competitor, I am certainly happier to have him as a friend and coworker,” he adds.

Already well-established in the marketing world, Cantú brings with him more than 15 years of strategic leadership in advertising and marketing. A sampling of the business relationships he has built includes Sears, Pillsbury, Anheuser-Busch, Burger King, Kimberly Clark, Bacardi, Dove, Miller Genuine Draft, Domino’s Pizza, H-E-B, Sprint, ESPN DEPORTES and Western Union.Cantú has as well held upper-ladder positions around the country at such esteemed firms as LatinWorks, Ogilvy & Mather, Leo Burnett USA, Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar, NuStats International, and the Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m proud to be one of the newest members of the growing Lopez Negrete family. I’m confident my experience with blue chip clients in both the general market and Hispanic world will allow me to serve as both a consumer advocate and creative catalyst,” says Cantú. “My goal is to balance our clients’ business objectives with artistic expression in today’s consumer reality. I hope to help further the agency’s mission and bring a fresh consumer perspective to an already strong organization with the ultimate objective of inspiring effective, breakthrough creative,” Cantú adds.

As Director of Consumer Insights, Cantú will lead the team of Lopez Negrete Communications account planners who act as a “voice of the consumer” at the agency. His background in strategic planning will ensure the highest quality in writing creative briefs, analyzing existing data, working with the agency’s research team in designing and recommending methodologies, as well as working with the business analytics team to craft a complete view of the competitive set and the business opportunities for existing and prospective clients wanting to grow their brands within the Hispanic market.

About Lopez Negrete Communications, Inc.

Lopez Negrete Communications is an independent, Hispanic owned and operated, full-service agency specializing in Hispanic marketing. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with a second office in Los Angeles, Calif., the company’s billings for 2009 are estimated at $161 million. Since 1985, Lopez Negrete Communications has offered a full range of advertising, marketing and public relations services to industry leaders such as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Tyson Foods, Bank of America, Microsoft Corporation, Kraft Foods (Kraft Singles), MillerCoors (Miller Lite), NBC Universal Motion Pictures Group, Azteca Milling L.P., Sonic Drive-Ins, Reliant Energy, and others. With more than 160 employees, Lopez Negrete Communications is a proven leader in providing fully integrated national Hispanic marketing and communications services.