Powerful Stories: Latincouver

Welcome to our first installment of ‘Powerful Stories’, a new series showcasing local cultural and non-profit organizations from a communications and branding perspective.

This week’s focus is Latincouver, a Vancouver-based non-profit bringing together “Latin Americans and Latin enthusiasts living in Vancouver to strengthen and celebrate the richness of our cultures”. Among their initiatives, they host business networking events, social and cultural activities, and operate as a central “meeting place” for Latinos and non-Latinos alike.

Armada recently sat down with founder Paola Viviana-Murillo and Director of Sales Lupita Michel to learn more.

What is Latincouver and what do you do?

In short, Latincouver is a ‘virtual latin plaza’ in Vancouver. In Latin countries, a plaza is traditionally a meeting place: to connect, socialize, do business, and be part of a community. Our vision was to bring this concept to the Latin community in Vancouver, through innovative social media, cultural activities, business networking events, and mutually beneficial partnerships.

How did you start? What needs did you not see being met in Vancouver at the time?

Latincouver grew out of the frustration of seeing many highly educated and talented people from Latin America struggling to integrate into Canada society and build successful careers. We recognized that by creating a platform to connect these individuals, providing them with the tools and networking opportunities needed to succeed, that a strong and sustainable community could thrive. Drawing on our marketing and communications expertise, we built Latincouver largely through social media, eventually expanding into cultural festivals and business events. Today, Latincouver has grown into an online market-place and active social-media hub for the Latin Canadian community.

How were you able to develop your organization from the grassroots?

Networking, networking, networking. Coming from a human resources background, Paola understood recruiting the right people from the beginning would make a difference in the long-term. Ensuring volunteers understood and aligned themselves with the organization’s values, as well as building an inclusive board of directors from diverse backgrounds has helped us reach many communities.

We also recognized that selling potential volunteers on a compelling idea and bringing the brand to life visually would help them buy into our long-term vision. Following a successful public relations launch, interest in the organization has grown significantly and has allowed us to expand our operations in a short period of time.

What role does communications and marketing play in Latincouver? What channels are you using and how do you position yourself?

Social media has been an incredible driver, allowing us to make a big impact even with minimal resources. Instituting a bartering system has also opened doors to traditional media outlets, such as newspaper and radio advertising, particularly among Latin businesses and organizations.

Taking an inclusive approach to volunteer and community participation has also been a major key to success. Lupita often approaches Spanish speakers on the street, introducing the organization and extending an invitation to an upcoming event. It’s this kind of willingness to engage all people, whether formally or informally, that has contributed to our steady growth.

From a communications stand-point, what strategies have worked successfully for you over the years?

Our communications have been successful because all the tools and strategies we employ are always working in unison, supporting one another. As a grass-roots organization, relationships have also been at the heart of everything we do. Choosing the right partners builds the momentum, and tools such as social-media help sustain that momentum. Developing strong relationships with Latin-American consulates has helped us build credibility and reach out to many Latin American communities in Vancouver.

Above all, we emphasize giving as much as receiving. This has helped open up many doors and build credibility in the communities we serve.

Conversely, what obstacles have you encountered?

Like most non-profits, money is always the core issue. Much like our communications strategy, selecting the right partnerships and operating on a bartering system has allowed us to circumvent this obstacle. Exchanging sponsorship for media and advertising space and reaching out to community leaders such as Gregor Robertson who have an interest in receiving positive exposure in the Latin community are just two examples of how we’ve made a big impact with modest resources.

 

We hope you enjoyed our first Powerful Stories installment!

Feedback? Criticism? Praise? We’d love to hear it! You can contact us directly at blog@armadadesign.ca
Interested in having us feature your organization? Contact us at blog@armadadesign.ca and we’d be happy to arrange an opportunity for an interview.