Hispanic ad agency GarciaLKS has signed an agreement to
handle general marketing and Spanish-language advertising for Internet
auction start-up Orbis Online.
The estimated $3 million to $5 million dollar account adds to the agency’s
roster that already includes bilingual tech-oriented clients such as
Quepasa!com and The Health Network.
When it launches in November, privately funded Orbis Online (Latin for world)
will be a fully Spanish-English bilingual Web site for buyers and sellers in
North and Central America. General market and Hispanic-oriented TV spots will
break in Texas and California in the first quarter of 2000.
The agency is acting as a full marketing partner, handling all advertising
and developing strategies for opening NAFTA markets, vendors and technology
partners.
The initial focus will be on bilingual or Spanish-dominant business owners
and consumers from NAFTA treaty countries (U.S., Mexico and Canada) who want
to shop online.
“Now a New Yorker can get a great deal buying folk art directly from its
Mexican creator, and a wrought iron business in L.A. will be able to market
their products to Hispanics throughout the hemisphere,” said James Strader,
chief executive officer and chairman of Orbis Online.