Hershey Taps First Latino Shop

Dieste & Partners has won the initial Hispanic advertising account of 106-year-old chocolatier Hershey Foods.

A market leader in the U.S. candy business, Hershey has until now lagged behind other confectioners in targeting the Hispanic market. M&M/Mars, for example, has been targeting Latino consumers with Spanish-language ads for selected brands such as Skittles and Snickers for at least 10 years.

Competitive reasons, however, were not the biggest factor for the Hershey, Pa.-based company’s selection of a Hispanic agency, said Dieste president Tony Dieste.

“They’re looking at it more from a developmental standpoint,” Dieste said.