Zona Design Puts The 'Soul' In 2006 Alma Awards Identity And Branding

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – June 2, 2006 For the ALMA Awards, one of the most highly anticipated entertainment events of 2006, which this year is hosted by Desperate Housewives’ Eva Longoria, ZONA Design, a Latina owned design agency, and a 2005 Hispanic Trends Top 100 Entrepreneur, created the identity and branding packages. Sponsored by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy group, the American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Awards, celebrate the contributions to American pop culture made by American Latinos in music, television, film and will be broadcast on ABC-TV, June 5th.

As image makers, clients look to the ZONA Design team to create integrated visual messages, identities that translate to any message platform. The synergy that they were able to exercise for the 2006 ALMA Awards branding campaign is a perfect example of what it is they do.

“The ALMA Awards had been off the air since 2002 and we knew we wanted to re-launch the show in 2006. ABC Networks was on board, Eva had agreed to host and co-produce, and we knew we had to come back strong. We needed an innovative identity and branding system that would capture the look and feel of our event to show potential corporate advertisers. We sought out ZONA Design which created a fresh and exciting identity, a sales and marketing kit, two films - a one minute teaser and a four minute history video, a website and a print advertising campaign for both the consumer and trade press. ZONA’s presentation package was critical to the success of our show. It got potential sponsors excited and really conveyed to those assembled the ‘soul’ of ALMA,” stated David Chavez, Executive Producer of the ALMA Awards, who is also CEO of LatinPointe, Inc. (Olathe, KS). “When I presented their work to the NCLR corporate board, which is made up of 30 Fortune 500 companies, with the president of ABC in attendance, I remember how proud and excited I was. This was a key moment. ZONA’s work helped bring our show back to life. When ZONA’s four-minute piece ended I knew that they had done their job and helped us sell the show to an important group of investors. In addition, their print advertising was powerful, their website successful. We were extraordinarily happy with their contributions and look forward to a long term relationship with ZONA, not just with the ALMA Awards but in any other venture LatinPointe undertakes.”

ZONA Design created an elegant package with strong entertainment values which included an identity and branding system (logo, color branding, font family, letterhead, business cards, envelopes), a sales kit (folder, brochure, DVD menu and navigation, and the DVD label design), two videos (a 1:00 teaser with highlights of previous ALMA Awards shows and elements of the 2006 ALMA Awards identity with graphics by ZONA which was screened before approximately 10,000 attendees at an NCLR conference in Philadelphia to announce the return of the ALMA Awards; and a 4:00 long format history of the ALMA Awards, used to entice sponsors), a website and print advertising campaign seen in publications ranging from Hispanic Magazine, LatinaStyle, LatinHeat, Hombre, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek's Marketing Medios, among others.

“First and foremost we had to create an identity for the ALMA Awards. They are the Hispanic entertainment community’s big Hollywood event. In creating the logo I chose to make the center of the ALMA ‘A’ represent the red carpet. The left wedge of the ‘A,’ the negative area, is representative of Hollywood glamour and the golden trophy. The negative area to the right is meant to call to mind the evening’s klieg lights which balance the logo and act as an accentuation, a punctuation,” explained ZONA Design Director/Creative Director Zoa Martinez. “Attributes of the identity are carried successfully through each piece of advertising, web, and video. The ALMA logo, beautiful photography from previous years, strong typography and high contrast images of performers convey a feeling of the talent to be celebrated at the awards,” she added.

“The 2006 ALMA Awards identity and branding is another example of the power that ZONA Design's work has on the client's bottom line and of our team's ability to create design solutions and consistent messaging for all points of contact with the consumer. Whether it's for print, HD, Video iPod, or theatrical distribution, there is an inherent sense of energy in ZONA's work that makes it distinctive and appealing to consumers,” added ZONA Design Vice President and Executive Producer Dennis Fluet.

“We are very pleased to with the new NCLR ALMA Awards identity created by ZONA Design. Re-launching the NCLR ALMA Awards after three years, we knew we needed something fresh, dynamic, and captivating. The new ALMA Awards caught the attention of our past partners and attracted new supporters to the project. The new identity helped in the successful re-launch of this important show,” stated Delia de la Vara, Deputy Vice President, NCLR.

The ZONA Design team, known for their distinctive and effective designs, was led by Creative Director/Designer Zoa Martinez, and included Executive Producer Dennis Fluet, Senior Designer Mark Lee, Designers Agnes Nowakowska and Youngha Park, Senior Composite Artist Andre Sam, 3D Animator Tim Clark, and Composite Artist/Motion Art Director/Final Cut Editor Fabien Leon.

ZONA utilized Adobe After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop, Apple Final Cut Pro and Lightwave in the execution of this project.
The ZONA team worked closely with ALMA Awards Executive Producer David Chavez, who is also CEO of LatinPointe, Inc., the Hispanic communications company, and company President Sarah Chavez. Their internal production company was responsible for the on-air graphics.

Representing the National Council of La Raza were Janet Murguia, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Delia de la Vara Deputy Vice President Strategic Communications Group.

This identity campaign is a Broadcast Designer’s Association (BDA) Awards finalist.

About ZONA Design:
ZONA Design, founded in 1999, is an award winning multi-disciplined design agency creating results driven work that is bold and direct for all points of contact with the consumer in the general, Hispanic, and youth markets. The company’s portfolio includes high profile projects for Disney/ESPN Networks, AOL Time Warner Networks, 5Boro Skateboards, Discovery Communications, Encore Media Group, Rainbow Media Holdings, Chrysler, Dodge, and the various A&E Television Networks.