San Juan Capistrano native Robert Oveson grew up in the hotel business, following his developer father from project to project.
Today he’s promoting resort hotels along Mexico’s Pacific Coast from offices in Manzanillo and Irvine.
Oveson started traveling in Mexico in his early 20s (he’s 28 now) and got a job in the hotel industry in Manzanillo. There he found that hoteliers wanted to do more to reach out to U.S. travelers but weren’t always sure how.
“They didn’t know what people (in places like Southern California) were looking for,” Oveson said. “They were looking for someone to help.”
Oveson jumped at the chance. In spring 2003, he launched a tourism Web site along with a visitor guide to Manzanillo, Costalegre and Colima with $8,000 in seed money.
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Oveson, foreground, receives tourism award from Mexican President Vicente Fox: startup expects $250,000 in revenue this year |
“I was riding around on my bike talking to businesses about advertising,” he said.
The publication, called Mexican Pacific, is targeted to upscale and family travelers in Orange County who like to travel in style, Oveson said.
The free publication has a circulation of about 15,000 and is distributed in Mexico and in Southern California, mostly through OC travel agents.
This month Oveson’s company,Mexican Pacific Marketing,plans to start placing the publication at South County restaurants. A new guide for Los Cabos is in the works.
The company expects to do about $250,000 in revenue this year. It has a staff of three in Irvine and a staff of 12 in Manzanillo.
Besides the publication and Web site, it has grown to a full-service marketing and public relations firm, representing luxury properties such as Kamina Palace in Manzanillo and the Grand Baja Resort and Spa in San Jose del Cabo.
Last spring Mexican Pacific received a “Lenta de Plata” (Silver Lens) award from the Mexican government for the best tourism Web site. Oveson received the award from Mexican President Vicente Fox.
Oveson said business laws in Mexico make operating there a challenge. But he said he believes his perspective as an American learning the ropes in Mexico can be an advantage for growth.
“If you have a vision and can put the pieces together, you can make it work,” he said.
Temp Demand Up
Rising demand for temporary help often is a sign of good times. If that holds true in the advertising and marketing world, things indeed are looking up.
Demand for graphic designers and production artists is on the rise again, along with an increased need for freelance or temporary help for experienced advertising and marketing personnel, according to the Creative Group of Irvine.
Creative Group, which opened its doors in OC in 1999, is a unit of Robert Half International, a human resources staffing company based in Menlo Park.
Employers in the marketing and media sector still appear reluctant to hire full-time help, but the need for workers is definitely on the rise, according to Elaine Wiest, division director for the Creative Group.
“We’re seeing a lot of demand for temp-to-perm work,” she said. “We’re approaching 2000 levels.”
The Creative Group’s clients include companies in publishing, engineering, advertising, healthcare and finance. Wiest said demand for help has been especially strong in Web design and for corporate marketing departments.
“A lot of companies haven’t redesigned their Web sites in a long time,” she said, “but we expect (that work) to pick up next year.”
Another niche: preparing Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.
Wiest said there’s often a year-end crunch for in-house marketing departments needing to prepare presentations for sales meetings, conferences and trade shows that take place early in the calendar year.
“A lot of companies bring in people just to do that,” she said.
And the Winner Is
Local sports executives may not have been very vocal during the presidential campaign, but they weren’t hesitant to open their wallets to help candidates get the word out.
Sports Business Journal in October reported that Anaheim Angels owner Arte Moreno and U.S. Olympic Committee chair and Laguna Beach businessman Peter Ueberroth made direct contributions of at least $2,000 to the George W. Bush campaign. Newport Beach sports agent Scott Boras gave $2,000 to Sen. John Kerry’s campaign.
Other Southlanders in the mix included four members of the San Diego Chargers’ Spanos family who contributed directly to Bush. The Walt Disney Co.’s Michael Eisner and San Diego Padres owner John Moores contributed to Kerry.
Donations made to national parties and political action committees weren’t included in the listing.
