EL SITIO.COM TAKES ON THE HISPANIC MARKET
Popular Latin American web destination enhances offering with network of local original content for Latino-American markets
Miami, FL -- September 9, 1999-- Making good on its promise to become the global leader in localized Spanish-language content and virtual communities, El Sitio.com today became the first major network of websites to launch highly customized, local-regional content for eight of the largest Latino-American urban markets. This is the business model El Sitio.com US will employ to build on the success already enjoyed by the company's other Web destinations in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay.
"The U.S.-based Latino-American community has different needs and interests than our users in Latin America," said Roberto Cibrian-Campoy, CEO of El Sitio. "And, even within the U.S., the Latino-American marketplace is not a homogeneous community. We believe our competitive advantage at El Sitio.com is that we can recognize the fine distinctions that exist between each virtual community. That allows us to offer our users content specific to their culture and lifestyle."
More than 70 percent of the Latino-American population resides in 12 large metropolitan areas. El Sitio.com US will offer localized content-specific to eight of the biggest Latino-American markets, including: Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, San Jose, Houston, San Antonio and San Juan. What makes El Sitio.com unique is that it goes beyond the mere transmission of wire stories to develop localized story angles tailored to the distinct regional and cultural profile of each virtual community.
"El Sitio.com is a user-driven Website. We continuously chat with our users in online discussion groups, polls and open online forums to help us develop and refine an accurate profile for each of our virtual communities," said Paola Prado, Vice-President and General Manger of El Sitio.com. "Our Regional editors in each community are commissioned to stay abreast of local happenings, tastes and trends."
Modeled after El Sitio.com's existing Latin American site, users of the new network of Latino-American sites can easily navigate through content channels which include: ú
Hometown - Provides news and services of interest to Latinos in key US cities. They include: guides to local restaurants, bars, movies and events ú
Vida - Addresses the needs and aspirations of the site's younger audience, as well as trend making information on arts, literature, food and fashion. ú
Community - Allows people from all over the world to meet in the chatrooms, and features free web page design and email services. ú
Relationships - Cupido.net, helps people find their love match and also provides advice on developing strong and effective relationships. ú
News - Features an exclusive Q & A section on immigration as well as a forum to discuss Latino politics, culture and other issues. ú
Sports - Catch up on the latest sports stats including soccer, football, basketball, baseball, Formula 1 and popular columns from CBS Sportsline. ú
Technology - Offers classes in HTML, Windows, programming and more technology-related topics. ú
Entertainment - The latest in the Latino music scene, movies and celebrities, as well as tutorials on how to play instruments and interactive advice from music experts.
In a recent move to broaden the site's interactive features, El Sitio.com formed two strategic alliances to offer its users advanced email and e-commerce capabilities. El Sitio.com signed an agreement with USA.NET, a leading provider of email and messaging services, to offer free Web-based email in Spanish, Portuguese and English. As part of the agreement users will benefit from enhanced customization tools that offer them complete access to email accounts and the customized branding of their email interface. The company also partnered with From2.com, a Miami-based e-commerce logistics company which provides logistics and fulfillment services for international e-commerce transactions conducted on El Sitio's site.
About El Sitio
El Sitio, Inc. (www.elsitio.com) is a leading Internet network providing country-specific content, dial-up access and, in the future, e-commerce, for Spanish and Portuguese speaking audiences in the countries of Latin America, the United States and elsewhere.
El Sitio currently features specific content for Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico and eight metropolitan communities in the US. El Sitio offers its 400,000 plus registered users free email services, chat rooms, bulletin boards, games and contests, plus Cupido.net, a matchmaking service. The site also features many channels of interest including: relationships, technology, parenting, news, sports, show business, movies and music. The company is partnered with top Internet news sites such as Reuters, The Weather Channel and CBS SportsLine to provide its customers with the most accurate and up-to-date news in Spanish and Portuguese. Founded in 1996 by Roberto Vivo-Chaneton and Roberto Cibrian-Campoy, El Sitio has a team of 150 professionals in offices in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Montevideo, Mexico City and Miami. The company also intends to focus on developing local content for Chile, Colombia and Venezuela in the coming year. |
