Minorities criticize operation of UMC’s advertising firm

Art Nadler

Wednesday, June 2, 1999 | 11:28 a.m.

A recommendation to renew University Medical Center's $1.7 million advertising contract ran into stiff opposition Tuesday from representatives of the Hispanic community, who felt they were being shortchanged.

Eddie Escobedo, publisher of the Hispanic publication El Mundo, presented the Clark County commissioners with information from an organization that tracks the advertising market in Southern Nevada.

The 1998 third-quarter report of VoiceTrack, Escobedo said, showed that the hospital's advertising agency, Dunn Reber Glen Marz, spent $800,000 in "mainstream media" advertising and only $4,500 in minority media for that period.

Escobedo said Hispanics represent 20 percent of the market in Southern Nevada and are entitled to a larger share of the advertising budget to get the word out to needy families.

"DRGM should come up with a plan of how they market to minorities," Carlos McCarthy, assistant publisher of El Mundo, said. "The Hispanic community has not been informed of health prevention measures. All minority media has been blatantly ignored by DRGM."

Commissioners Myrna Williams and Yvonne Atkinson Gates demanded that a detailed advertising breakdown be submitted to the commission, which also acts as the hospital board of trustees. Williams wanted to know if health care information is being dispersed to non-English speaking populations.

"This is not about money," Gates said in agreement. "It's about getting information out."

When Bill Hale, chief executive officer of UMC, said El Mundo had not given the hospital an advertising proposal as requested, Gates said she didn't feel it was the responsibility of minorities to come up with proposals but the advertising agency's duty to seek their advice.

"We do have to have presentations from these (minority) people," Michael Mayes, president of DRGM, said. "We can't do them by osmosis."

Chairwoman Erin Kenny agreed with Mayes, stating that several years ago she dabbled in advertising. She insisted that minorities should approach DRGM with ways to best serve their populations.

The board tabled the renewal and directed hospital staff and DRGM to come back in two weeks with a complete breakdown of how much money is spent on getting health care information out to minorities.

McCarthy said he has also asked UMC to produce all advertising contracts with DRGM and related advertising documentation from 1994-98.

UMC awarded its advertising contract to DRGM in 1994, the first time the hospital hired an agency to handle its marketing.

"We welcome the opportunity to show the board that we have been good stewards of the advertising budget," Dale Pugh, assistant administrator of marketing at UMC, said. "We will be there in two weeks with the information. We want to make sure we reach everyone in Clark County."