Demand Rises For Latino Male Models

Demand for Latino Male Models is on the rise!

In August 2012, Forbes Magazine published an edition with a simple image of the stunningly beautiful Sofia Vergara on the cover and a simple tag line that read: “The Next Media Jackpot”. The Jackpot that Forbes was referring too is the growing purchasing power of the U.S. based Latino market and their engagement with multimedia.

Almost one year later, it seems Forbes was spot on as demand for Latino Male Models to pose for fashion, product and general commercial marketing sets is on the rise.

Our commercial male model management firm has always been about diversity and about helping our client base get ahead of emerging global trends and, to the extent possible capitalize on both, to get their brands in line with the next big thing. We’re not implying in any way that we create these trends but we do work hard to cut through the noise and parse out what’s real and meaningful for marketers and what’s not.

The math in this case is pretty straight forward and very compelling. Per the “Latino Love” article written by Jeff Bercovici and other sources we use, the median age of the Latino and Hispanic population living in the U.S. is 27 years old and like most mid-20 somethings in the U.S. they are highly internet savvy. That’s cool, but here’s another fact that brand managers may want to consider, of that same population, less than 25% of them, although they speak spanish in their homes and with their families, are fluent in English and prefer to speak English in the work place and when interacting socially outside of the their homes. Whoa! Now we’re getting to some important marketing ‘stuff’. If you stop and connect the dots for a second, you can see how a savvy brand or marketing manager may want to tailor their fall and holiday print media campaigns to appeal more to the high spending, highly responsive latino and hispanic U.S. based demographic. The great news is that they can do so without alienating their english speaking speaking customer base. And maybe (just maybe) this means that running duplicate ads (i.e. in both English and Spanish) may not be necessary and possible perceived as a bit overkill on a brands part.

By casting latino male models (and latino female models as well of course) a brand can attract and intice a whole new customer base, one that’s proven to respond well to multimedia advertising both online and in print ads.

We’re pscyhed about this emerging trend in advertising multimedia and have been consulting our clients to consider diversifying their advertising photography campaigns as a result. The proof will come in early Q1 2014 once the holiday buying season is wrapped up, but no matter what, the writing is on the wall and brands that respond and diversify their advertising are almost assured access to new, highly profitable and brand loyal customers. And who in this economy isn’t interested in that? For more information on hiring latino and hispanic male models for your upcoming online and print media campaigns and other Niche Market Marketing Services please contact us, we’ll be happy to share what we know and provide you with some ideas that just may make this a very ¡Feliz Navidad.

Shooting Male Models OUT Of Their Comfort Zone!

When a model seems out of place on location, the challenge lies with the photographer to make it right.

There’s a kind of tension that’s almost palpable when you take a model out of his ‘comfort’ zone and place him in an environment that foreign or unnatural. Sometimes that tension is helpful and sometimes it spells disaster. But one thing’s for certain, we’re seeing more demand from advertising clients who want extreme locations for their marketing campaigns. This means less time in the comfort ans safety of the studio and more time on location where comfort, privacy and control are harder to come by.

Yeah, it’s kinda like the challenges you see on ANTM where models are forced to get the killer shot in less then comfortable surroundings .. (i.e. underwater or in a snake pit type thing). Good news for our models is I’m terrified of snakes so you’ll never see anything like that from our studio. But the fact remains that sometimes client specs require a model to get out of their comfort zone and it’s a trend we think will continue. The question for us as commercial photographers is how do we use that discomfort and tension to our advantage? How do we take that nervous energy and pixilate it into a shot that sells products without freaking out the model and without sending one of us into cardiac arrest? Not sure we have all the answers, but it’s something we will be paying closer attention to in the future as marketers seem to be wanting (and willing to pay for) more elaborate and non traditional, out of studio locations. Sure we can green-screen it and photoshop it, but any seasoned pro will tell you that not even the best photoshopper can replicate the vibe and energy that comes from shooting on location where the stakes are high and the pressure is on, it’s almost like the camera picks up on the energy. Sometimes it works out better than hoped for, but sometimes (like when we tried to shoot  for a client on a gondola in the middle of a freaking blizzard on Backcomb Mountain earlier this year – you can check out this story along with video and photos in our backstage section of acemalemodels.com) it turns out to be a total bust.

Case in point is Male Model Kessler (left) a new male model signed just last month for a black tie type shoot for an upcoming 2013 holidays photoshoot. He’s got the streetwise, skater thing going on and would be perfect for an urban type shoot or brand. We think he could even excel in a farm or great outdoors type setting, but black tie is simply not his thing. We know it and he knows it, but the client likes his look for this gig. We’ll keep you posted and share the results, but it seems this trend for forcing models into environments they’re not at home in, may be something happening more often than not in the coming months – a challenge we welcome for sure and hope to learn from as we go. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. (right????)

Male Models and the 20th cycle of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM)

Open Call Casting for the next season of the long running reality show America’s Next Top Model on the CW network is underway and for the first time Male Models will be competing for the TOP MODEL title. Audition dates in Miami, San Diego, D.C. and LAX still to come in the first week of January. We’ve got info about location, dates, etc as well as eligibility requirements on our Male Model Casting page. If you’re interested in going out to audition you should take time to read them carefully so you’re not eliminated on a technicality and to get a feel for what the producers are looking for. We’ll be at the Miami Casting Call on January 5th and will post some updates from the event . . . Good Luck Guys (and Gals!!)

James Bond Inspired Advertising Photography:

The November 9th 2012 release of Skyfall and 50th anniversary of the 007 enterprise inspired one of our clients to seek advertising photography for their e-commerce website that captured the energy, excitement and essence of Bond. Seemed like an an easy gig based on the specs, but it turned out to be a little harder to mimic Mr. Bond’s sex appeal and mystique than we first expected.

Aside from location and wardrobe, the real challenge was finding our own ’007 like’  male product and fashion model that would appeal to a young, male demographic (ages 21-30) and the to the people who buy gifts for them. We needed our guy to be youthful, yet sophisticated without being pretentious and who could be taken seriously without seeming too mature or grown up for the client’s product line being represented. Several of the male models who were considered had one or the other, but very few hit the mark across all of the ‘James Bond Jr.’ dimensions we needed. There was just something missing that made the test shots feel unauthentic and hard to take seriously as they seemed to distract as opposed to attract the target customer.

With the Black Friday deadline looming and after a lot of collaboration with the client, countless test shots and a few debates by the water cooler, we agreed on our Baby Bond. Congratulations to ACEMALE Model George who was chosen for the project and to photographer Christian Berns for the great work done to shoot with Bond like class and style but for a younger and trendy target audience.

The finished product which included a series of banner style images as well as homepage hero type graphics was delivered in time for the cyber Monday campaign our client was running and so far the feedback has been very encouraging – ultimately the sales and conversion data will tell the final story, but the initial results are fantastic. We’ll keep you posted.

The popularity of both Casino Royal and now Skyfall, along with this client’s vision for a sophisticated yet casual and youthful look and feel for their website and marketing campaigns drives home an emerging trend that we think will have an impact on multi-media advertising in 2013 across a number of verticals. We fully expect to see more requests along these lines as the 20 something, urban crowd starts to step it up a bit in terms of fashion, skin care and lifestyle in general.

To see more shots from this advertising photo shoot check out George’s male model portfolio.  We hope you enjoy it and would appreciate any feedback or ideas that other photographers, models and 007 fans may have on the finished product.  Happy 50th Birthday Bond!  ~AMM / Ft. Lauderdale Fl  USA

ACEBOYS Presents: Our 2012 Top 10 Holiday Gifts for Guys

Each year we publish our HOLIDAY TOP 10: The Ultimate Holiday Gift Giving Guide for Guys. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the perfect guy, we think you’ll find our suggestions of Christmas and Chanukah Gifts for Guys a great resource.  All the gifts featured here are tailored to young men between the ages of 18 to 40 and most are priced under $100.00 (with a few exceptions) so if you’re shopping for your Richie Rich nephew, this list may not cut it.

Links to reputable and secure shopping sources are provided where you can order each item from an eCommerce shop you know and trust.

As we power down for the U.S. Thanksgiving Holiday, we want to take a moment to thank our clients, models, friends and fans who have helped us keep on track in 2012 and prosper despite the crazy economic market we’re all dealing with. From all of us here at ACES Entertainment and ACEMALE Models, we wish everyone in the states a very Happy Thanksgiving!

ACEBOYS™ Introduces: Male Advertising Model Robert H.

ACEBOYS™ & ACE MALE MODELS is pleased to introduce the newest addition to our male fashion and advertising line up, Robert H. from Fort Lauderdale, FL. Robert was referred to us back in September and completed his first shoot in early October. The photo presented here was from the very first round of shots we took of him and we think you’ll agree that he did a pretty good job for Day 1.

Robert’s very first male model profile page is now published on our site at www.acemalemodels.com. Please do check it out and leave him some words of encouragement and advice.

“Robert represents a growing trend that we’ve been seeing in North America to deliver more diverse looking product and advertising male models that allow our clients to niche both their print and digital media marketing. Nothing could make us happier to oblige and we expect Robert to be busy shooting for clients very soon” Christian Berns

Robert will be featured in our banner ad market place in December 2012 and will be available for custom advertising, fashion, fitness, product and adult contracts in January 2013.

Before we close this post out we want to take a moment and send some love to our many models, clients and friends in the NY / NJ area who were impacted by Hurricane Sandy. As Florida natives we’ve seen the devistation first hand and know the stress and fear that comes in the days and weeks after a storm like Sandy comes to town. Our thoughts and prayers are with you now.   ~ ACEBOYS™

Male Product Models Matter: Proof Positive From The Price Is Right??!!

So we’re not really ones to say “We told you so”, but … (gosh there’s no easy way to say this) … We Told You So!! 

This month the longest running game show on television with a history almost as rich as Playboy for showcasing beautiful women has hired it’s first male model <insert gasp>.

From day one, The Price Is Right has deployed beautiful female models to showcase products and prizes and this month marks the first time ever that they have brought a male advertising model into the mix.

There’s a ton to talk about here and many other blog posts are talking about them, but not many are asking the question we have which is quite simply … WHY?

As hard to believe as this may be, the Price Is Right did not return our phone calls so forgive the speculation here, but we think it’s clear that (for whatever demographic reason) male models are selling more products both online, in print media and apparently on television as well.  Let’s see here, the female homemaker demographic that loves The Price is right demanded more eye candy, or perphaps the uber loyal gay fan bases demanded the eye candy? Who knows (and who cares really), what matters is that they are deploying male advertising and brand models for a reason and it may be a good time to ask if using a male model to promote your businesses products or services could boost sales as well.

Since 2005 AceBoys™ and ACE MALE™ Models have been producing custom advertising multi media that helps diverse brands across the globe showcase, brand and sell both online and in print media using real world, male models that connect with your target customers.

So we’ll see what happens here in time, but we predict that before too long we just may see another male model along side Rob on The Price Is Right. Male Models carry the same, if not more potent ability to sell products as they appeal to a very wide and diverse demographic.  As the control of household spending changes, so should your marketing. To learn more about how ACE MALE™ models can transform your print and digital marketing, “c’mon down” to our website located here: www.acemalemodels.com .   (Sorry that c’mon down thing was pretty bad!).

And congrats to Rob Wilson and to The Price Is Right for stepping out into an exciting new and diverse playing field.    ~ ACEBOYS™

NextGen Male Model Portfolios

Today we (finally) got our updated male model portfolio gallery published on acemalemodels.com. If you are looking for male models to help brand your products and services or for custom catalog or advertising solutions our new male model portfolio gallery allow you to sort portfolios by popular key word tags making it much faster and easier for our clients to find the right model from our websites.  Search tags make is easy to identify models by the type of work they do (i.e. fashion, fitness, adult, catalog) as well as by physical attribute (i.e. Hair color, Height, etc..).

Special thanks to our dev team for a job well done and to our clients and guests who were super patient during the transition. Model Ports will continue to be updated through this week and should be fully be complete by October 5th.

Next up is our Male Model Professional Network which is currently in Beta and will be live very soon.

More updates from us again soon!

ACEBOYS™ Presents: Male Fashion Model Mason

Male Fashion Model: Mason

ACEBOY™ MODELS is proud to present male fashion model Mason in his first commercial photo shoot. Although he hasn’t logged a ton of hours in front of the camera we think new comer Mason will have no problem booking gigs. “He (Mason) has the strong silent type thing going on and the camera picked up on it immediately. Couple that with mysterious eyes, a strong jaw line and you’ve got a killer combo that will sell product and that our clients will respond too”said Chris Berns noted male model photographer and director at ACEBOY™ MODELS in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. ACEMALEMODELS.COM launched Mason’s first commercial Male Model Portfolio earlier today  Brandable stock photos of Male Fashion Model Mason will be available for commercial and small business websites in the coming weeks. If you’re interested in purchasing photos of Mason or featuring Mason as a brand model for your webbased / print media, please see his male model portfolio page and click on the book me link. Check him out and let us know what you think.

Adult Webmasters: Don’t Compete On Price In 2010 – CREATE CONTENT!

Aces Entertainment & ACEBOY™ MODELS provides pay sites with high quality licensed and custom adult content. We’ve learned a lot over the years about what converts adult website traffic into paying subscribers and more importantly, what keeps them paying month over month. Believe it or not, it’s not always low price points!

How Will Your Adult Website Compete in 2010?
In conversations with adult webmasters, ACEBOYS™ asked “What will your competitive advantage be in 2010?” Many said it was going to be price – offering more adult content for less. More updates, more photos and video sets AND lower current membership pricing or offer more generous trial membership options. That’s a great approach if you’re offering a commodity product, like chewing gum, but adult content (especially high quality adult content) should never be viewed as a commodity and should never be reduced in price to compete for new member sign-ups. Just ask one of the big webhosting company CEOs – competing on price (especially in the adult space) is a recipe for disaster. Instead, compete on quality and creative content that engages subscribers and keeps them paying. Let the tube sites give it away, because there will always be a market for top quality, high resolution adult websites and adult content – ALWAYS.

ACEBOYS™ Offers Erotic Blogging, Copy writing and Outsourced Social Networking Services For Adult Webmasters. Our models write and network for your site!

Avoid Price Wars In The Adult Industry, Focus Instead On Providing Your Members With Diverse Adult Content:
Going into 2010 we want to challenge adult web masters and adult pay site owners to consider a different approach to increase membership revenue and reduce member churn. Why not consider 2010 a year of creation and focus on the quality and diversity of your adult content not lowing prices. Instead, add some new interesting niche sets that may stray a bit from your target niche, also, consider adding some non-traditional content like erotic short stories and or erotic blogs.
In this economy the people who are paying for access to your adult content site value quality. Let’s face it, there’s literally tons of free content they can access all over the web, but your customer base has chosen to pay. Think about that for a minute … (ok you’re minute is up) … I could choose to groom my own dog, but I choose to pay because I know I will get a better quality cut. I could choose to get free web hosting for our business websites, but we choose to pay for feature rich add free server space. Your customer’s could get off by watching all that home made adult content on the tube sites, but they choose too pay to view your top quality content. And to take it one step further, there was something about your website, they liked and decided to make a membership purchase. Literally, they are counting on you as the adult site owner or adult site webmaster to provide them with top quality adult content, not to lower your prices.

Ok Ok, no we are not scientists nor do we have marketing MBAs from The Wharton School, but we do pay close attention to what’s working for our adult webmaster customer base. Although we don’t have quantitative data here, it does stand to reason that lower prices is NOT what your members are looking for. They’re looking for top quality and top value.

So What’s The Bottom Line?
We here at ACEBOY™ Models feel the best way for adult pay site owners to compete in 2010 is TO NOT COMPETE AT ALL BUT TO CREATE. Create by updating your site more regularly with better quality adult content (minimum of 4x per months is rapidly becoming the industry standard). Create by adding a blog section to your adult pay site which focuses on trends in your specific niche. Create, buy including short erotic stories or providing model profiles that allow your members to get to know your models better through comprehensive profiles (not just stats, but hobbies, favorite foods, etc..).
By moving into a creative mode instead of a competitive mode, you’ll be offing your member base more value, and more options than your perceived competition. And, before you know it, you’ll be in a position to discuss price increases as opposed to price decreases that other adult webmasters will engage in this coming year.

New For 2010: ACEBOYS™ Offers Erotic Blogging and Erotic Short Story Writing Services:
Aces Entertainment, INC & ACEBOY™ MODELS In addition to high quality licensed and custom adult photo and video content, Aces Entertainment, Inc and ACEBOY™ models offer’s outsourced erotic blog writing services and erotic short story writing services for our adult website customer base. For more information about our products and unique photo and video marketing services please visit our male model photography website

We wish you much love, and tons of targeted traffic that converts in 2010 ☺

Best Regards, The ACEBOY™ Models Crew – Ft. Lauderdale, FL.