Miami-headquartered wealth manager BiscayneCapital has launched a new advertising campaign across Latin America – a move which follows hot on the heels of its launch of a new office in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The new yearlong advertising campaign consists of a series of print advertisements aimed at both ultra high net worth families themselves and their advisors. The ads will run in a selection of luxury, lifestyle, travel and automotive publications, including Pluna, American Airlines' Nexos magazine and Forbes Argentina. The campaign will run in tandem with the firm’s sponsorship of various sports events such as the Nokia Summer Cup in Punta del Este, Uruguay and the ProAm Charity Tennis Tournament in Key Biscayne, Florida.

The advertising campaign centres on the concept of “Valores” (Spanish for values) and the firm said in a statement that this plays to its core value of treating clients “like they are family.”

BiscayneCapital’s decision to target the UHNW via advertising goes somewhat against the grain of current thinking, as many in the industry are of the view that this segment is hard to reach via traditional marketing methods and should instead be wooed via hospitality and networking events. It is arguable however that word-of-mouth recommendations have to be facilitated by the greater brand awareness which is brought about by high-profile advertising and sponsorships. It also hardly needs to be said that such efforts do greatly increase a brand’s credibility.

The firm is far from alone in deciding that 2012 is the right time to deploy funds in a high-profile advertising campaign. To take just one example, RBC Wealth Management recently embarked on its first ever global print advertising campaign targeting wealth management clientele.

Biscayne, which was founded in 2005, has satellite offices throughout Latin America and earlier this month opened an office in Montevideo, Uruguay as part of its growth strategy. The new wealth management office, which is located in Uruguay’s World Trade Center and managed by Ignacio Sienra, is the firm’s second in the country. The wealth manager also announced it is planning to hire more financial advisors and establish additional satellite offices in key markets within Latin America, as it looks to tap the region’s burgeoning ranks of wealthy clients.

According to Credit Suisse’s World Wealth Report, absolute wealth in Latin America has shot up from $3.3 trillion in 2000 to $8 trillion today. Average wealth has also grown steadily, more than doubling over the past decade to $25,000 in 2010. Amid this wealth creation, it has been hard to ignore the number of international banks and asset managers ramping up their coverage of the region, particularly in Chile and Brazil. Last month for example Credit Suisse announced it had received a broker-dealer licence in Chile which will allow it to offer wealth management services locally to high net worth clients.