latinworks
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a - b inbev' s bud light is a longtime client of latinworks .
sergio alcocer is leaving u. s. hispanic shop latinworks | hispanic marketing - ad age
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the acquisition gives latinworks controlling interest of cultura with omnicom’s diversified agency services (das) unit retaining its minority interest (49 percent) in the dallas shop, said manny flores, ceo and managing partner, latinworks, in a telephone interview. omnicom also is a minority stakeholder in latinworks .
latinworks also created hispanic and general - market ads for the chelada versions of budweiser and bud light .
the addition of cultura staffers will expand the number of latinworks’ employees to about 100 from 85, flores said .
like the entrepreneurial latinworks itself, which is only minority owned by omnicom, mr. ruelas and his latinworks co - founder manny flores will own a majority share in sibling, with a 49% stake for gsd & m. ;
knipp will work alongside christy kranik, who moves to managing director from latinworks’ vp, account management, to help clients ease into the changeover. knipp and kranik report to sergio alcocer, president and chief creative officer, latinworks, per flores .
it will be based in austin with executive creative director rafael serrano leading creative duties. serrano previously served as creative director for latinworks .
that opened the door for anheuser - busch, where latinworks became one of three u. s hispanic shops and competed for general market assignments, scoring three super bowl slots for bud light spots. after inbev bought a - b, the only hispanic agency left standing was latinworks .
consider at & t; , which selected latinworks after a pitch against general - market agencies to launch a pre - paid wireless brand called aio wireless. the business, latinworks' largest win in its 15 - year history, now represents 21% of the agency' s revenue .
in 2010 mr. flores estimates latinworks, which reliably posts double - digit revenue increases every year, will grow 10% to 15% .
and that' s why it' s called sibling. the new agency is the brainchild of alejandro ruelas, co - founder, managing partner and cmo of leading hispanic shop latinworks; former latinworks creative director rafael
rafa
serrano; and gsd & m; ceo duff stewart .
“they certainly helped me achieve that growth with their communications to hispanic consumers, ” weiner says. “i couldn’t have done that without latinworks. ”
alejandro ruelas, cofounder, cmo and managing partner of latinworks, and ceo of gsd & m; duff stewart will provide leadership and guidance .
“we are very excited to become part of latinworks, ” said cultura ceo and gm greg knipp, who joins latinworks as a managing director. “together, we will provide our clients with more of what they already receive: respect and value, as well as new ideas and innovations. ”
christy kranik, latinworks' long - time svp and managing director, becomes evp and general manager, and steps up to run the entire agency .
obsessed with providing solutions that answer even the most challenging client business problem, latinworks is a unique and specialized agency with roots in the multicultural space .
if you are engaged and willing to work hard on ideas, latinworks is the right place for you. great list of clients and very intelligent people .
a seamless transition is planned to ensure that clients new to latinworks receive the same level of service and creative they’ve experienced in the past, flores said .
austin - based agencies gsd & m; and latinworks have launched a multicultural agency called ‘sibling’ that will help brands appeal to a younger and more diverse audience .
mr. alcocer joined latinworks in 1999, shortly after co - founders manny flores and alejandro ruelas, the agency' s ceo and cmo, started latinworks in a basement in st. louis, missouri, the city where both had worked on the client side at anheuser - busch. the agency is minority owned by omnicom group .
the arboretum the domain bba management and booking latinworks spacex the modern jewish wedding f1 circuit of the americas qualcomm kennedy creative austin children' s services hendricks gin bindlestiff inc .
competition for business is especially intense for hispanic agencies like latinworks as more general market shops go after expanding hispanic marketing budgets. not that latinworks has had to worry. the agency, in which omnicom has a minority stake, has continued to grow its client roster with high - profile accounts, even in the toughest years of the current downturn .
“latinworks had the most forward - thinking approach to the hispanic marketplace, and they had very good strategic thinking about branding and creating [ consumer ] archetypes, ” farfan says .
in ms. kranik' s new role, latinworks' creative and planning departments will report to her; she was already in charge of account management, media and new business .
latinworks is one of the biggest u. s. hispanic agencies, and has been both ad age' s multicultural agency of the year and on the agency a - list .
“with clients like marshalls and domino’s, we handle everything from the communications strategy to creative to experiential to media planning and buying, ” says christy kranik, managing director at latinworks .
sergio alcocer, president and chief creative officer of latinworks, is leaving the austin - based u. s. hispanic agency at the end of this week after more than 16 years. mr. alcocer, one of the best - known hispanic creatives, has been a major force behind making latinworks one of the biggest and most creative agencies in the hispanic market .
for many years sergio embodied the spirit of what latinworks was all about ,
mr. ruelas said .
he is a very powerful personality that people drew a lot of inspiration from. sergio will always be unique, and he meant the world to latinworks and we' re just happy he has the chance to do the things he wants to explore .
but through a combination of new - business wins and additional brands from existing clients such as pepsi, heinz and mars, latinworks managed to end 2012 with revenue up 7% . how? as marketers ponder whether it makes sense to have both a general - market and a hispanic agency, latinworks is at the forefront of making the case that multicultural is the new mainstream .
latinworks heads (left to right): managing partner manny flores, president - cco sergio alcocer, and managing partner alejandro ruelas new york (adage. com) - - injecting a creative spirit even into its focus groups, latinworks pitted a dozen chevy and ford truck owners against one another to defend their passion for their chosen brands as the agency pitched for chevrolet' s u. s. hispanic account last summer. the big, prestigious chevy win from general motors corp. helped latinworks, which reliably posts double - digit growth, to boost revenue by 37% in 2010 .
the total market is a destination the ad industry is moving toward ,
said sergio alcocer, latinworks' president and chief creative officer .
it will be a reality, not an alternative .
latinworks is a multicultural agency that is walking away from standards. located in austin, texas, the good, young and innovative vibe impregnates the workspace. its a healthy place to be working at .
for the chevy brand, which has underperformed severely in the hispanic market, latinworks encouraged gm to eschew stereotypical ads about hard - working latinos reaching for the american dream while playing soccer and raising a family .
new york latinworks, the austin, texas - based hispanic shop best known for its bud light super bowl spots, has acquired a 51 percent stake in cultura, a dallas - based hispanic ad agency .
as marketers struggle to understand just where consumers are going, latinworks released research last year on ambiculturalism, the idea that more hispanics are culturally ambidexterous, fully embracing both the latino and american aspects of their identities .
the u. s. had one hispanic - agency judge at cannes this year. sergio alcocer, latinworks' president and chief creative officer, was on the film jury in his second stint as a cannes juror .
u. s. hispanic agency latinworks is promoting from within after the departure late last month of president - cco sergio alcocer, one of the best - known creative leaders in the u. s. hispanic market .
although latinworks' partners knew former cco mr. alcocer was planning a move, it was a big surprise in the hispanic market when he left last month, and he still hasn' t disclosed his next move .
that deep involvement in client business hints at the backgrounds of senior management at the agency. latinworks was founded by chief executive flores, former vp, marketing development at anheuser - busch, and cmo alejandro ruelas, former head of ethnic marketing at the brewing company. before joining latinworks, kranik worked in marketing at dell, where she was responsible for consumer and global brand strategies. filli is a former marketing communications director at reebok .
our objective has never been to do general - market work ,
said sergio alcocer, latinworks' president and chief creative officer .
it' s to take hispanic to the mainstream, which is different .
latinworks has a deep creative bench, led by third partner mr. alcocer, who completed an executive mba last year that included a team project with mckinsey europe to analyze what makes ads both award - winning and effective .
mr. garcia joined latinworks in 2008 when the agency acquired a smaller hispanic shop, cultura, where he spent six years and was the executive creative director. before that, he was a creative at another omnicom hispanic shop, dieste. his work includes the # sintraduccion (
no translation
) campaign for target earlier this year. other major latinworks' clients are anheuser - busch, domino' s, pepsico and the texas lottery .
rafa is going to be our sergio ,
said mr. ruelas, referring to sergio alcocer, one of the top creatives in the u. s. hispanic market and latinworks' president and chief creative officer .
“latinworks is a rising star in the omnicom network of agencies, ” carmen baez, president, das latin america, said in a statement. “we look forward for big things to come out of this small shop. ”
the agency' s hispanic work prompted heinz to have latinworks adapt its hispanic tv creative for its ketchup to run in the general market, and to develop the work for a huge digital billboard display in times square in october .
alcocer, who earlier worked at leo burnett and y & r, says while he has no interest in becoming a general market shop, he believes the future of latinworks depends upon its being as good as the bigger agencies .
blue - chip marketers, too, are beginning to tap latinworks to go beyond the scope of hispanic assignments, as work targeting the demographic has become far more sophisticated than merely creating spanish - language adaptations of general - market work .
not long ago, alejandro ruelas, latinworks' managing partner and chief marketing officer, asked a senior marketer which of his agencies did the best hispanic work. the response was a bit of a shock: a general - market shop .
founded in 1998 by manny flores and alejandro ruelas, latinworks is based in austin, tx and is a cross - cultural agency that believes brands live by their connection with culture. and today, culture is evolving faster than ever before .
chris perry, vp - global marketing and strategy for chevrolet, said that latinworks helps
identify who our audience is within the hispanic community and how best to reach them, and make sure we bring our chevy values to that consumer .
when general motors' chevrolet brand slashed its u. s. hispanic spending by more than two - thirds in early 2012 as part of a global consolidation of the chevy business, it looked like latinworks wouldn' t have its usual stellar year .
the agency is also one of the few u. s. hispanic shops that consistently rack up hardware at the cannes lions international festival of creativity. in 2012, latinworks brought home gold and bronze cannes lions for its long - running cine las americas campaign for austin' s annual latin american film festival. adding new twists every year, latinworks unearths footage of real latin american leaders saying bizarre things, with the tagline
if this is what our reality is like, imagine our films .
mr. serrano was a creative director at latinworks for three years, and has also worked at wieden & kennedy and hispanic shop bromley communications. for the last year, he' s been working on the sibling project at gsd & m. ;
last year was the first full year that latinworks handled general motors’ chevrolet nameplate, now the agency’s largest account and one that reunites it with joel ewanick, the automaker’s global chief marketing officer, who previously hired the shop when he was at hyundai .
those insights were a major draw for javier farfan, senior director of cultural branding at pepsico. last year, farfan led a hispanic agency review that led to latinworks’ hire on brands including sierra mist, sobe, aquafina and the soda manzanita sol .
latinworks is known for highly creative work that is meticulously planned and strategically grounded, helping marketers understand and win over increasingly diverse hispanic consumers while avoiding stereotypes. bicultural hispanics, for instance, are often portrayed as having a foot in each of two worlds that speak different languages. latinworks is delving into what the agency calls the
third space ,
where it believes bicultural hispanics, not fully understood by either latino or mainstream communities, actually reside. finding that attitudinal third space is a sweet spot for brands .
sergio, sergio, sergio ,
said russell weiner, exec vp and chief marketing officer of another latinworks client, domino' s pizza .
i' m such a sergio fan. he' s a big part of the special sauce .
sibling is likely to function partly as a conflict shop for latinworks, which is already shut out of numerous categories thanks to a client list that includes anheuser - busch, domino' s pizza, mars, lowes, pepsico, kimberly - clark and target .
similarly, longtime client mars asked latinworks for online ideas for skittles targeting teens. the agency' s weird online spot, featuring a teen afflicted by a thick unibrow made out of skittles, is the most - viewed spot on the brand' s youtube channel .
latinworks hired former cpb account planner todd widell to run the lab, and added four creatives. its first concept, for a livestrong cycling event, was an art project called pedal painting. lowe' s and general motors are also considering ideas from the lab .
we' re going to toast sergio' s success with ice - cold budweiser and domino' s pizza ,
said mr. flores, referring to two latinworks' clients. the agency also works with lowe' s, pepsico and the texas lottery .
recognized on a global scale as one of the most awarded multicultural agencies, latinworks is a three - time ad age “multicultural agency of the year”, a two - time recipient of ad age’s “agency a - list” award and one of forbes’ “most influential agencies. ”
ms. kranik, who was named one of ad age' s women to watch last year, has been at latinworks since 2003. before that, she spent five years on the client side at dell, where she was senior advertising manager, global brand strategy .
latinworks is one of the biggest and regarded as one of the most creative hispanic shops, and has been both ad age' s multicultural agency of the year and named to ad age' s a - list of the 10 best agencies in the u. s .
awesome - amazing and wonderful latinworks provides an incredible work environment that allows workers to excel at what they do best. management leads by example and is not afraid to get involved by sitting next to you as the work needs to get done during those late night efforts .
the agencies that will survive in our space are the ones that behave like general - market agencies ,
said mr. ruelas. he means be rigorously strategic, disciplined, insightful, creative and keenly aware of the precise target. and that pretty much describes latinworks .
still, latinworks knows it operates in a market increasingly under siege by general - market rivals entrenched in clients' comfort zones. so last year it rolled out some weapons to help it better serve clients, including pepsico, mars, anheuser - busch inbev and general motors .
mr. flores said that after celebrating mr. alcocer tomorrow, and halloween on friday, the agency will start addressing organizational changes next week and
how we see the latinworks brand .
mr. alcocer' s successor is expected to be promoted from within the agency .
austin, texas - based latinworks, started by managing partners manny flores and alejandro ruelas and partly owned by omnicom group, was the third - biggest hispanic agency by 2012 revenue, up from ninth place five years ago, according to ad age' s hispanic fact pack .
for chevy, that meant racing to create a launch campaign for the cruze, a compact car that latinworks found surprisingly
uncompact
for its price range. while the general - market launch focused on favorable reviews of the new cruze, the latinworks team, which included a former professional racing car driver ,
let the car speak for itself ,
said sergio alcocer, president and chief creative officer. in launch spot
please don' t go
the car demos its own alluring interior features to tempt its female owner back into the vehicle .
that opened up not only larger budgets on current pieces of business, but also adding new brands ,
ms. walker said. in addition to new starburst ads breaking in march 2010, latinworks is readying work for twix, m & m;' s and snickers .
founded in 1998, latinworks is a cultural branding agency at the forefront of america’s cultural transformation. a three - time ad age “multicultural agency of the year” and two - time recipient of ad age’s “agency a - list” award, latinworks has a legacy of multicultural excellence and world - class creativity. comprised of 150 diverse and forward - thinking people from all over the world, latinworks is based in austin, texas – at the forefront of technology, music, innovation and culture, which fuel our everyday inspiration. our mission is to lead brands as chief culture officer. with a relentless focus on consumers, we live to anticipate cultural shifts and help brands to successfully navigate the ever - changing transcultural landscape. our vision is to become the agency best known for its unparalleled understanding of the new consumer universe and its ability to act on that understanding .
omnicom - based latinworks won a film silver for
pool ,
a spot promoting a parental control bar for the internet offered free by nonprofit wraac. and cine las americas, an austin, texas festival for latin american films that garners creative awards for latinworks every year, picked up a radio bronze for
maduro .
the campaign features absurd but genuine speeches by latin american leaders, and always ends with the tagline
if this is our reality, imagine our films .
this year the presidential campaign by nicolas maduro after the death of venezuela' s former leader hugo chavez was a gift to latinworks. the agency seized on one of the most absurd moments of mr. maduro' s campaign, when he started making bird calls on the campaign trail and claiming he had been visited by mr. chavez in the form of a little bird .
as specialist media agencies reach deeper into the multicultural market at the expense of hispanic agencies, latinworks bucked the trend. the agency' s media buying doubled to $ 100 million last year, and its media department, which started as a party of one in 2005, reached 36 staffers .
latinworks was the big winner among u. s. hispanic agencies at last week' s cannes lions international festival of creativity, picking up two lions for new twists in long - running campaigns for austin' s latin film festival cine las americas and anti - child obesity effort active life .
a celebrated creative executive who has worked in three continents, serge has over 20 years of industry experience. born in uruguay, and raised in australia, he began his career at one of the most creative agencies in the world: clemenger bbdo in melbourne, where he won his first awards. his career would take him to the u. s. , south america, back to australia and eventually to austin, tx, where he leads a talented and accomplished creative team at latinworks. prior to joining latinworks, serge worked at another legendary agency, tbwa - new york .
so, in a project that took two years to prepare, the major league baseball association worked with austin - based latinworks to launch “ponle acento” (“put an accent on it”), which rights a historical wrong—by putting accent marks back into names whose accents were dropped in the immigration process .
financially healthy after years of double - digit revenue growth, latinworks has invested in proprietary research about hispanic consumer archetypes, which led to a planning tool called brandsteer. the shop also developed an ideas lab to demonstrate that it can craft strategies that go beyond the agency' s scope of work .
since it was founded 13 years ago, latinworks, adweek ’s hispanic agency of the year, has achieved a reputation for both its creativity and its strategic insights, drawing marketers such as general motors, anheuser - busch, kimberly - clark, domino’s, lowe’s, wrigley, mars and post foods .
per the agreement, cultura will integrate its business operations, employees and client roster into latinworks, adding clients such as kimberly - clark, lowe’s home improvement, mars and the texas lottery to a list that includes anheuser - busch, batanga, domino’s pizza, espn deportes and hyundai, flores said .
started by former anheuser - busch execs manny flores and alejandro ruelas in 1998 and now minority owned by omnicom group, latinworks broke into the ranks of the top 10 hispanic agencies by revenue in 2008, and has climbed steadily, reaching no. 5 in ad age' s hispanic fact pack ranking last year .
aio didn' t set out to hire a hispanic agency for its entire account, although multicultural consumers are more likely to opt for pre - paid plans. cindy matthews, director - advertising and brand at aio wireless, said latinworks stood out for its fearlessness, a crucial quality in building a new brand .
and at a time when clients are often consolidating hispanic media buying with their general - market media agencies, latinworks almost doubled the size of the media budgets it handles, and staffed up from 11 to 17 people in the media department in 2012. in total it reached 142 employees. revenue was up 7% .
new york (adage. com) - - in latinworks' starburst commercial, a llama faces a young man as they both chew contentedly, then with a hand and a hoof feed each other more starburst candies, selling the message of an intensely juicy treat that people - - and their llamas - - love to share .
i would highly recommend working at latinworks, in particular, if someone is interested in a multicultural agency. what made my internship so great was the opportunity to work on actual client work. during a typical week, my partner and i would usually have two to three projects going on simultaneously which was both challenging and rewarding .
latinworks' eight account wins in 2013 included target, which moved from using hispanic shops on a project basis to a new diversity platform across all its product groups; humana vitality, which brought it into a hot new category of health care; and a project with rock the vote to register 100, 000 young latinos to vote .
with many years of brand development and segment marketing expertise, manny oversees agency operations, strategic direction, public relations initiatives and client relations. prior to latinworks, manny was client side at anheuser - busch where he served as vp of marketing development, launching important extensions of the company’s key franchise brands and spearheading breakthrough multicultural marketing programs .
last year, latinworks added capital one, heinz, pepsico, t. j. maxx and fox hispanic media, helping year - over - year revenue grow by 11 percent to an estimated $ 23 million. it was a year in which the agency also invested in a significant proprietary research project aimed at crunching the latest census data .
latinworks’ creative initiatives group “gives us the opportunity to come up with ideas that are more than what we are typically asked to do, ” widell says. “we can explore digital, social, tactical, experiential, guerrilla. it’s changing the way others perceive us and the way our people think about the way we approach our work. ”
latinworks for good, our employee led volunteer initiative, was born out of a passion for giving back. we’ve had the privilege of working with organizations such as the texas school for the deaf, special olympics, red cross, casa marianella, community first! village, and capital area food bank of texas, to name a few .
latinworks generated impressive revenue growth of 32% in 2013. but the real story is how those billings broke down: 59% u. s. hispanic work and 41% total market, meaning work that addresses the general market and multicultural consumers. just a year earlier, the split was 82% hispanic work and 18% total market .
the difference is everything reports into her now, including gabriel ,
said manny flores, co - founder and ceo of latinworks, in which omnicom group has a large minority stake .
she' s a very collaborative, knowledgeable leader. she won' t have influence over the creative product; gabriel will make those decisions .
ruelas says that while at a - b, he felt that many of the agencies he worked with weren’t meeting the brewer’s needs. as a result, he ended up doing a lot of the work on strategy and creative idea generation himself. he decided to leave the client side to set up latinworks with flores and, later, alcocer .
based in austin, the hippest of cities in the heavily hispanic state of texas, latinworks has a knack for convincing clients that in an increasingly multicultural world, the agency is the best choice to handle the total market. both the texas lottery and stripes, a small regional convenience store chain, gave the agency their entire ad accounts last year .
in 2012, latinworks did the first hispanic - targeted campaign for heinz ketchup, driving sales and winning 45, 000 fans for a
somos heinz
facebook page. efforts ranged from a custom hot - dog - and - ketchup - sampling truck to geo - targeted ads reminding hispanic moms within three miles of a key retailer to buy heinz .
despite an unpromising start due to chevy' s budget cuts, latinworks was deeply involved in work for the brand' s silverado truck, whose hispanic sales outpaced sales to non - hispanic truck buyers. for most of 2012, silverado sales to hispanics grew by 12% while the non - hispanic market was up by just 0. 4% .
the agency is known for work that transcends ethnic stereotypes, and that has great crossover appeal. latinworks’ recent bud light spots featuring cuban - american hip - hop artist pitbull ran on both english - and spanish - language broadcast networks in the u. s. its commercial featuring comic carlos mencia teaching a group of immigrants how to order a bud light in american slang was among the most popular from the 2007 super bowl and won latinworks a bronze lion at cannes the same year. meanwhile, the agency’s spot for starburst in which a young man and a llama feed each other candy became one of the most watched commercials of 2009, according to nielsen, and earned the shop a silver lion at cannes .
latinworks is a cultural branding agency at the forefront of america' s cultural transformation. with a relentless focus on consumers, they live to anticipate cultural shifts and help brands to successfully navigate the ever - changing transcultural landscape. their vision is to become the agency best known for their unparalleled understanding of the new consumer universe and ability to act on that understanding .
after being with the company for 6 months of so you' ll learn how solid and predictable everything is: clients will leave, the best people will jump ship, you will follow orders and take abuse, tacos and layoffs. i arrived at latinworks in the end of 2014, on my first day 15 people were laid off. they said it was over. layoffs continued for all of 2015 and 2016, almost every 3 months until my boss called me on december 23 during the holiday break to wish me a merry xmas and let me go. another 10 people received this
special
xmas gift from latinworks last year. they are now down to less than 50 people and in deep trouble so beware !
last year, latinworks also hired todd widell, a veteran of general market agencies such as tbwachiatday, crispin porter + bogusky and team one, to head its new creative initiatives unit. the group is not tied to a particular client budget, thus allowing the agency to explore ideas beyond a marketer’s scope of work, which can often skew toward more traditional media .
one of the agency' s hallmarks is work that is highly creative and effective in the hispanic market, but eschews stereotypes and transcends ethnicity. despite the disastrous 2009 economy, latinworks grew revenue by 13% and came up with strategic solutions to drive business for its clients' brands, earning the accolade of ad age' s multicultural agency of the year. while other shops did layoffs, latinworks' staff grew by 15% to 106 people. in a slow year for new business, the agency won pitches for bacardi and burger king, now its biggest client, and took home the u. s. hispanic market' s only trophy from the cannes lions international advertising festival. unsurprisingly, the prize went to the llama .
latinworks was founded in 1998 in austin, texas, by two anheuser - busch marketing veterans, manny flores, mr. ruelas and mr. alcocer. relationships are crucial - - a - b is a big client and the agency was already on chevy' s radar thanks to memorable hispanic work for hyundai when gm' s global cmo joel ewanick headed marketing there .
latinworks is one of the best in the industry for total market advertising, but unless the company takes themselves on as their most important client, i' m not sure how long their success will last. people are unhappy at this company. they' re running out the door, and those who are not running are getting laid off. morale is down the drain and management
to that end, latinworks is plucking talent from outside the u. s. hispanic market, stealing eric lefton, a draftfcb vp - strategic planning director, in december. this month, christian filli, a swiss - cuban former reebok exec who grew up in brazil and is managing director of wpp' s landor associates in mexico city, joins the agency as head of planning .
“the census truly validated the importance of the hispanic consumers and how they are woven into the fabric across this country, ” says latinworks ceo manny flores. “for a marketer introducing a product or advertising in california, florida and texas, they absolutely need a hispanic component. beyond that, instead of being an ethnic segment, it’s becoming part of a larger multicultural transformation of america. ”
winning another fast food account, burger king, in early 2009 was a
blessing
because it got a tough year off to a good start, and let the agency hire people, mr. alcocer said. burger king' s hispanic traffic was falling, and latinworks quickly realized the company promoted whoppers to the general market as
flame - broiled ,
but not to the hispanic market, where flame broiling, or
a la parrilla
is exactly how latinos like food prepared. latinworks did ads portraying a strange world where people did their cookouts in huge outdoor frying pans. in los angeles, burger king' s biggest hispanic market, traffic had dipped by 10% but went back up to previous levels after the flame - broiling campaign targeting spanish - dominant hispanics .
a major latinworks initiative in 2011 involved introducing the new chevy cruze compact to the hispanic market. while some 20 percent of all cars sold to hispanics are compacts, gm’s earlier entry in the category, the cobalt, didn’t manage to connect with hispanic consumers, earning less than 3 percent of market share even as its rivals, the toyota corolla and honda civic, achieved more than 20 percent apiece .
“baseball is america’s pastime and has a rich history steeped in tradition, ” latinworks executive creative director gabriel garcía tells adfreak. “it’s had tremendous influence on american culture, and hispanic players form an important part of that story. yet when we looked at its fan base, they were underrepresented, despite their contributions … and the fact that nearly one - third of mlb players are of hispanic descent. ”
jaime brings 20 + years of experience working on global brands in the u. s. and latin america. a native of miami, jaime understands the exponential cultural transformation of our country in part because he’s lived it first - hand. combined with a well - rounded perspective having held both content development and account leadership positions in his past roles, today he leads latinworks’ dynamic and successful total market accounts .
emotions have been running high in the hispanic market over clients moving hispanic business from specialist agencies to general - market shops. after burger king dismissed its ethnic agencies, there was talk of jesse jackson and his rainbow coalition marching on burger king' s headquarters in protest. instead of fanning the flames, latinworks took the high road, in public comments on the issue and a private call to its former client .
in a radio spot from last year created by austin, texas - based agency latinworks, a woman with a crisp english accent recalls that british prime minister david cameron warned in a speech that european men were suffering from baldness as a result of eating chicken. as poultry contains a heavy dose of female hormones, consuming it could easily make englishmen gay, as they experience the “degradation of their manly being. ”
the austin, texas - based shop, in which omnicom group has a minority stake, is consistently ranked one of the best hispanic agencies in the u. s. this is the third consecutive time that ad age has named latinworks either multicultural agency of the year or to the annual a - list, and it was the only hispanic shop to be a cannes lions winner in 2011, picking up two trophies .
in his second stint as senior leader at latinworks, luis oversees and manages promotions and experiential activities for all our clients. he brings 15 + years of results driven practices, integrating non - traditional marketing approaches, digital & media cross relations and retail programs. his background includes time on the client - side, where he served for several years as director of marketing at compass learning, an online educational software company .
beer vets latinworks was started by two anheuser - busch marketing veterans, manny flores, a fourth - generation texan who was anheuser - busch' s vp - marketing development, and mexican - born alejandro ruelas, a - b' s director - ethnic marketing. they ended up creating the model for their own hispanic shop when their boss, august busch, sent them to explain a - b' s success with hispanics to other marketers who had asked about it. they opened latinworks in 1998 with sergio alcocer, now the agency' s president and chief creative officer. (in 2006, they sold a 49% stake to omnicom group .) with their background, miller was soon the biggest client, accounting for almost half of revenues. the shop resigned the business amid leadership changes and a sense that the client was talking down to hispanics .
the u. s. hispanic market poses particular challenges. for instance, domino' s pizza did an aggressive sales - boosting campaign last year based on a general - market perception that the pizza sucked and that a new recipe was much better. the problem: hispanic consumers liked the original taste. so latinworks steered domino' s toward positioning the brand as an integral part of the community - - with a great taste at the same price .
the trust level [ with latinworks ] is incredibly high ,
said j. patrick doyle, domino' s president - ceo .
when they say we have to go in a different direction, our ears are wide open. we saw the same level of lift in our hispanic business and are still communicating our core message, but we needed to take a different approach. they started shifting us to focus on being part of the neighborhood .
for longtime client anheuser - busch inbev' s bud light, latinworks parlayed the statistic that 70% of hispanic homes have outdoor grills compared with 50% for non - hispanics, into an emotional and aromatic link between the beer brand and carne asada, or barbecued meat. the integrated campaign includes the slogan
smells like bud light
evoked by the tantalizing aroma of a barbecue, and a celebrity chef, aaron sanchez, dubbed the
carne asada master
in the spot .
he' s been behind creative that sweeps award shows, like the long - running cine las americas campaign for a latin american film festival, and brand - building work for major marketers, and has been a judge twice at the cannes lions international festival of creativity. under his creative leadership, latinworks has been named to ad age' s agency a - list of the best u. s. agencies and has been ad age' s multicultural agency of the year more than once .
agency philosophy: latinworks was created with the belief that advertising - - at its very core - - must demonstrate respect for the consumer, and this respect must be expressed through great ideas that sell product without having to rely on stereotypes. all of our team members share the understanding that great work is the result of close collaboration with the client and with the assigned general market agencies. why? because the hispanic market doesn’t live in a bubble, therefore achieving strategic synergy with a brand’s universal positioning is essential to communications success. mission statement: always strive to be a shop dedicated to creating irreverent, provocative work that demonstrates respect for the intellectual capacity of our target. a shop that does not rely on stereotypes, nor obscure symbolisms. a shop that delivers simple creativity, direct and to the point. latinworks must remain an agency fueled by a burning desire to produce strategic and insightful creative that sells. a place where the only thing that matters is the work. competitive advantages: latinworks has key differences that set us apart from other agencies in our industry: we are focused on gaining a deep understanding of the hispanic consumer. strategic discipline - - designed to uncover key insights that inspire our creatives - - has resulted in outstanding work. we have what we believe is the best creative team in our industry, and they are supported by a management group with proven, successful client - side experience. this combination of agency and client knowledge is what sets us apart .
as chief culture officer & partner, christy is a key member of the leadership team at the agency. she focuses primarily internally in building and fostering a unique culture in todays competitive ad agency environment. she is responsible for building a team and family atmosphere within the company and leading many of the initiatives for our team members. christy has been with latinworks for 13 years and has a true passion for developing and retaining women in the industry. christy was named one of the 2014 ad age “women to watch. ”
latinworks is one of the best in the industry for total market advertising, but unless the company takes themselves on as their most important client, i' m not sure how long their success will last. people are unhappy at this company. they' re running out the door, and those who are not running are getting laid off. morale is down the drain and management has yet to address any of the obvious culture issues in the room. you don' t get promoted unless you' re the pet. perks do not equal good culture .
“latinworks never misses on creative; they are relentless in coming up with great ideas, ” says russell weiner, chief marketing officer at domino’s. “but unlike some agencies, they’re not just building their books and cashing your checks. you really feel like they’re in the business with you. it’s not just the account people. [ chief creative officer ] sergio [ alcocer ] is one of the best creative directors at any agency. he keenly gets the creative process, but he could be an account guy because he so well understands our other business prerogatives. ”
alejandro oversees the agency’s business development and marketing efforts. he also works closely with the agency’s leadership on key client initiatives. prior to latinworks, alejandro had an 18 - year career in the beverage industry. at anheuser - busch he led multicultural marketing for the u. s. and puerto rico, advised on international marketing operations - including serving on the board of grupo modelo - and established soccer as a premier marketing vehicle, pioneering the use of the mexican national soccer team, and helping a - b to secure the global sponsorship rights to fifa’s world cup .
this year latinworks also picked up a bronze lion in the press competition for a print campaign for active life encouraging kids to enjoy the active outdoor activities they often abandon to spend hours online, contributing to child obesity. each ad shows two children as paper cutouts from a facebook profile, with each child' s photo, name and a few words like
4 mutual friends. add as friend .
in each ad, the two kids meet outdoors to fly a kite or play on a slide or swing. the copy line is
meet online, play outside .
this agency adheres to a people first mindset that is very unique. you can tell the leadership team truly cares about employee morale and works hard to create a welcoming environment. the ceo is regularly on the floor, circulating, and checking in to see how everyone is doing. employee' s receive appreciation in various ways - from snack carts on fridays, unexpected holiday gift cards, and random lunches / happy hours. latinworks is a very successful agency and is an example of what can happen when you put people first. i' m happy to be a part of this team .
though created by mars' u. s. hispanic agency, the spot crossed over from the hispanic market to general - market tv and into the popular culture in 2009, as people posted their own spoofs on youtube and tweeted
i wanna eat starburst with a llama .
mattel' s american girls doll line gave one of its dolls, chrissa, a white baby llama pet named starburst. and after a double - digit decline in hispanic sales, down 27. 7% in 2008, starburst' s hispanic sales shot up 14. 8% within three months of latinworks' campaign launching .
chloe began her career working at gsd & m in austin, tx as a media buyer on walmart, mastercard, texas lottery and several others accounts. she was also a media planner at temerlin - mcclain in dallas, tx, and served as the media director at the lee tilford agency in austin where she handled all media responsibilities for the agency. in 1999, she returned to gsd & m as a senior buyer and spent almost ten years negotiating buys for at & t, bmw, mastercard, dreamworks and several other accounts. in 2008 chloe joined latinworks and helped launch the new media department for the agency .
it is easy to throw out a list of things that are not great at any agency, and latinworks has its share. so did the agency i came from, but the difference i see is that there appears to be an effort by senior management and owners to make some changes and i believe change will happen. maybe its slower than i would like, but change none the less. i hope that management takes the time to listen to all of us while charting our course, that is where the difference can become positive. make us part of the adjustment. not listening leads to a repeat of history, not creating it .
the agency’s work on cruze underscores its determination to avoid cultural clichés. the creative features images of young american latinos—a target identified by latinworks as “the unstoppables, ” those consumers who are unwilling to compromise on the things that matter most to them and who want a car that will keep them moving forward, and who happen to be hispanic. one spot features a group of young men getting into a cruze, a great dane looking all forlorn as he gets left behind and the garage door slowly closes. the final shot shows the dog happily ensconced in the backseat, as the voiceover points out that the cruze sports more interior space than either the civic or the corolla .
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laurel wentz is ad age' s global and multicultural editor, responsible for international and u. s. hispanic coverage. she is based in new york. she previously covered europe from ad age' s london bureau, and before that was latin america editor, based in sao paulo. the best way to reach laurel is by email at lwentz @ adage. com .
clients see the agency as constantly thinking about their business and not being limited by the scope of their assignment ,
mr. ruelas said .
the fact that we' re bringing them ideas on a consistent basis, whether they buy them or not, elevates our standing .
instead, it identified the target consumer for the compact chevy cruze as
unstoppables
: young people who demand a car that keeps them moving forward in life. in one spot, the cruze' s superior gas mileage is called the
keep driving until you' re ready
feature as a bride, one of her bridesmaids at the wheel, circles the church .
in the first three quarters of 2011, chevy' s vehicle registrations to hispanics were 33% higher than a year earlier. the cruze captured 8. 7% of hispanic purchases of compacts, a segment that accounts for 20% of all cars bought by hispanics.
founded in 1998 by ceo , manny flores and cmo , alejandro ruelas , latinworks is a hispanic advertising agency headquartered in austin , texas . latinworks evp and general manager , christy kranik , leads the day-to-day operations of the business , along with the support of executive creative director , gabriel garcia . latinworks is a certified minority enterprise and member of the omnicom global network . under the creative leadership of sergio alcocer ( 1998-2015 ) , latinworks was a nine-time cannes lions winner , a three-time ad age multicultural agency of the year , in 2010 , 2011 and 2012 and was featured twice on ad age ’s agency a-list before it was dropped from the list after mr. alcocer 's departure in 2015 . 
founded in 1998 by ceo, manny flores and cmo, alejandro ruelas, latinworks is a hispanic advertising agency headquartered in austin, texas. latinworks evp and general manager, christy kranik, leads the day-to-day operations of the business, along with the support of executive creative director, gabriel garcia. latinworks is a certified minority enterprise and member of the omnicom global network. under the creative leadership of sergio alcocer (1998-2015), latinworks was a nine-time cannes lions winner, a three-time ad age multicultural agency of the year, in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and was featured twice on ad age ’s agency a-list before it was dropped from the list after mr. alcocer's departure in 2015.
founded in 1998 by ceo, manny flores and cmo, alejandro ruelas, latinworks is a hispanic advertising agency headquartered in austin, texas. latinworks evp and general manager, christy kranik, leads the day-to-day operations of the business, along with the support of executive creative director, gabriel garcia. latinworks is a certified minority enterprise and member of the omnicom global network. under the creative leadership of sergio alcocer (1998-2015), latinworks was a nine-time cannes lions winner, a three-time ad age multicultural agency of the year, in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and was featured twice on ad age ’s agency a-list before it was dropped from the list after mr. alcocer's departure in 2015.