Taylor Smiley Malley Armstrong Francisco Cardenas LERMA
LERMA/ continues to reap success in the awards granted by AdAge, being recognized with gold for the category of 76-150 employees in Small Agency of the Year. It is the second time that the agency has been awarded. The first time was last year with a gold in the 11-75 employee category. Francisco Cárdenas Principal, Digital Strategy & Integration at LERMA/, explains that in the category they won “many things are considered, including growth, use of new technologies, presence in recognized campaigns, and being able to compete with large global agencies despite being agencies that are still young and smaller.” LERMA/ is characterized by having a very particular sensitivity to the reality of the market that since its inception stood out from the competition as an agency with broad cultural sensitivity and not only Hispanic. “Hence our multicultural positioning that it did not depend only on language to connect with consumers, but also brought trends in technology consumption habits and entertainment platforms, the vast majority of which are digital.” On how creativity is built for business today, Francisco points out two ways: the first is linked to making creativity for its clients based on the sensitivity of what is culturally happening in the market and connecting naturally with consumers where content and technology consumption trends are taken into account. The second way is based on how they build their business model as an agency. “To answer that, we can say that we constantly question our structure and services, always thinking about what we want to be in the future based on what we see with technology trends and consumer habits. From these trends we also do not exclude the business model trends that our clients can bring, such as subscription models or DTC (direct to consumer)”. One of the current challenges in helping brands achieve their goals is being able to establish relationships of trust. “Where not only what the client wants or requests can be put on the table, but also what the brand needs from the professional perspective of the agency can be discussed. Sometimes those two points of view can be different”.
OPINIÓN- Francisco Cárdenas de LERMA/: Infidelidad estratégica