It's also a door-opening case study for a new agency. Chozas and
fellow creative director Juan Oubina have joined the wave of recent
U.S. Hispanic startups with their new Los Angeles shop o1 Agency,
named as a tribute to the O-1 work visas they obtained when they
moved to the U.S. from Spain and Argentina respectively.
Oubina and Chozas worked together for eight years at Grupo
Gallegos (now called Gallegos United), where Chozas was creative
and innovation director until he left late last year. Oubina was
recruited by Deutsch in October 2014 to lead creative for
DLAtino, a new effort to do Hispanic work for Deutsch clients
Dr Pepper, 7 Up and
Taco Bell. He left his job as EVP, executive creative director at
Deutsch in November, and hasn't been replaced. (Deutsch said it is
expanding its multicultural efforts by embedding Hispanic experts
in some brand teams).
"When we explain [the story of] the o1 name, everyone has a
positive reaction," Oubina said, in keeping with the new agency's
mantra "Stories That Matter."
At a time when U.S. Hispanic agencies and general market shops
like Deutsch and Anomaly are competing to target their clients'
Latino consumers, a number of well-known Hispanic creative
directors are opting for a different path and setting up their own
small, nimble shops. They tend to do a mix of work, including U.S.
Hispanic, projects for Latin America, and even general market jobs,
especially in states with big Latino populations like California
and Texas where multicultural consumers are becoming the majority
in many cities.
At o1, a similar mix is underway. Chozas said the agency hopes
to work, and grow, with tech startups in LA's Silicon Beach.
Already onboard are Chef'd, a non-subscription meal kit delivery
company, and Revox, which mixes art, meditation and technology for
stressed startups.And then there's Movistar Guatemala, which has
already commissioned another social media campaign, to tout the
benefits of the new Samsung S8's camera phone. (Spoiler alert:
It's about the start of relationships. So many people meet through
apps these days that with a spectacular camera-phone photo, you can
meet the love of your life).
Here's the "100 Cellphones" campaign:
The o1 Agency is following in the footsteps of several recent
U.S. Hispanic startups.
Probably the biggest name, Sergio Alcocer, returned to the ad
industry in January 2017 following the end of his non-compete
agreement with Omnicom Group, where
he was president and chief creative officer of Omnicom-backed
LatinWorks. Based in Austin, he launched Rest of the World, which he
describes as a multicultural mission founded in and for the Trump
era. "I want to bring Latin-inspired creative to the mainstream,"
he said.
Also in Austin, former LatinWorks creative Norbi Zylberberg last
August set up his
own social media-oriented shop called Socialisssima. So far, he
has launched Mexican craft beer Calavera in the U.S. and works with
Mexican discount airline Interjet, among other projects.
In Los Angeles, Pablo Buffagni, former chief creative officer at
several U.S. Hispanic shops, opened the BBQ Agency in late 2014, and does
everything from Pepsi's Christmas campaign for
Central America to a U.S. Hispanic video campaign for Dodge. He
just started a small business unit to help local companies with
social media needs.
The breakthrough agency is We Believers, started less than three
years ago by Gustavo Lauria, a veteran of The Community, and Marco Vega. Although
Lauria and Vega are from Argentina and Mexico respectively, much of
their work has been for the general market, including the "Edible Six-Pack Rings" project that won four
Lions at last year's Cannes Lions festival, and earned Lauria a
slot on this year's Titanium jury at Cannes. He also did a social
media project for Burger King and PepsiCo in Argentina; "Rejected"
is doing well on the awards circuit now.
"The business is changing," o1's Chozas said. "The social media
target needs fresh content every day. Clients need more agile and
simple structures, to get work really quickly. Traditional agencies
are a little behind."