Alma DDB Awarded Number Seven on Advertising Age Agencies A-List

MIAMI, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The annual Advertising Age Agency A-List Special Report, published today, includes just one Hispanic agency – Alma DDB.

As identified by Advertising Age, 'being Latino is increasingly about moving easily between different worlds, and Alma DDB is a perfect bridge between those worlds, and into the future of a diverse America."

The magazine's A-List honors top agencies that have improved the clients results and that have demonstrated innovation in their own business models during 2009.

For Luis Miguel Messianu, President and CCO of Alma DDB, this is not the culmination, but the beginning of the process. "It's obviously a matter of great pride for me personally and for the entire team," said Messianu.

Back in 1994, when Messianu co-founded the agency that would later become Alma DDB, Hispanic marketing was stalled in the mode of "Translate it and they will come." Anglo-culture campaigns were crudely converted into Spanish, but the messages never reached the emotional center of their intended audience.

Messianu knew his agency had to pioneer a reinvention rooted in Hispanic culture, not just language. The approach is written into the company's DNA, which looks to partner with brands committed to strategic depth and creative quality. "As a Latino in the US I feel proud to represent Hispanics with conviction and dignity," added Messianu.

"This recognition is a confirmation on the path we decided to take, a path where a 30 second TV ad can't be the only solution for all of our client's challenges, a path where the conventional and unconventional approach walk side by side, a path where the integration of different disciplines and skills needs to occur early on the planning process, and a path where we are no longer an ad agency, but rather a creative business partner," stated Isaac Mizrahi, Senior VP Managing Director at Alma DDB.

Mizrahi, an award winning international marketing executive with more than 18 years of experience in both general and multicultural marketing was hired in 2009 despite never having worked for an ad agency. This was a bold move Messianu acknowledges, because "we wanted somebody who not only came from the client side but has developed multicultural strategies from scratch."

CONTACT: Olimpia del Boccio - Alma DDB – Tel: (305) 662-3154  [email protected]

SOURCE Alma DDB