LatAm (Other Markets) PR Consultancies of the Year 2024

2024 LatAm (Other Markets) PR Consultancies of the Year

The 2024 LatAm PR Consultancies of the Year are the result of an exhaustive research process involving numerous submissions and meetings with the best PR firms across the region.

The Consultancy of the Year winners are honoured at our annual Latin American SABRE Awards event, which will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at the Tivoli Mofarrej São Paulo Hotel on September 24, in partnership with Brazilian trade association ABRACOM. Event and registration information can be found on the dedicated event site.

Finalists

CCK (Independent/Central America)

Backstory

The Costa Rican market is still very much a developing one, so CCK’s 71-strong team and $5.3 million in fee income is impressive and establishes the independent firm as a market leader—as does its success in international awards competitions. Founded in 1988—a difficult time for Central America generally—entrepreneurs Carmen Fallas and Edgar Mata had a vision to create a modern, progressive communications firm.

Locations

CCK is headquartered in Costa Rica but since its early days it has focused on the Central America region, with people in Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Since 1996, the agency has enjoyed an affiliation agreement with Omnicom-owned global powerhouse Ketchum which provides it with access to overseas markets.

Performance

Named our 2023 LatAm (other markets) consultancy of the year, CCK is the leading independent in Central America: a status underscored by its mix of local and global clients. CCK capped the year with 71 people and fee income of $5.3 million fueled by new business from Mastercard, IBM, FIFCO, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Grupo Montecristo, Securitas, Forte, Expand, Ficohsa and Banpro. CCK’s impressive list of existing clients include PepsiCo, Toyota, Cargill, Walmart, Claro, Sandoz, Evolution Free Zone, Coyol Free Trade Zone, Bac Credomatic and Kraft Heinz.

People & Culture

CCK describes itself as a “life-centered company,” priding itself on the opportunity for employees to grow and to be their authentic selves. The company developed a process of generational change, where younger personnel are taking key positions within the agency specially aimed to strengthen the areas of reputation intelligence, data analysis, digital communication and creativity. Fallas and Mata continuing to serve as chairman and CEO respectively. Layla Poveda joined in 1997 and was named regional COO in 2016. CCKampus, an e-learning platform to build communications and marketing skills, and SmartWork, a voluntary program for developing hybrid labor competence and enabling flexible approaches arejust two examples of the progressive approach to building the firm’s culture.

Thought Leadership & Work

2023 was the year of the pink pineapple, Del Monte’s Costa Rican “jewel of the jungle” that, in addition to its sweeter, juicier flavor, symbolizes the country’s innovation, development and research capabilities. Charged with launching the fruit, CCK’s multifaceted campaign spotlighted pink pineapples’ exceptional flavor but also the 100-plus person research and development team that created the product. CCK’s initiative included placing the pineapples, called Pinkglow, in supermarkets in Qatar , the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Hong Kong. That, alongwith an unexpected Kim Kardashian post, generated over 100 mentions across various media outlets, both online and offline. A Del Monte report showed a 127% increase in the amount of pink pineapple exported since the launch campaign and Kardashian’s post.

— Paul Holmes

Pizzolante (Independent/Venezuela)

Backstory

Pizzolante launched in Caracas in 1976 as a TV production company, which quickly evolved into a full-fledged communications agency under the watch of self-taught leaders with a flair for storytelling. By the 1980s, the firm’s work with multinational clients drove its regional growth to the point where, today, Pizzolante does business in four Latin American countries and Spain inaddition to Venezuela.

Locations

Pizzolante is headquartered in Caracas and has operations in Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Spain.

Performance

Approaching its 50th anniversary, Pizzolante is Venezuela’s leading PR agency, a testament to the tenacity with which the firm has continued to thrive — winning new business, rolling out new offerings and affording employees new opportunities — through political, economic and public health crises. The firm’s impressive performance in 2023 included nearly doubling its client roster from 23 to 46, driving profit to 31%. The firm’s 30-person team of employees in Venezuela, Guatemala, Dominican Republic and Spain serviced new business from Diunsa, AFP Popular, Bantrab, Fundacion Banco Industrial, USAID and European Union. The join a roster of existing clients including Banco Popular, Grupo Universal, CEPM Interenergy, DP Banco Industrial and Hospitales La Paz.

People & Culture

Pizzolante has long fostered a culture that puts a premium on collaboration, transparency, and going beyond expectations. Active supporters of DEI, the agency take a proactive role in ridding the organization of any potentially discriminatory practices in recruitment and retention, compensation and benefits, training and professional development and promotions. Women account for 65% of Pizzolante’s team and 40% of its executive committee — which Pizzolante has plans to raise to 50% in 2025. Today, founding partner Italo Pizzolante is an advisor to the firm’s multinational and regional clients, having served as an organizational advisor, business professor, international speaker and TV host. Managing partner Thony Da Silva brings the full gamut of PR expertise, having counseled blue chip companies around the world.

Thought Leadership & Work

Over the last 12 months, Pizzolante remained front and center when it comesto thought leadership, having created several distribution channels — web content, a weekly newsletter and podcasts among them. Pizzolante publishes a monthly regional analysis report on the impact Latin American politics and economics are having on business. The agency has partnered on launching the first trust study in Central America. Key work included Pizzolante’s award-winning “Liberando To Potencial” campaign for Grupo Universal.

— Diana Marszalek

MGC (Independent/Chile)

Backstory

MGC was founded in 2007 in Chile by Tati Guiloff, a former journalist, providing strategic communication support across diverse industries and creating a disruptive force in the country’s relatively small and staid public relations environment. MGC grew over its first decade to become a major player in the Chilean communication business, and in 2018, it expanded in the Andean region, establishing operations in Peru. Two years later it acquired the consulting firm Avant Garde in Colombia, expanding its footprint into Argentina, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America, with a renewed focus on serving multinational clients. By 2023, MGC further solidified its global presence by inaugurating an office in the United States, based in Miami.

Locations

Today, MGC has 140 team members across operations in Chile, the US, México, Canada, Argentina, Colombia, Perú, Costa Rica, Panamá, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador.

Performance

With 2024 fee income of a little more than $6.8 million, MGC fell just a few thousand dollars short of our list of the 250 largest global public relations firms, but after growth of better than 50% last year, it’s certainly on track to crack the global ranking next year. The firm’s strategy of focusing on regional work for multinational clients has paid off, as it has built a client roster that includes blue-chip brands like Samsung, P&G, SAIC Motors, Disney, Schneider Electrics, Converse, Wrangler, Emirates, Vitex, and LG Electronics. New business last year came from Galderma, Sodimac, Ikea, Nestle, Compass Group, Nesspreso, Genetec, Ocean Spray, Hendricks, and Birkenstock.

People & Culture

Founder Tatiana Guiloff continues to lead as global CEO, with a leadershuo team that includes global partner Martín Perdomo; Diego Céspedes, CEO for Colombia, Perú, Argentina, Ecuador; Celine Mahou, CEO Caribe; Claudio Urrea, CEO for the USA, México, and Canada. The firm has been recognized as an "Outstanding National Company" in diversity by Fundación Iguales, and has a diversity and inclusion committee to ensure continued leadership in that arena, Iy has also produced its own "Communicating with Gender and Diversity Perspective Quick Guide" to support inclusive marketing and communications efforts on behalf of clients and has also emphasized the need to provide resources for Generation Z and Millennials.

Thought Leadership & Work

MGC offiers a Leadership Skills Development Program, a comprehensive two-month initiative for leaders, focusing on effective team management and conflict resolution. In 2023, the firm introduced a formal effort to deploy artificial intelligence throughout the organization, #MoreAiMoreMGC. The firm worked with the Chilean Society of Plastic Surgeons on a campaign to educate the media and consumers about the risks associated with unlicensed plastic surgeons in the country; partnered with Converse on its “Find Your Beat” campaign, part of initiative to discover and showcase young creative talent; and supported Compania Minera del Pacifico “Signs for the Ocean,” using whale sounds to draw attention to the number of aquatic mammals killed in boating accidents.

— Paul Holmes

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