DDB buys majority stake in EJE, creating DDB˚ Latina Puerto Rico
Edgardo Rivera (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)
Following a 15-year courtship, local advertising agency EJE Sociedad Publicitaria has agreed to enter into a corporate marriage with long-time business partner DDB Worldwide, giving birth to DDB˚ Latina Puerto Rico, executives from both companies announced Tuesday.
Although the financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, EJE President Edgardo Rivera said DDB had acquired an 80 percent stake in the local company he founded in 1995 along with partners Enrique Renta and José López.
The deal took a year to complete, resulting in a “synergy of intelligence and operating systems already reflected in a greater integration between different departments when developing communication strategies.”
During a news conference at a hotel in Miramar, Rivera, who is now COO of DDB˚ Latina, said the agency’s main objective is to transcend the concept of creating a single advertising piece to offer all its customers business solutions that meet their needs, framed within a “social creativity” agenda.
That means integrating social and digital media into the mix to draw reaction from target audiences that are increasingly connected to the Internet.
“The strategies and programs that are effective in a world in which we are all connected through social networks have to provoke a reaction, allow the participation of the people and invite them to share the message with family, friends and acquaintances,” said Renta, chief creative officer of DDB˚ Latina Puerto Rico. “We must establish a more direct and deep connection between the brand or product and the consumer.”
Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Ortíz, president of DDB˚ Latina, said the investment in Puerto Rico is key for two reasons: it’s
Juan Carlos Ortíz (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)
market development potential and it’s capacity to become a contributing force in global communications.
“Creating DDB˚ Latina Puerto Rico hand-in-hand with this team of people is another important point, as they are people in whom we trust, with whom we share a similar genetic composition and who we believe have the talent to do great things,” said Ortíz.
DDB and EJE’s relationship began in 1996, when the former was looking for an agency to manage advertising efforts for Clorox on the island, said Rivera. For DDB, the third time was the charm, as that’s how many attempts it made to convince EJE to agree to be bought out.
“Juan Carlos convinced us about DDB˚’s work model and we realized that in the world we live in, we need to help our clients look for new business tools to be successful,” said Rivera, explaining the events leading up to the transaction. “DDB˚ is really ahead of the curve when it comes to the future of advertising.”
As part of its cultural change, DDB˚ Latina Puerto Rico is already integrating new strategies, including expanding the usual copywriter/artist duopoly by adding a digital planner into the mix. The so-called “tripla” develops a campaign from end-to-end, integrating consumer participation into the process.
