Andreina Baquero-Degwitz (account executive, Miami) shares her passion for building brands through culturally relevant campaigns and using communications to help advance a more diverse and inclusive society.
How do you describe what you do for a living to your family and friends?
I explain that at Edelman, we’re storytellers. We tell powerful and magnetic stories to help brands earn, strengthen and protect their relationships with consumers. We build bridges to connect brands to their target audiences through a variety of tactics, from media relations and influencer engagement to owned channels and social media.
What has been your favorite project you’ve worked on at Edelman?
One of my favorite things about working at Edelman is that I always have the opportunity to work with a wide range of clients from various sectors, including Food & Beverage, Tourism and Technology, catering to different markets, from national to multicultural.
As a foodie, one of my favorite projects has been the work I’ve done for Barilla, one of our global accounts. In the face of a declining pasta category, we expanded the brand’s Passion for Pasta campaign to the U.S. Hispanic audience with the main objective of turning around perceptions of pasta by embedding the category in conversations. To re-ignite our audience’s love for pasta, we collaborated with different culinary tastemakers to provide a Hispanic twist to traditional pasta dishes to reach our audience through a targeted media and influencer strategy. This past October, our campaign won the Hispanic Public Relations Association’s National ¡BRAVO! Award for Food & Beverage Campaign of the Year.
What are the characteristics of the best manager you’ve ever had? What made him or her great?
My current manager is the best one I’ve ever had because she empowers her employees. She grants them autonomy and has faith in them, while pushing them to break out of their comfort zone to become the best professionals they can be. She’s also an excellent communicator, providing clear and consistent guidance and feedback, while being open to new ideas and ways of working. Most importantly, she’s a role model, a leader and mentor in my career journey.
What makes your line of work effective?
Because we work with different markets, our work focuses on targeted content in order to be effective. For example, brands are finally waking up to the growing social, economic and political power of the U.S. Hispanic demographic, and we’re helping companies reach this audience through dynamic campaigns that are informed by research and insights. Communication to this audience must be relevant and specific, bringing in cultural insights that resonate with them. We always talk about how culture is the new language, and we place significant emphasis on not only understanding what really matters to the community we’re trying to reach but also accurately representing and elevating them.
What is your biggest achievement to date - personal or professional?
For one of our tech clients, I helped develop and execute a Hispanic Heritage Month campaign to reinforce the company’s commitment to the Latinx audience by honoring and sharing inspiring stories that truly represented the Latino community and embraced the company’s values.
Our campaign was driven by rich, culturally-relevant content, which elevated individuals who are making a difference inside and outside the company, championing unique viewpoints and pushing forward the culture of diversity and inclusion. To reach new and existing audiences, we executed our strategy through owned channels, social media, paid social, media relations and internal communications.
The campaign won a PR News’ Social Media Award for Best Blog, and we were finalists for the 2019 Sabre Awards North America in the Multicultural Marketing category as well as the Hispanic Public Relations Association’s 2019 National ¡BRAVO! Award for Digital Campaign of the Year.
What app do you find yourself checking all the time?
In addition to Outlook, Instagram and Snapchat, I check my Fitbit app to help me stay motivated to meet my health and fitness goals.
What are three things you read every day?
To help me start my day, I read daily newsletters, such as theSkimm and Morning Brew, in the morning. I also have news alerts set up for my clients and their key competitors to keep tabs on their presence.
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