Caring for people is one of the 11 most valued cultural traits at the agency
The Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) chain will complete 50 years in Brazil and 150 years in the world in 2023. Commemorative actions are being defined, but there is no shortage of history to honor these two emblematic dates in the history of advertising.
Around here, the fiftieth anniversary considers the founding of the Giovanni Comunicaes agency, created by Paulo Giovanni, which in 1998 merged with FCB, adopting the name Giovanni FCB. In 2000, the North American group IPG (Interpublic Group) bought FCB and incorporated Draft six years later. In Brazil, Giovanni+Draftfcb was born.
The operation repositioned itself in 2014, and incorporated the FCB standardization, strengthening one of the oldest advertising brands in the world. Its origin dates back to the business founded by Daniel Lord and Ambrose Thomas, Lord & Thomas.
Created in the city of Chicago (USA) in 1873, the agency generated the embryo of FCB, with Emerson Foote (F), Fairfax Mastick Cone (C) and Don Belding (B), the company’s main executives. In 1942, the trio took charge of the operation, renaming it with the initial letters of their surnames.
One of the longest-standing customers is the North American personal care company Kimberly-Clark. The partnership began in mid-1923. Between comings and goings, FCB Brasil once again strengthened these ties, recently conquering the
accounts of Huggies, Intimus, Neve e Duramax.
Under the command of CMO Ronaldo Art, the work is part of the Plenitud line, served by the agency in Brazil and Latin America for three years. They are brands that allow talking about ageism and gender issues, stresses Anna Martha Silveira, ECD and chief culture officer (CCO) of FCB Brasil.
People
Announced in October 2022, the culture discipline mapped the agency’s 11 characteristic traits, and found that the most valued attribute is caring for people.
We put culture in favor of the business. As of this semester, we started to implement a plan aligned with our strategy, anticipates Anna Martha, who relied on the consultancy Korn & Ferry to gather information worked on across the board, and in partnership with the human resources area.
collective spirit
Diversity and clarity in functions are also highlighted in the operation, which seeks to connect people, brands and culture. The challenge is to do this in a way that is engaging, relevant, entertaining and engaging, argues Anna Martha.
Works carried out for Brastemp, TikTok and CVC demonstrate the position taken by the collective spirit, which connects brands to culture based on creativity fueled by diversity and data, reiterates Ricardo John, CEO and CCO of FCB Brasil.
Part of the global business plan for over four years, inclusion and diversity are non-negotiable issues. The target set for 2023 is close to being achieved. We have already reached the number of black people, and we are now looking for integration with management and leadership positions, says Anna Matha.
Today, women represent 59% of the workforce, and black professionals make up 36% of the workforce. FCB Brasil maintains alliances with the Observatório da Diversidade na Propaganda and the consulting firm EmpregueAfro, in addition to promoting the FCB Brain internship program, with a focus on diversity.
The operating area supports the work format. Previously allocated to creation, the unit gained autonomy, boosting productivity by putting energy in the right place. This standardization works in favor of creativity, argues director of brands and business and operations Claudia Schneider.
Trying
Transforming methodologies into transparent processes, establishing clear attributions to positions and having tools that support shared action are some of the measures taken to reduce friction, favoring work in the bank.
This multidisciplinary team is called upon to solve a work problem, which is already prototyped. There’s no planning that doesn’t yield creatively, and there’s no creation that doesn’t fit the media, guarantees Claudia. Formed according to the profile of the project, the team can receive specialists to deepen insights.
Modularity circulates knowledge and avoids silos, rooting the collective spirit. We have a plural executive board, with specialists in content, CRM and branding, who work very closely together, which is reflected both in the depth of the strategic and creative product and in the development of the agency’s professionals, comments Ricardo John.
Prestgio
Afflictions are also calmed when the customer is called to participate in solutions that ensure agility. Balancing the depth of the project with the speed demanded by the brands is the solution found by FCB Brasil to enhance results and establish relationships as lasting and award-winning as its history.
The agency won the only trophy of the national delegation at Digital Craft Lions 2022. It returned with Bronze for Voz preta, created for Revista Raa. In total, there were six Lees. In the 2020/2021 edition, the festival nominated FCB as Network of the Year, an award won for the first time in its trajectory.
Check out some of the main works created by FCB Brasil:
