Samantha turned absence into power, tracing an inspiring story
What diversity? A black woman from a peripheral background can be diverse in a mostly male environment. But in the spaces that emerge from communities, it is the white man who will be in the minority. Perspective and context unmask the concept that permeates the discourse of brands. The provocative look proposed by Samantha Almeida, appointed by PROPMARK as one of the most prominent female leaders in the advertising market, is a reflexive invitation.
The only Brazilian to chair a jury at Cannes Lions 2023, in the Social & Influencer Lions category, Globo’s director of diversity and innovation reveres the history of Brazilian advertising. But she remembers that the sector gained international fame from works created by creative leaders cultivated by a part of the white, male, middle-class population. Samantha indicates the leap that Brazil can take if it knows how to understand the context of diversity.
We’re at a world-wide advantage, crava. The chances of being awarded at Cannes Lions will come from projects that know how to show the role of influence and the choices made to fulfill collective desires. Processes that combine technique, experience and depth in experiences work, he advises.
Authenticity presupposes identity. Brands need to know who, how and where they talk to, to then bring a voice that fits and present this structure to new communities. That’s the function of the influencer, a cool guy, who introduces you to a new group at a party, but who produces the party is you, marks, differentiates Samantha, who highlights the curatorship work done throughout her career.
In 2017, she joined a club of 40 up-and-coming influencers, such as Tasha & Tracie. What makes me most proud of having been fuel for what only needs reach, she recalls. For Samantha, curating involves finding the right voices at the right time. Maybe that’s our mission, she notes.
With Avon, the executive helped to reinforce the inclusion movement. At Twitter, he coordinated a portfolio of 150 clients, who demanded quick decisions. We know the importance of building a healthy and fair public debate, he stresses. From experience in agencies, Samantha extracts the speed of learning.
Today, on Globo, she proves the power of one of the largest media groups in the world. A speech, product, BBB episode or soap opera with strong speech reverberates in Brazil, he recognizes. The feeling that the responsibility has doubled, but my journey is protected by the Orixás, he assures.
Dreams go far. Carioca raised in the community of Rocinha (RJ), Samantha, came to So Paulo at the age of 13 with her family in search of study and a new reality. But she got tired of having her origin associated with absences due to not traveling, taking courses or speaking English. You haven’t, haven’t, haven’t been, haven’t done. They said I needed to catch up, that I would always be late, she says.
Today, at the age of 42, Samantha finds that the place of absence has become power. Her trajectory traces a path shaped by emotional intelligence and cognitive relationships developed to overcome the obstacles imposed by a life with fewer opportunities. Everything I am, not even though I’m a girl from the slums. precisely because I am a girl from the favela, she attests.
Samantha is still faced with the strangeness of people who insist on questioning how it feels to be a black woman in the corporate environment. The question should be how other people feel. Because to them, I’m the new one. But for me, that place, of being the odd one out, of being the one, ordinary, compares.
Migration from one social reality to another, and being a woman in predominantly male spaces, are signs of a life based on good confrontations, guarantees Samantha. The hope for a future in which everyone can start from the same place, have the same voice and the same weight in decision-making.
