Barrutia on productivity and e-commerce

Over the past few years, Barú Advertising has become a force to be reckoned with in Latino advertising and marketing. The Los Angeles-based agency’s client list includes Covered California, Del Real Foods and Fannie Mae (see the end of this article for a more complete list). Interview with Portada Elizabeth Barrutia, founder and president of Barú Advertising. Barrutia shares his insights and views on brands focused on performance advertising, Latin e-commerce marketing and more.

Over the last three years, a clear trend has been the increase in performance advertising compared to branding advertising. Barrutia states that “marketing strategies often focus on performance metrics related to conversions, sales, and ROAS rather than top-of-the-marketing funnel activities, largely due to the need for accountability and measurable results.” According to Barrutia, “CMOs and CMOs are at the forefront of today’s dynamic, digitally-driven landscape. They must be agile and responsive to market dynamics to stay ahead of sales and competition. Another reason why brands are relying more on performance marketing tactics is that they enable companies to test, iterate and optimize campaigns in real time, giving them a competitive advantage in reaching and engaging their target audiences.

However, experts say that long-term brands are only profitable when they feed the top of the funnel with brand advertising. Booking.com, one of the pioneers and leaders in performance advertising, has recognized the importance of top-of-funnel advertising and is now an active Super Bowl advertiser. Barrutia of Barú Advertising states that “performance marketing is essential for generating responses and measuring immediate results; It is also important for brands to invest in building awareness, shaping brand perception and creating long-term relationships with customers, especially in highly competitive categories.” He adds that at Barú Advertising, “we have seen that focusing solely on performance marketing metrics can lead to overlooking the importance of branding. Top-of-the-funnel activities have a huge impact on overall marketing effectiveness.”

Barrutia maintains that there is an increasing implementation of what he calls “brand form” – a balance between performance marketing and brand marketing strategies. Brands that take a more holistic marketing approach that integrates performance and branding activities can deliver both short-term results and long-term brand equity. Barrutia’s more holistic marketing strategies include:

Customer-centric marketing, emphasizing personalized experiences and messaging, storytelling and engagement throughout the customer journey.
Investing in content marketing, influencer partnerships, social media engagement and other top-level activities to connect with consumers on a deeper level and build lasting brand loyalty.

Barrutia believes that the most effective marketing strategies ultimately balance performance-based tactics and branding initiatives; “By combining efforts to achieve immediate results with efforts focused on building brand awareness, consumer trust and affinity, brands can create a strong foundation for sustainable growth and long-term success.”

“By combining efforts to achieve immediate results with efforts focused on building brand awareness, consumer trust and affinity, brands can create a strong foundation for sustainable growth and long-term success.”

Barú Advertising’s perspective on e-commerce

Another question for a Latina marketing expert like Elizabeth Barrutia is about the opportunities that retail/e-commerce media offers. According to the latest IAB report, retail media revenues showed a 16.3% YoY increase in advertising revenues, reaching $43.7 billion in 2023. All key e-commerce players are expanding their retail media platforms to enable future growth, however, in terms of specific presence, there is not much to say in the US Latin market. What do the Latino marketing experts at Barú Advertising have to say about this?
“Despite our large Latino population in the U.S., relatively few e-commerce sites cater exclusively to this segment, such as Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Etsy,” notes Barrutia. “This underrepresentation means less competition and greater opportunities for emerging brands to increase sales volumes,” he adds. ” Of course, when it comes to winning in the e-commerce space, brands also need to think about a holistic approach, including localization, cultural appropriateness, SEO and SEM to improve visibility, and the right partnerships to build credibility and reach, whether it happens through the media, influencers or communities,” Barrutia emphasizes.

“Despite our large Latino population in the U.S., relatively few e-commerce sites cater exclusively to this segment.”

According to Barrutia, “there is potential for brands targeting Latino consumers on Spanish-language e-commerce sites. In the United States, where Spanish digital shoppers tend to search and buy more on English-language sites, there is an opportunity to tap into the inspiration of today’s trendsetters and home nostalgia by leveraging the concept of biculturalism. Thanks to the ability to navigate both English and Spanish media and commerce environments, brands offering bilingual support or even dedicated platforms can effectively reach a wider audience. Latinos have high rates of digital engagement, including social media and online shopping. This makes them a prime segment for digital marketing and e-commerce initiatives.”

Some e-commerce and retail media players well understand the Spanish opportunity: “It’s no surprise that companies like Walmart have not only English and Spanish versions of their Walmart en Español website. But Walmart also has a Mexican retail chain, Bodega Aurrera, and its e-commerce site, available in Spanish, targets a wide range of products to the local market. This is a great example of Walmart truly understanding the nuances and needs of the Latino market. Latino consumers are known for their brand loyalty. With the right product offerings, e-commerce sites should cater to the specific needs and preferences of Latinos to ensure growth,” concludes Barú Advertising’s Barrutia.