5 Minutes with… Jessica Apellaniz
Jessica Apellaniz's knack and enjoyment for problem solving initially led her to try out a career as a producer at MTV. That is until she was asked to try and change up the format of the show she worked on. Her script convinced the director that her true calling lay with copywriting.
Today, Jessica is one of Latin America's few female creative leaders. She stepped into the regional CCO role for Ogilvy Latina in 2020 after a successful stint at the helm of the network's Mexico office. Under her leadership, Ogilvy Latina celebrated an extremely strong year at Cannes Lions 2022, which included the first ever Lions for Honduras and Bolivia, and Ogilvy being named Regional Network of the Year. Ogilvy Honduras actually headed back to Central America with eight Lions, including three Golds and a coveted Glass for its conversation-altering campaign ‘Morning After Island’ for GEPAE (Grupo Estratégico para la Pastilla Anticonceptiva de Emergencia).
LBB's Addison Capper chatted with Jess about her pointed aim to get markets like Bolivia, Honduras and others creating on the world stage, the "creative bubbles" she's focused on next, and having to write 100 lines for one idea at her first job in advertising.
LBB> It was a good year in Cannes for Ogilvy LATAM, so let's start there. Tell me about some of the successes you had. Did you expect the work to resonate?
Jess> I expected a good year, but not that much of a good year. It was a surprise. When they were announcing the best of the region for North America, Europe, etc., I wasn't expecting that we would be the best in Latin America. I shouted and almost pushed the guy in front of me - sorry to that guy. It was even better than I expected.
For me, the difference is that we used to have countries like Brazil, Colombia and Mexico shining, but this year I wanted more operations there. Smaller countries can all contribute to the creative reputation of Ogilvy. Two years ago, my goal was to have countries like Bolivia or Honduras actually participating in this. I tried to build a tight group with all the CCOs around the region. We meet each Friday and we try to help each other.
I think that sometimes you have a creative bubble. You have the right team with the right brief, the right context, the problem is relevant around the rest of the world. That happened in Honduras; a creative bubble with stars aligned, a brave client, and a fantastic creative team. That was one shining star this year.
Ogilvy Honduras - Morning After Island
LBB> Excuse if this sounds a bit corny, but I guess your hope is that you nurture these creative bubbles and then they burst and become their own, positive thing?
Jess> Yeah, that's exactly how I feel - start with one and go from there. It was the first Lion for Honduras and there was also the first for Bolivia. It helps the rest of the team and the rest of the agency believe because it shows that it's not hard work with no fruits at the end. It all helps build momentum and makes more people want it.
LBB> On top of internal morale, are awards like that important to clients across LATAM?
Jess> Oh, yes. In Latin America they check the rankings of Cannes, the Effies and probably the local festivals. I think it's relevant and the most accurate creative KPI that we have because we don't have much - it's all subjective.
LBB> Latin America often gets pigeonholed into one entity but it’s an incredibly diverse region with so many different cultures and quirks. As a regional CCO, how do you keep on top of happenings within each market within the region, both from an agency perspective and within culture?
Jess> I think it's the same as when you have a creative department in your own local operation. You have different teams, so in the same way that you might give feedback in different ways, you also push in a different way because each one needs something different to actually achieve what we need. I don't think the team in Honduras or the team in Bolivia or Argentina are the same, and I do treat them differently. I try to adapt to what they need or how I can help them excel.
LBB> The talent war is an issue across the advertising industry, with agencies struggling to hire and retain great creatives. How are you seeing this play out across Latin America?
Jess> I think we're all affected by it - we have changed some CCOs this past year. I think that they were also good changes because you can bring a new vibe and energy to the agency and people start thinking differently. Guatemala, for example, changed CCOs and took a different approach - instead of having a CCO, it's more like ECDs. They've been working amazingly and it’s a region that I’m focused on now.
LBB> You just mentioned Guatemala as a focus point for you - or your ‘next bubble’ - but how about the bigger, more established markets like Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia? How are you interacting with those markets right now?
Jess> They never stop. It's a mechanism that is already running and that is what I'm trying to build in the rest of the operations. It's not something that you do for Cannes, it's a constant operation. At Ogilvy we call it 'divine discontent' - you have achieved but you're never fully there. I want everyone in all the operations across Latin America to feel that divine discontent.
LBB> Let's speak about you for a bit, how did you wind up in advertising? A planned thing or more a happy accident?
Jess> It was an accident. I love to solve problems, so my natural thinking was to be a producer. I did some infomercials and then ended up at MTV, doing the top 20 and top 10 shows. It was the same TV show for a long time and the director asked me to try and change the format and do something different. So I wrote a script. When I delivered the script, they told me, ‘you're not a producer, you're a copywriter'. He seemed so confident in that statement, so I tried copywriting at a cool agency on a cool account, ‘El Palacio de Hierro’, which is like The Economist in Mexico. It was famous for big headlines, so it was a good start as a copywriter.
LBB> Does your history as a producer help you in your role as a creative? And does your regional CCO role still offer up ample opportunities for the problem solving that you love?
Jess> I think resourcefulness is one of my most helpful assets. I remember one day people saying a project that we were working on was dead. But I knew we just needed to try something different, and I said in confidence that we could achieve it.
And yes, you just solve bigger problems. Sometimes more stressful ones but more rewarding ones as well!
LBB> As a CCO, I imagine a chunk of your responsibilities involve nurturing talent and listening to your teams to ensure they're able to work to the best of their abilities. What is your approach to this side of the job, especially considering the lack of opportunity for in-person meetings and the stressful environments that the past year have offered up?
Jess> Many of the team I met in real life for the first time in Cannes. Some of them look shorter, some of them look taller, it was an amazing moment! My approach is that I just want them to have what they need to achieve what we need. You need to have the right talent, the right client - and the right account, so I make myself available for pitches too. You need to keep building the business to have more talent. It's not just creative, it's also about the business. That's an important part of what I do.
LBB> What lessons did you learn during your first role in advertising / copywriting?
Jess> I'm not sure I would do this to our new talents now but I would have to write 100 ideas for one headline. That might sound like madness to some but that was my assignment most of the time. I was used to it and it was a good beginning.
It was also a must to have an insight, which is another thing they tapped into my brain in the first two years. We're used to seeing craft in design or in art direction because of how many hours are spent on it. Some people believe that writing doesn't need that amount of hours, but it does. It needs to be crafted.
LBB> We've spoken about your leadership responsibilities and need to nurture talent, but is there someone in the industry that you look up to or someone that has been a great mentor?
Jess> Horacio [Genolet, Ogilvy Latina CEO] is someone who helps me manage how important it is to involve the CCOs and he has helped me to grow a lot with a lot of the management stuff. And on the other hand, creatively, Joe [Sciarrotta, deputy CCO, worldwide] and Liz [Taylor, CCO, worldwide] keep me inspired, I could work 24 hours a day if they asked me.
LBB> Outside of work, what keeps you happy?
Jess> My two girls, that's an easy one. I try to balance. Sometimes I'm a great CCO and sometimes I'm a great mother. I just try to make that equation feel balanced by the end of the month.
