Selling It Latin Style
Lopez Negrete had a great year in 2006. The agency made creative awards history by winning its third consecutive Best of Show award at the Addy awards. That year, Lopez Negrete went on to get 71 nominations, which is a record for any creative agency, Hispanic or not.
The agency has won awards too numerous to list here. Let it suffice to say that in the past two years alone, Lopez Negrete has won 12 Telly awards, 2 National Bulldog awards, 38 Addy awards, an AAF Mosaic award, and 6 Excalibur Awards for Excellence.
Latin Business is happy to have had the recent opportunity to pick Alex López Negretes brain a bit, to find out what makes him the creative leader that he is, and to discover what ingredients he feels are key to keeping his agency on top.
Can you tell us a little bit about your background?
I was born in Houston but raised in Mexico City, where my father’s family resided. My mother’s family was from a small southeast Texas town called Baytown. Thus, even growing up in Mexico City, I lived in a completely bilingual household, which was an absolute plus. Just like here in the U.S., my family has adopted Mexican traditions; back in Mexico we also adopted some U.S. traditions, such as Thanksgiving. My life has always been one of contrasts, inclusion, bridging.
The influence family has had upon me is indelible. Both my parents were extraordinarily hard workers and leaders in their field. Particularly my mother, Dorothy, who was a senior level executive with Estee Lauder Cosmetics and spearheaded all marketing and promotions for the company. Her influence on me as it pertains to work ethic, attention to detail, drive, and a love for marketing is deep.
What educational path did you pursue?
I attended the University of Houston School of Business.
Did you receive any financial aid or did you work to finance your education?
The only aid I received was that of my grandmother, with whom I lived for a time during my first two years in college. Cathy and I paid for my tuition thereafter, as we both worked our way through college.
What did you do and where did you work before you started your own agency?
Like most people in the business, I worked in various areas of the industry. I always felt I needed to learn all aspects and sides of this business if I would eventually own my own firm (which was always the plan). My first job in the business was in helping open the first national radio representative firm office in Houston for McGavren Guild Radio. After this, I became a partner with an international print firm representing the influential Grupo Novedades of Mexico and Monterrey’s El Norte newspaper, among other publications. Mexican President López Portillo, at that point, banned all foreign-investment related advertising, and thus, the Mexican print representation side of the business had to close down, as most of our clients were banks, real estate companies, investment brokers and such. I went back into local radio sales for a time, but quickly went into the ad agency side, becoming a print media planner for an oil and gas agency. These experiences allowed me to learn the importance of media and its infrastructure. This has been critical in my career. The Houston oil bust of the mid-80s closed the door on the oil and gas agency business, but guided me into an opportunity with a small retail-oriented shop by the name of Bill Bosse & Associates, for whom I performed duties as Account Director, Art Director, Copywriter, Media Planner, and pretty much everything else. It was a small agency handling medium-size clients, and a tough job to say the least, but provided me an opportunity to learn all aspects of the business and what it takes to get work done from concept to implementation.
