Agn\u00e8s Riba wanted to be a computer scientist because, years ago, they said it was the profession of the future. However, she soon discovered that the subject bored her and ended up in the advertising world because, as she puts it, it combines “the artistic with the business.” As the Strategy Director at After, when asked what she does, she replies that she “formulates the right questions.” Although she doesn\u2019t have much free time, she knows the dialogues of Lost in Translation by heart and listens to podcasts about culture, feminism, and parenting on her way to the agency. We chatted with Agn\u00e8s about strategy and her particular view on advertising and life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did you always know you wanted to work in advertising?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Not at all. As a child, I wanted to be a computer scientist because they said it was the future (I\u2019m from that generation that experienced the arrival of the internet at home), and well, they weren\u2019t entirely wrong. But the extracurricular computer science class seemed extremely boring to me, and when I had to choose a university career, I knew I wanted something that combined the artistic world with the business world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Within a creative agency, there are many areas. Why strategy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Because I received feedback at the right time. During my first internship at an agency (Ogilvy), the creative director pointed out that I spent more time trying to understand and contribute to the briefing than in the creative response, so she advised me to move towards planning. Thanks, Aina Cortina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After and strategy go hand in hand. So much so that the agency always argues it is at the heart of the business. Without strategy, are there no brands?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Without strategy, it is difficult to have anything long-term. Products may be short-term, but brands are not. Although initially, dedicating resources to strategy might seem to slow down the process, without strategy, there are no agreed-upon criteria for making decisions, which, in the long run, is a much greater waste of time and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you had to explain exactly what strategy applied to advertising is to someone who doesn\u2019t work in this field, how would you do it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I tell my family that I define what to communicate, and the creatives handle how to tell it. Sometimes, I also explain that in strategy, we ask the right questions to inspire creativity to find the best solutions. At After, we have a motto: “Fewer of the same old answers, more new questions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is unrelated, but which movie do you know almost by heart?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn\u2019t count because I\u2019ll mention a movie I watched many times in my childhood, like Back to the Future or Star Wars, from when I still watched movies dubbed. But now I lean more towards stories told by women or at least films that pass the Bechdel test. I could tell you a quote from Lost in Translation, by Sofia Coppola. I suppose it marked me because I watched it during a stage of my life when I was also living in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if you had to fly to a distant destination, which book would you pack in your suitcase for the trip?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I wouldn\u2019t mind reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley again, or Nadie duerme by Barbijaputa. Although now I have several books pending that my friends gave me for my 40th birthday, such as Cauterio by Luc\u00eda Lijtmaer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agn\u00e8s, you are a veteran at After: you\u2019ve been at the agency for 9 years. Of all the projects you\u2019ve contributed to, which one are you most proud of?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two things I\u2019m particularly proud of. The first is contributing to the people who work with me and seeing them grow. The second is driving the After 2030 plan, which is a set of actions to address different SDGs and where we collaborate with social entities that show us that a better world is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strategy Director and full-time mother. How does Agn\u00e8s manage to balance both?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It would be good if we also asked this question to fathers. In my case, I won\u2019t lie, I navigate the guilt of not being able to do everything as I would like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What differentiating methodology does After apply so that a brand can find a good positioning?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly after joining After, I developed a proprietary methodology that organized the agency\u2019s way of thinking. I quickly understood how Marc Ros and Risto Mejide sought to shake things up with the utmost strategic rigor through disruptive questions. Thus, the PQC\u00a9 methodology (short for Why, What, and How) was born, which today is still the methodology we use, both for internal work and for creation processes with clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Toni Segarra says that the difference between one brand and another is built much more from the tone than from the discourse. What do you think?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I won\u2019t be the one to disagree with \u201cTone\u201d Segarra. Personality has been the great forgotten element of traditional branding because what mattered was the brand message. It was defined with general adjectives like “approachable, friendly, and positive,” which is boring and undifferentiated. But today, brands don\u2019t just repeat a message over and over; they are in constant conversation. And in a conversation, tone is more important than the message. That\u2019s why, when I help define a brand\u2019s personality and tone, I try to go beyond the obvious, even forcing some adjectives or attributes to be not entirely positive, just like people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At what level can Artificial Intelligence be applied in a strategy department?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like in all areas, AI helps but does not replace. Right now, we\u2019re using AI for context analysis. Not only because machines process a lot of information faster than we do and can make good summaries, but also because they can now draw conclusions by detecting opportunities. We will surely make significant progress in its use over the next few years, but let\u2019s not fool ourselves; AI learns through predictive patterns, and the most brilliant strategies transcend the predictable. I am convinced that human intuition is essential in strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do you think will be the main trends in the sector this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When the sector talks about trends, it focuses a lot on technologies, formats, and channels. But I\u2019m more interested in social trends, how society is changing its values and behaviors. Therefore, I\u2019m sorry to say that I read more sociologists than industry magazines. I\u2019d like to mention a couple of trends I\u2019m working on. The first is the growing interest in mental health and emotional well-being, so if 20 years ago the trend toward healthy consumption changed everything, now mental health is also clearly changing consumption priorities. The second trend is the difficulty in knowing the truth. There is broad access to information without knowing how to verify it. At the agency, we have been working with our friends from Verificat<\/strong> on how brands should be responsible for combating misinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the main problem advertising faces today?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll answer with another question: Problem for whom? For society and audiences? For those of us who live off advertising? Or for those who need advertising to sell? If we\u2019re talking about those who live from advertising effectiveness, for years now, with information overload and audience fragmentation, the problem has been reach and relevance for brands. We\u2019ve tried branded content, micro-segmentation, or purpose-driven brands. But\u2026 it\u2019s not resolved. I still see, today, investments wasted on content that reaches very few people. We need to link actions much more to measurable results, apply more science to our profession. I think strategists have work for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who inspires you professionally?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of our clients are an inspiration to me. The best part of our profession is working for a wide variety of sectors and companies and being close to business leaders who influence our society. Let me give you a few names: Marieta Jim\u00e9nez, European Vice President of the science and technology company Merck, who has been and is an inspiration in empowering leadership. Also Clara Navarro, as General Director of the Ship2B Foundation, who has shown me that the business world and the social world must go hand in hand. And finally, Elena Massot, CEO of the real estate developer Vertix, whom I\u2019ve met recently and is an example of corporate culture that keeps a team proud for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And personally?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, I suppose the people I listen to and read, who aren\u2019t famous. For example, in parenting, Paola Roig, Andrea Ros, or Judit Besora. In feminism, Ana de Miguel, Iris Borda, or J\u00falia Salander. And my friends. I surround myself with brilliant women, some of whom I\u2019ve met thanks to After, and they are also an inspiration to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What does Agn\u00e8s like to do in her free time?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Free time, what\u2019s that? I used to travel and go to concerts and festivals. Now, while commuting to the agency, I listen to podcasts about culture, feminism, and parenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you had a time machine and could go back, would you choose strategy again?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Strategy yes, advertising strategy maybe not. I don\u2019t like to repeat myself, but I think I would inevitably end up in the most strategic part of any sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One more thing\u2026 a thank you to Adriana Benito, who made this AfterTalk possible by asking the right questions.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Agn\u00e8s Riba wanted to be a computer scientist because, years ago, they said it was the profession of the future. However, she soon discovered that the subject bored her and ended up in the advertising world because, as she puts it, it combines “the artistic with the business.” As the Strategy Director at After, when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-after-en"],"yoast_head":"\n