Advertising Age selects Dieste as 2008 Multicultural Agency of the Year.

Dieste Inc., an Omnicom agency, has been named the 2008 Multicultural Agency of the Year by leading industry trade publication Advertising Age. This selection marks the third time Dieste has received the prestigious award, and the only time a Hispanic ad agency has been honored more than twice.

Advertising Age editors chose the Multicultural Agency of the Year based on a combination of growth, creativity, effectiveness and innovation. Dieste was the first agency to win the honor in 2001, and the third, in 2003. With this year’s victory, Dieste is the first agency to be named Advertising Age’s Multicultural Agency of the Year for a third time. The agency is featured in the Jan. 19 issue of Advertising Age along with the U.S. Agency of the Year, the Global Agency Network of the Year, and other top agencies.

“We saw Dieste make a big comeback in 2008, with new management and a re-launch of the agency,” said Laurel Wentz, Advertising Age’s international and multicultural editor. “We picked Dieste as Multicultural Agency of the Year because of the agency’s growth and new business record, excellent creative work, strategic thinking and dynamic leadership. We also like the way the agency is positioning itself for success in a fast-changing Hispanic market that is becoming more bicultural and bilingual.”

The Agency of the Year designation comes following a year of bold evolution at Dieste, which began with the selection of CEO Melisa Quiñoy—a former network and ad executive who infused the agency with a new vision for approaching multicultural Hispanics.

“We are very proud of being named Agency of the Year after such an important year in our history. and trajectory. The commitment from our people, the trust of our clients and the vision and passion of our leadership are what has positioned us so strongly as a leader in this industry,” Quiñoy said.

In 2008, Quiñoy and Aldo Quevedo, president, led Dieste through an evolution in brand communications that put a sharp focus on how brands and messages intercept pan-cultural consumers. From internal talent to its brand positioning and corporate identity, Dieste aligned itself to support this philosophy that has yielded strong results for the agency’s portfolio of world-class brands including AT&T, Pepsi, Frito Lay and Nationwide.

“Dieste is at the top of its game and we are proud of our partners and the year they have had. They are not only the agency of the year, but more importantly the agency of the future,” said Carmen Baez, president of DAS Latin America