INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: Angela Sustaita-Ruiz / Digital & Cultural PR and Marketing Strategist/Co-Founder Brilla Media

In our “Industry Spotlight Series“, we are highlighting Angela Sustaita-Ruiz / Digital & Cultural PR and Marketing Strategist / Co-Founder Brilla Media.  We will continue to highlight our great industry executives in this series, asking them key questions about the business.  Enjoy.

It’s the midway point in 2021, do you see business growth ahead for the U.S. Public Relations Market?

The staggering demand that we’re seeing for U.S. Hispanic, and multicultural PR, is unlikely to slow down for the balance of this year.

With the pandemic how has your agency dealt with clients and business; how has COVID-19 affected you and your clients; and how have you fared from a business standpoint?

The first few months of the pandemic initially appeared to be devastating as the world faced an uncertain future and brands paused marketing efforts. The surge of opportunities that we saw from late 2020 until today has been a large product of Black Lives Matter and the impact it has had on the consciousness of the nation, and the marketing industry that quickly mobilized to address it.

With the new Administration in Washington, do you see new opportunities for our U.S. Hispanic Market and or our Hispanic PR Agencies?

The new administration has ushered in a renewed and extremely authentic interest in multicultural communications that brands and agencies are trying hard to emulate. The Biden Administration is modeling diversity and inclusion in a way that invites corporations to follow.

For 2021, would you favor moving toward a Multicultural approach or a more focused Hispanic approach?

Many of the brands and organizations that I work with want to collaborate with partners that have a solid understanding of the Hispanic Market, but that also have capabilities to engage other underrepresented communities. I see this trend continuing as the multicultural population in our country continues on a rapid growth trajectory.

How has your business changed in the last 5 years?

The last five years has seen exponential growth in digital which has accelerated because of the pandemic.

At this point, after so much debate, do you see Latino culture as strong and vibrant as some years ago and still permeating U.S. culture at large?

Latino culture is still very much as vibrant as it has been, and probably more so as a younger and more Latino and multicultural generation are driving pop culture trends. Latino music for instance continues to surge as a major gateway to popularizing Latino culture.

Do you see value in the existing industry organizations working together to give a voice to our industry?

The industry always benefits from collaborations and cohesive communication about the marketplace. The one thing that must happen is that organizations should prioritize cultivating the next generation of leaders and allow them to grow to propel the industry forward.

With the pandemic still strong and with the resurgence of lock down still happening, are you optimistic or pessimistic about 2021?

Optimistic because the demand for Hispanic marketing and advertising is unlikely to be impacted by potential future lockdowns. The demand for Hispanic market services and expertise, for example, is so large that currently there is a severe shortage of talent to meet the increasing workloads.