We had the joy of interviewing Guilherme Coe, Head of Brand Growth, Brazil for McDonald’s, one of our fantastic judges for the 2025 Festival of Media Latin America Awards. Guilherme shared what he would eradicate from the industry, his favourite tool and media platform, the campaign that impressed him most, which country he believes is producing the most effective media work, and what he sees as the best thing about working in media.
What is one thing that you would eradicate from the industry?
Short-termism disguised as brand success. The obsession with short-term metrics masquerading as proof of brand health. We’ve mistaken instant clicks for cultural impact, and in the process, we’re starving long-term brand equity. If I could eradicate anything, it would be the idea that speed always equals success. Clicks aren’t culture.
What is your current favourite tool or platform in media?
Dynamic creative optimization tools that integrate real-time cultural signals. Not because they’re “trendy tech,” but because they allow brands to speak with cultural relevance in the moment — without defaulting to generic templates or tone-deaf automation. Tools that listen to culture before they speak to audiences. My favorite right now is VidMob — it uses creative analytics to understand which elements of a piece of content are driving performance, in real time, across platforms. It’s like having a cultural compass built into your media buys, allowing you to adapt assets to context without losing brand integrity.
What is the best media campaign of the last 12 months (in your opinion)?
DDB Colombia’s ‘Influencers’ Friends’ campaign for Poker Beer transformed media strategy: friends of superstars became the stock-in-trade. By rethinking influencer reach, the campaign leveraged media as a living ecosystem—great content born of real relationships, not transactional fame. “‘Influencers’ Friends’ flipped the celebrity playbook—turning the plus-ones into the headline act. Real friends. Real proximity. Real influence.
Which country do you think is producing the most effective media campaigns?
Brazil, not only for creativity, but for the way campaigns balance cultural codes, social tension, and humor. The best work here blends mass appeal with hyper-local insight, making it exportable and deeply rooted at the same time.
What’s the best thing about working in media?
The privilege of shaping how brands enter culture. Media isn’t just “where the ad goes” anymore, it’s the connective tissue between what people care about and what brands want to say. We can spark conversations, shift norms, and sometimes even rewrite them. We’re not just placing ads — we’re placing brands inside culture.
