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Jonathan Sanchez Vargas, Creative Director, Publimark MullenLowe, Costa Rica
Jury-Interviews

2022 AME Grand Jury Perspective: Jonathan Sanchez Vargas, Creative Director, Publimark MullenLowe Costa Rica

Jonathan Sanchez Vargas brings more than 12 years of creative and strategic leadership experience to the 2022 Grand Jury. As a Creative Director he has been in charge of prominent global brands including PMI (Philip Morris International), BAT (British American Tobacco), Coca Cola, kölbi, Hyundai, LifeMiles, Banco Popular, Musi Convenience Stores, Isuzu, INEC, TSE, Pozuelo, Universidad lnternacional de las Américas, Dos Pinos, and Chevrolet.

New York, NY | February 17, 2022

AME's 2022 Grand Jury jury panel includes some of the world’s most creative and strategic minds in advertising, marketing communications, and brand building from around the globe known for delivering distincitve and effective results for global brands.These creative industry leaders have a reputation for innovation, creative excellence, and strategic mastery and their industry experience guarantees that all entries submitted into the AME Awards are judged with the utmost of care and consideration.

As a Creative Director, Jonathan Sanchez Vargas has been in charge of prominent global brands including PMI (Philip Morris International), BAT (British American Tobacco), Coca Cola, kölbi, Hyundai, LifeMiles, Banco Popular, Musi Convenience Stores, Isuzu, INEC, TSE, Pozuelo, Universidad lnternacional de las Américas, Dos Pinos, and Chevrolet.  He brings more than 12 years of creative and strategic leadership experience to the 2022 Grand Jury. Jonathan has worked at some of the largest advertising agencies in Costa Rica such as: Leo Burnett, Jotabequ / GREY, Publimark MullenLowe where he has shared his creative industry expertise with very talented multidisciplinary talented teams.

In the interview below Jonathan shares his perspective on why effectiveness competitions are important, how brand positioning has evolved the past few years, emerging innovations and why he's agreed to judge teh 2022 AME Awards entries.

AME Awards: Why are effectiveness competitions like the AME Awards important?

Jonathan Sanchez Vargas: The effectiveness of a campaign is the goal that makes everyone happy, you know if your clients buy you a very good idea and that idea was ultimately bought by people, everyone's work was excellent, and the whole cycle is completed, I think that everyone wins.

The most important thing is that the awards that measure effectiveness and creativity togheter is where you can find courage from a client with great confidence in their agency, that, itself is an award!

AME Awards: Speak to the evolution of brand positioning, values, and tone of voice during the past few years.

Jonathan Sanchez Vargas: I think that the Pandemic came to change everything and brands are not an exception, I believe that the point of view of many brands changed and that of others was rather strengthened.

The brand voice for me is something that has had different stages as the Covid-19 situation has evolved, at first it was more careful and keeping us at home, and now here on this side of the world, we are talking about an economic reactivation and having a different way of living our days.

I am struck by how brands have changed their positioning towards fields that are a little more worthwhile and that are a greater value to people

AME Awards: What innovations are changing the way agencies engage consumers on behalf of brands?

Jonathan Sanchez Vargas: We are in the DATA ERA, that has made agencies change their way of creating and above all creative teams can now create campaigns, products or whatever with less intuition and more certainty that what is being presented I can or not Be effective.

In my case, I always ask my team to rely on DATA of any kind, and generally that creativity that is based on that DATA is completely correct and effective.

With regard to AI, it came to create things that we did not even dream of before, they are tools that help and that we must use them, just as we use our phones to live every day.

AME Awards: Why did you agree to participate on this year’s AME Grand Jury and What do you hope to learn by viewing entries into this competition?

Jonathan Sanchez Vargas: It is an honor for me to be part of this group of judges and I accepted the invitation because I always love to see the evolution of creativity based on real events that is being done in Latin America and the world.