AME's 2022 Grand Jury members understand what it takes to deliver creative and strategic campaigns that move the needle for brands.These globally respected, award-winning executives  bring innovation, industry expertise, and a 360-degree global perspective to the judging panel. Their industry experience and strategic expertise provide them with an understanding of the partnership between creativity and effectiveness.

Grand Jury member Frederico Roberto is Commerce Creative Director for Publicis Poke. He brings over 20 years experience to the jury panel working for commercial and social causes in advertising for different global markets such as EMEA, LATAM and APAC.  Frederico has worked with prominent brands including Samsung, HP, Fox International Channels, Nestlé, Bentley Motors, Xbox, Colgate, Virgin Active, Bentley Motors, DIAGEO and BP, as well as Amnesty International, RSPCC and the Spitalfields Crypt Trust.His creative and effective work has earned him numerous accolades, including more than 50 international awards.

In the interview below Frederico shares his perspective on award-winning advertising, the evolution of brand positioning, new innovations engaging consumers and much more. 

AME Awards: What stand-out attributes do you recognize in award-winning creative effective advertising?

Frederico Roberto: Effective advertising isn’t, of course, only about sales. It is also about sales, but it’s also about brand value. Value for the shareholders, employees, and consumers alike. Value in different dimensions; financial value, emotional value, practical value. It’s also about brand equity. How can we effectively, perpetually if you will, keep on adding a positive perception to what everything a brand does; how it adds to culture, how it plays a part in an entire category, how it helps macro-areas of society (social, economical and even political) to move forward. When the millions of dollars spent in marketing efforts are put to good use by private, semi-private and public entities, that’s when we see real change. That’s when we see effectiveness.

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

Frederico Roberto: There’s no communication creativity without business effectiveness in sight. That’s just a fact. Commercial results in marketing activities are the reason why creativity can come in a play the “variable of success” card. Otherwise, data-driven-ONLY efforts end up being bland, dull and without any kind of differentiation. Competitions like the AME Awards are a beacon of light that shines its glare in the right direction. It serves as a reference point, a benchmark and a standard for the following year for both agencies and clients alike. It is indeed the best of both worlds, imprinting credibility to our industry.

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

Frederico Roberto: Finally, we’re witnessing brands putting their money where their mouth is. And by this I mean, no profits-expected whatsoever. Over the past 5 or 6 years, the rise of the so-called “Purpose Marketing” (or what I used to call, “do the right thing”), pushed by – let’s face it – several social movements, actually lead those companies to change their attitude, their investments, their NPD policies, their comms to meet their audience’s expectations. And the results are obvious. But only when those same companies have a legitimate, authentic role on those topics. Otherwise, it backfires massively. When done right, clearly, assumedly and unapologetically, new (and old consumers) will mirror themselves in those values, that tone-of-voice, and those products available to them and reward those companies with their purchases.

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

Frederico Roberto: I believe the most exciting ‘innovation’ (if we can call it like that), it’s the agencies’ understanding that any given moment, in any place, with any medium, a purchase/sale is up for grabs. Everything can literally be shoppable. Through the use of technology, even the most leisurely of moments (let’s saaaaayyyy, sunbathing at the beach) can become a shoppable one. Is it ok to do so? To interrupt? It’s not really up to us to decide that. All we have to do is to put our client-partners in front of our consumers and hopefully present some added value to effectively reach our ultimate goal: an interaction.