Inside David Miami, the Wynwood rise up punching above its weight

Edgard Gianesi, the company’s leader inventive officer, used to be getting ready to scatter its digital ashes because the group transitioned to Microsoft Teams. “Somebody asked me why I wasn’t wearing black, like everyone else, ” he shrugged. “I said, ‘Because I’m not that sad.’”

That just about units the tone for certainly one of Miami’s maximum awarded and quietly influential inventive stores.

David Miami used to be one of the crucial first businesses to arrange in Wynwood, again in 2016, lengthy prior to the sushi spots and artwork boutiques took over the block. Now it’s firmly entrenched as a cultural trailblazer – no longer only for its inventive pedigree, however for its Latin-rooted control taste and unmistakable vibe.

“I think we have a Latin soul,” says Carolina Vieira, the company’s US president. “We’re not a Hispanic agency, but the way we operate – there’s a warmth, a flexibility, a desire to make things happen even when there’s no budget or clear path. That’s very Latin.”

But against this to different native businesses within the town, it does no longer imagine itself a Hispanic specialist however an organization that applies Latin pondering to the mainstream.

And that has helped it evolve from being “the Burger King agency” right into a bona fide inventive powerhouse. While the ‘Moldy Whopper’ marketing campaign might stay its most famed calling card, its newer hits – like Google’s ‘iPager’ and Dove’s ‘Turn Your Back’ – turn out that the magic wasn’t a fluke.

“We were created as a network around one main client – Burger King,” says Gianesi. “But today, we’re winning for Google, Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Mondelez… We’re no longer just that Burger King agency any more.”

The Latin soul

At the guts of David’s luck is its people-first, ego-free tradition. “We’re lean – about 60 people here in Miami,” says Vieira. “But everyone’s rowing in the same direction. Strategy, accounts, creatives – everyone’s pushing for good work.”

That ethos comes with a pace and agility uncommon amongst WPP businesses. “We don’t have 10 layers of approval,” Gianesi provides. “And we build real intimacy with our clients. That’s what lets us jump on culture and move fast when an opportunity hits.”

He issues to the ‘Turn Your Back’ marketing campaign – a reaction to an AI-driven TikTok clear out – as a chief instance. “It was born in Madrid, but they called us because they knew Brazil could help produce it in 24 hours. That’s the kind of collaboration we live by. Real-time, real trust.”

From São Paulo to Miami

Both Vieira and Gianesi are transplants from Brazil and feature assisted in shaping the Miami administrative center with an excessively world outlook.

“I’ve worked in London. I’ve lived with urban violence in São Paulo. I can tell you, being able to walk down the street with your phone out here is a big deal,” Gianesi says. “But professionally? The US market is different. Slower. More process. More legal steps.”

That wasn’t the case in Brazil, the place constraints have been an inventive catalyst. “In Brazil, we had to do a lot with very little. That taught us to focus on the idea – because we didn’t have the budget to hide behind,” says Gianesi. “You learn from reality. You learn what matters. You ask, ‘If I don’t have money, how can I still make something that has impact?’ And the answer is always the idea.”

Vieira concurs: “In Brazil, the media team is in the agency. Here, everything is separated – media, PR, digital – which slows things down. And even when you’re the AOR, a lot of work is still project-based. It’s like running a marathon in 10k sprints.”

But Miami, they insist, is well worth the adjustment. “I think people in New York and California still don’t quite get Miami,” Vieira says. “It’s culturally different. But it’s growing. More companies are opening offices here. There’s business, culture, quality of life. Art Basel showed what’s possible.”

Ideas first, at all times

Despite the moving panorama – and sure, the omnipresence of AI – David Miami stays stubbornly interested by something: the speculation.

“AI is a tool,” says Gianesi. “Asking for an AI campaign is like asking for a Photoshop campaign. What matters is the idea. And ideally, a human one.”

They see their activity as marrying cultural relevance with long-term emblem technique. “Some briefs are planned. Others are about seizing the moment,” Vieira says. “But either way, the best work comes when you know the brand so well that you’re thinking about them even when you’re not asked.”

It’s a mindset that has delivered greater than 200 Cannes Lions, a constant position within the World Creative Rankings Top 200 and a way of mischief that helps to keep the paintings sharp. You get the sense that is an company that might somewhat cling a Slack funeral than ship a memo.

“The real secret sauce?” Vieira provides. “We’re not huge. But we’re intimate. We care. And we’re not afraid to get a little weird.”

With that, it’s time for them to get to their funeral! I’ve a way it’ll no longer be a solemn match.

Welcome to David Miami. Where the canines are pleasant, the device is brief, however the concepts? They’re constructed to final.