PRWeek asked five agency executives from firms around the world to weigh in on the biggest challenges and opportunities of 2015 and what they’re most looking forward to next year.
Horacio Loyo-Gris,
CEO and partner, Dextera Comunicación (Mexico)
Was it a busy year? How did 2015 compare to 2014 in terms of new work?
Yes, we have had quite a busy year. In terms of new business, we grew 18%. In 2015, we secured new monthly retainer clients and our work on a per-project basis basically remained stable.
What are the trends to watch in the comms industry in 2016?
In the media arena, we see major consolidation among media companies and the journalists working for them. And though one would think there are efficiencies in terms of communicating with a single point of contact, given that there is more consolidation, there is actually less competition and therefore higher relative power, and, naturally, concentration of power is never good in any market. Another trend is the many print media outlets have closed and are moving to online versions.
What were your biggest challenges this year? Biggest opportunity?
For Dextera, the most important challenge was to maintain growth in a slowing economy and consequently having to delay certain business decisions, such as new investments or hires. In addition to the slow growth of the Mexican economy, we must add that the parity of the US dollar against the Mexican peso is strategic for Mexico and it has increased 26% over the last 12 months.
Opportunity: We have seen an exponential increase in the interest that organizations are showing in them, which is interesting given that until recently many did not consider them as a strategic platform. For example, a subsidiary in Mexico of a consumer-oriented Fortune 500 company, and client of ours, just started this year to operate activities on social media.
