Marketing agency focused on connecting to Hispanic communities expands to Scottsdale

A national advertising agency focused on connecting brands with the Hispanic market has expanded to the Valley.

Chemistry Cultura, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based ad agency Chemistry, is opening an office in Scottsdale on Sept. 1. Currently there are four employees based out of the office, but Mike Valdes-Fauli, the COO of Chemistry and the president of Chemistry Cultura, said “the sky’s the limit,” on how big the Scottsdale office could grow.

“The stars aligned for us in the desert,” Valdes-Fauli said. “We have a lot of reason to invest and grow in the Phoenix market.”

Prior to Scottsdale, Chemistry Cultura, which changed its name earlier this year from Pinta after being acquired by Chemistry, had offices in Miami and New York. Valdes-Fauli said several factors kept bringing the Valley to his attention. First, his No. 2, Lauren Cortiñas, relocated to Scottsdale this year, and then several of Chemistry Cultura clients had big upcoming events in the Valley – the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s annual conference and the NFL’s Super Bowl – and the firm recently won the Arizona Coyotes as a client.

The Coyotes — the only National Hockey League franchise that is owned by a Latino and has a Latino CEO — are looking to make even deeper connection with the Valley’s Hispanic community and brought Chemistry Cultura on to lead those efforts.

Chemistry Cultura serves as the Hispanic agency for several brands including the NFL, Heineken and Microsoft, Valdes-Fauli said.

“U.S. Hispanics represent 19% of the total population,” Valdes-Fauli said. “If it was a country, it would be the second largest Spanish-speaking country in the world.”

Besides the sheer size of the group, Valdes-Fauli said, the Hispanic demographic is the youngest in the U.S. and is growing. With the momentum of some Blue Chip clients and some successful campaigns, Valdes-Fauli hopes to land some new business in Phoenix and the surrounding areas.

Cortiñas will lead the Phoenix office, which Valdes-Fauli said will serve as the beachhead for the firm’s efforts in all of the Southwest, California and Mexico.

“Lauren Cortiñas has been an indispensable part of our team for over a decade and is the perfect fit to run this new priority growth market for us,” he said.

The company is looking to hire more people, and Valdes-Fauli said he anticipated 100% of its employees will be Latino.