Interview with Mauricio Garnier, CEO of Garnier BBDO

—How does Garnier BBDO manage to balance profitability with team well-being and creative quality?

“For us, everything starts by taking care of people. We know with precision how many hours are invested in each idea, what effort lies behind a project, and can show clients the real value of the team’s work. Many clients form strong bonds with their teams and hate turnover, and having visibility into the work has allowed us to combat that turnover. It has allowed us to justify, with data, when a team needs reinforcement and to avoid the fatigue that leads to losing key talent. This way we
protect people and, inevitably, also improve profit margins.”

—How do you ensure that good ideas are also sustainable from a business perspective?

“There are many ways for a good idea to become a good business. A good idea can open many doors, but it’s not always an immediate business. What matters is knowing from the beginning whether that idea is a bet, how much you are willing to bet on it, or if it is a big business or a smaller one. No one working in commercial arts starts a project ‘without having a sense of budget in mind.’ In our case it’s the same: we have to measure very well how much we are going to invest to take a
proposal to a client, especially when we anticipate a brief. The more you know a client, the more chances you have to anticipate their needs. Many of those ideas that were born as bets end up becoming great businesses in the future.”

—Garnier BBDO was recognized at the COR Awards for improving its operational indicators and won the Operational Excellence award. What does that recognition mean?

“The most valuable thing is not just seeing that we improved, but understanding everything we did to get there. When we started focusing on more structured management, we weren’t in a good place. Today, with the indicators we have, the most satisfying part is seeing the path we walked. Behind that improvement there were many actionable steps, decisions, and assertive changes. And of course, as a competitive company we want to keep growing. It’s not about chasing gold just for the award,
but because excellence is in our DNA. We’re always looking for ways to do things better. And to do that, we start with what I consider most important: ensuring our people are better. That’s the foundation of everything.”

—What does professionalization of the industry mean to you?

“Professionalizing means taking care of creativity. Our industry, like many creative disciplines, has historically been informal. While that had positive aspects, it also caused us to lose ground in other areas. Today, procurement departments have a lot of influence on decisions and they demand more rigor — and rightfully so. As an industry, we had become lax. Recovering that formality isn’t just a matter of image but means acknowledging the need for data, tools, and structure. It’s
essential for how we work going forward.”

—How are you integrating artificial intelligence into your processes?

“We are being quite aggressive with AI — not just in creativity but across all business areas. We train with consultants, we learn through trial and error, and we audit intensely: who uses which tool, what it’s used for, and how much it accelerates processes. In the end, many of these tools can be fleeting; a new one comes out every week. What really interests us is seeing the impact on the most routine, time-consuming tasks. Many tools may emerge and disappear, but we focus on whether
they truly accelerate the work that consumes the most time.”

“And again, being able to measure those efficiencies that aren’t visible at first glance is crucial. What used to be endless hours in a pitch or implementation now gets reduced, and that improves the team’s experience. We’re freeing up time so that people can think more strategically, and that’s where the most value is generated,” he concludes.