Pedro Lerma, CEO of LERMA/, was honored to be part of the From Inspiration to Action panel at Latin US Day in Cannes, where he talked about how brands are becoming publishers.

In this regard, he cited about how they helped one of their clients, The Home Depot, became a publisher and how retailers have become publishers, and in many ways, publishers are becoming retailers, branding their content creation capabilities.

“The Home Depot is known as a brand that not only sells the products you need for a home improvement project, but gives you the knowledge and the instructions on how to make those things come to life. So, 15 years ago we started making YouTube videos, instructional videos in Spanish. And, of course, we’ve evolved a lot since then. I mean, 15 years is a long time. And today they’ve become a publisher,” Pedro told PRODU.

On growth LERMA/ confessed that it is an exciting time for an agency like his, whose vision is focused on channeling creativity for good.

“We have to do good for our clients, and that they have KPIs to meet, and we have to help them meet or exceed them. But it also means that we want every piece of work we present to the world to enrich the lives of the people who encounter it in one way or another. And it doesn’t have to be life-changing. It can be something as simple as putting a smile on your face,” Pedro explained.

He cited work done for Avocados from Mexico, which gives value, or a utility like The Home Depot, or for Salvation Army, “if we can get you to consider being more philanthropic, either with your time or your money, we believe it enriches your life,” he said.

The numbers certify that the Hispanic market is more important than ever for brands. “So we’ve seen for brands like The Home Depot, where new homeownership is going to be driven primarily by Hispanics, new homeowners. And so, you know, if a brand like that is going to grow in the next 20 years, they’re going to embrace the Hispanic market. And luckily, The Home Depot has been doing that for the last 15 years, since we’ve been their agency. So they understand the power of the market.”

Pedro adds that other categories where, if they expect to see growth again, it will come from the Hispanic market in the beer category. “For example, if they expect to see growth, 50% of that growth will come from the Hispanic market. And it’s incredibly important from a cultural perspective. We see Hispanic influence in the culture is at an all-time high. I don’t have to tell you, when you hear Spanish music on English radio, you know we’ve arrived and we’ve seen it before with the black community. The influence of black culture on American culture as a whole is enormous. And today is the time for the Hispanic influence to take shape.”