Cross-Cultural Agency BeautifulBeast Launches in Dallas and Miami

Three veteran advertising executives have launched a new agency to take advantage of the growth in cross-cultural marketing. BeautifulBeast became an official agency today, Feb. 15, with hubs in Dallas and Miami. Founded by former executives of the multicultural agency Lerma that spun off from The Richards Group, BeautifulBeast sees itself as an agency that can handle the changing needs of modern clients. “Clients are looking for something very flexible and nimble,” Aldo Quevedo, the CEO and creative chairman of the new company told Adweek. “The pandemic showed us what really needs to be happening. We wanted to bring the full solutions to a team. We have experience, we have the connections and we said 'this is the time'.” A name founded on balance BeautifulBeast was founded by Quevedo, founding partner and chief creative officer Flor Leibaschoff, and Salma Gottfried, founding partner and vp of brand leadership. The three have worked together for more than 20 years, first at agency Dieste and then Lerma. They were with Lerma until after the Super Bowl ended so they could finish up digital work for Avocados From Mexico. They parted from Lerma on good terms, according to Quevedo, and thanked Pete Lerma for the support he gave the team in opening a new shop. 2 Senior-Level Leaders Rejoin the Richards Group “The agency's name represents the balance between the beauty of a great idea and the 'beast' that big data can represent,” Gottfried said in a statement. “When you can handle all the available information and turn it into insights, mindsets and behaviors, you will get impressive results.” Quevedo said that he wants BeautifulBeast to be known as a cross-cultural agency. The agency’s DNA is Hispanic and they embrace their multiculturalism, but he feels the agency is nimble enough to go back and forth between Hispanic and general-market campaigns. “We are very proudly, multicultural. We know that mindset of omni-culturalism, and we want to be presented as an agency that has the ability to cross cultures to work to connect brands with people in a deeper way,” said Quevedo. The agency currently has 30 employees though no physical office space. The big data group is in Miami while the strategic and creative group is in Dallas. The agency also has creative teams in Argentina, Mexico and New York, plus a planning team in Spain. “Hopefully we can demonstrate to clients that you can actually have great resources and you don't have to have everybody sitting in one building in one location, and have the flexibility to bring in the best talent in the world,” said Quevedo. Aside from creative leadership, information strategy and analysis are also fundamental parts of BeautifulBeast, as are strategic knowledge, cultural insights and collaboration. "We believe in the power of collaboration between companies. That is the best way to benefit our clients. Our experience in the world of advertising has shown us that beautiful results occur when the best talent in each discipline is involved, everyone coming to the table willing to work shoulder to shoulder for the good of each project," Leibaschoff said in a statement. Building a client base BeautifulBeast has secured Colon Cancer Coalition as its first client and will be rolling out its first work for the organization in time for Colon Cancer Awareness month in March. The team worked with the Colon Cancer Coalition with Lerma and brought the client over because it is a cause close to their hearts after Leibaschoff’s brother died of the disease. Other clients include a mezcal brand that the agency can’t reveal yet, along with business from a retail client that Quevedo hopes to close this week. BeautifulBeast hopes to stay a virtual agency as long as it can to keep costs lower without overhead.