Burger King’s Machado Crowned “Marketer of the Year”
As we gear up to honor 2017’s Advertising People of the Year, we did a quick check-in with each of our honorees to get a snapshot of who they are, as well as their thinking on the evolution of our industry.
Our first installment is from “Marketer of the Year,” Fernando Machado. Fernando has a passion for growing brands and businesses. He’s spearheaded ground-breaking advertising initiatives at Burger King, which has generated major buzz, grabbed the attention of the ad industry, and earned a ton of trophies in the process. Under his leadership, Burger King was awarded The International ANDY Awards top prize, The GRANDY.
Read on to learn what Burger King campaign made him particularly proud to be in advertising, how he promotes diversity within his organization (hint: the crown fits on everyone’s head) and the best career advice he ever received.
Q. What inspires you to get up every day, and work in advertising?
A. Our industry works with brands that touch millions of people across the globe on a daily basis. Sending the right message can create a positive impact on society while moving the business at the same time. The opportunity to have people talking about your advertising campaigns and your brand is something that truly inspires me and everyone working at Burger King.
Q. Name an ad campaign that makes you proud to work in advertising?
A. There are so many. From Burger King, I am particularly proud of the Proud Whopper campaign (no pun intended).
Embed case study here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yohicMc4vU
Q. How do you promote diversity within your organization?
A. We have a structured program to support diversity in our business. This program has specific initiatives to help our company bridge the gap in some of our weaker areas. At Burger King, we put the crown on everyone’s head. We are not judgmental, we are not critical. We truly embrace the idea of welcoming everyone. So, when it comes to our brand, we do have initiatives that are not afraid to express a point of view and provide a contribution that moves people to embrace diversity.
Q. How do you foster creative and innovative thinking in your organization?
A. By believing that the biggest risk is to take no risk, by leading by example, and by encouraging our teams to go for it.
Q. What is the biggest challenge our industry faces over the next 5 years?
A. To continue to do things that help build brands and drive business. Sometimes people forget it’s our responsibility to deliver tangible results to the businesses we serve. It is very noble to do great work for non-profit or public service organizations that change the way people behave. But if the ideas we reward only revolve around these topics then there is something fundamentally wrong with the advertising business.
Q. What was the best career advice you ever got? How has it made you better at your job?
A. Early on in my career, when I had just finished getting my BA in Mechanical Engineering, someone advised me to try and balance both the rational and emotional sides of things when working in marketing. That truly helped me understand the equal importance of the functional and the emotional sides of the equation in concept development, innovation, adverting, design, and all other marketing disciplines.
Q. What are the most important innovations impacting our industry today?
A. No doubt technology impacts the way people consume or interact with advertising. But in my view the most important thing which impacts our industry is, and always will be, the ideas. The idea comes first. Innovation is a delivery mechanism for the idea.