Agency expands talent roster, appoints Della de Lafuente to director post responsible for internal and external public relations, reputation strategy and multimedia initiatives
NEW YORK, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Della de Lafuente "gets it." That's the assessment of Manuel Wernicky, president, chief ideas officer and managing partner, Adrenalina, who recruited the award-winning journalist and online news editor to lead the agency's newly created post of director, strategic communications and editorial.
Says Wernicky: "I've been in this industry for 18 years, and one of the things I know is: there are people who get it and people who don't. Della is a rare gem. She's razor-sharp and multidimensional. She understands today's business and is a progressive, fast-forward thinker who can identify trends and sees well beyond what's in front of her."
At Adrenalina, de Lafuente will direct and execute the agency's communications and reputation strategy in culture, among consumers and media and will do the same for clients, Wernicky said. Her appointment is effective immediately, reporting to Wernicky.
De Lafuente also will collaborate with teams in house and co-lead a soon-to-be announced cultural studies advisory board of experts from outside the realm of advertising that will lead the agency's clients on future cultural trends. She also will promote the agency via relevant media platforms and as a leading Latina journalist via digital programs including social networks, hosted chat sessions and public events such as panel discussions, forums and industry conferences, per Wernicky.
The agency chief recognized de Lafuente was a perfect fit for Adrenalina largely because of "her access to an enormous range of contacts and her passion for reaching out to people, getting around barriers and closing deals," he said, noting, "She has such a broad and vast expertise across a full range of disciplines: business, marketing, multicultural, Latina issues, and so much more. She's a natural communicator who commands just about any issue you can think of which makes her brilliant, amazing and unique."
Wernicky met de Lafuente when she interviewed him and wrote the first published news article via Adweek Media about Adrenalina, which is part of the MDC Partners network. She was among the first reporters to recognize the exceptional talent, focus and passion at the ad shop.
For the Adweek story, de Lafuente interviewed Wernicky about his team's now legendary pitch to Heineken USA during an agency shootout that resulted in a win of Tecate and Tecate Light's Hispanic business, the formal creation of the ad shop and the groundbreaking campaign in 2008 for Tecate.
"Their creative work and style is so fresh and distinctive to everything else you'll see in the marketplace," de Lafuente said.
