1. How’s the evolution been in general since TAPTAP arrived in Mexico?
Since our landing two years ago, growth has been exponential. Our value proposition has had a great place in the sector, and after having formed a team of professionals with extensive digital experience serving clients exclusively in Mexico, we’ve managed to position ourselves as a technological and strategic reference in the industry. The main challenge of TAPTAP in Mexico has been to move a really differentiating proposition in an advanced and stabilized market. The key to our success has been our ability to put technology at the service of advertisers and not the other way around. In addition to our technological proposal, we’ve managed to add value via data-based solutions for sophisticated clients. The opening of Mexico coincided at a time of internal transformation that’s been a milestone at the company level, where before we spoke of mobile, now we speak of omnichannel in which the mobile is no longer just a screen, but a source of data to profile audiences that later will be activated in different media, closing the circle measuring attribution with a double physical and digital derivation and seeing what each channel contributes to the final KPI.
2. What motivated TAPTAP to enter this market, what opportunities does it offer?
Our presence in the Americas began in Colombia, then we opened Chile, and two years ago Mexico along with Peru. Later came Argentina. As a company, we have a long-term vocation and we hope to continue growing locally in Mexico and in the 8 markets where we’re already present. For this, there are no shortcuts, just good day-to-day work. The scalability of our technology makes it relatively easy to locate the best practices acquired in other markets. Latin America is a natural market for us, and in our desire to expand, Mexico was always in the spotlight as one of the main markets where TAPTAP should be established. Beyond the market volume, the digital appetite of the advertisers and the mobile penetration that it has, the opening of Mexico was especially interesting because of its interference in the rest of the region. Having a strengthened presence in Mexico helps address and close agreements with pan-regional clients, taking advantage of the scalability provided by our Sonata technology platform.
3. How has 2018 been for TAPTAP Mexico?
2018 has been a great year for us. We’ve achieved the solidification of a benchmark team in the industry, and we’ve beaten our best forecasts. Even more important is the leadership position we hold in the advertising market through the development of comprehensive solutions for large accounts. Which will undoubtedly allow significant continued growth in the future.
4. What growth plans do you have in Mexico in the short term?
The plan is to continue in the same line of growth. We’ll continue to evaluate and incorporate the best digital talent to the team in order to offer an increasingly advanced and close service. Thanks to the omnichannel that I mentioned before, the objective is to increase our market share, massively participating in budgets that we didn’t previously access. We’ll also begin to explore a mid-market, which we haven’t historically accessed. It’s a niche market that involves greater intensity of resources, but on this point it’s a clear growth path that we’ll address more in the medium term.
5. There are new hires on the team. Who are they, and are you considering growing the team in 2019?
From the beginning of the year, we’ve gone into the market with a much more robust team. In the new structure there are both internal promotions as well as the incorporation of new professionals with extensive experience in the industry. Irmgard Alcalá will lead the Commercial team that will include the incorporation of Mario Cruz and Gustavo Loaiza as Commercial Executives. As for something new, a Strategy Unit led by Juliana Jimenez was created, which is responsible for the development of “data-driven” comprehensive solutions for major brands. Finally, the Customer Service team, led by Rogelio Estrada, has been reinforced by the arrival of Anais Leiva. The most important thing is that the team has been reinforced as the company validates its value proposition in an advanced market such as the Mexican market. We’re an established company with almost 10 years of history with a vocation to do our work well before desiring to grow.
6. How is the advertising ecosystem in Mexico?
It’s an advertising ecosystem with a high Anglo-Saxon influence due to its proximity to the US. Its evolution towards programmatic has been much faster than in other countries such as Spain. In the transition to new digital scenarios, Mexico is an advanced market, which has much shorter cycles of change and quickly adapts to them.
7. What are the most important challenges you’ve faced since arriving in Mexico?
Although there’s a clear strengthening in recent years, the advertising market in Mexico is still very fragmented. It’s still early to make a clear diagnosis, but the macroeconomic uncertainty 2019 is presented with will undoubtedly freeze advertising budgets, and therefore it’s a year in which, although having more than positive expectations, we must be cautious.
8. What differences do you find in the mobile technological field between Mexico and other markets such as Spain?
Most of our clients are global, and ultimately their objectives and needs are the same in Spain, Mexico, Italy, Chile or any other market we operate in. Technologically, in general, existing solutions are global or easily scalable, being the same in one place or another. One of the premises of TAPTAP is that all technological development must be globally scalable. It’s the time local digital innovation is in that usually marks the pace of implementation of each of the technologies or new functionalities developed in our Sonata platform.
9. What are the objectives for a long-term future in TAPTAP Mexico?
Since the opening of TAPTAP in Mexico, we’ve fought to position ourselves as benchmarks for innovation, and our will has always been, as in other markets, long-term. To continue gaining the confidence of the clients and to offer new digital marketing solutions contributing value to our advertisers is, and always will be, our DNA.
Source: Marketing Directo
