Iveliesse Malavé, former Vice President of Consumer and Entertainment Public Relations at Univision Communications Inc., and Favila Budyszewick, previously a Managing Director at Policy Wisdom have founded a new multicultural PR and Social Media Firm, The CC Shop.
Malavé and Budyszewick, who worked together at Fleishman-Hillard, decided to reunite to launch this firm, which aims to be a communications collaborative that brings together marketing communications counselors with vast experience in multicultural marketing, public relations, event management and social media.
The CC shop will offer clients a strong network from coast to coast and a talented pool of communications professionals with proven expertise and passion for the industry.
DIVERGE talked to Malavé to find out more:
Where did this idea come from? Why did you and your co-founder decide to partner?
We both love PR and love working together – and after leaving Fleishman-Hillard, many of our former clients kept asking when we would be getting back together. We made a resolution many New Year’s Eves ago that we do it and last year, we decided it was time. There is real need for understanding the way people connect. A lot of PR agencies focus on very tactical approaches and often PR is seen as an after-thought rather than an integral part of the marketing communications strategy. We want to change that.
How will this agency focus on diversity?
While we have very strong backgrounds in Hispanic marketing, we also have done a great deal of reverse crossover work, introducing traditionally Hispanic brands to the general market. Diversity means inclusion and it implies understanding and connecting. That’s what we aim to do.
How will the diversity in your agency help secure accounts that need to focus on diversity?
By creating a communications collaborative, we gave ourselves the freedom of being able to match the right counselor to the right account. We have been fortunate to work with and maintain great relationships with some amazing professionals throughout our 20+ years in this industry. This is one of our strongest assets.
How are you different from other agencies?
Throughout the years, I’ve learned that people work for people–and people like to work with– those they like and respect. Both Favila and I are fearless and strategic communications professionals. While we work very hard for our clients, we are very much focused on what’s really important: relationships, our families and the social and economic disparities facing our communities of color. At the end of the day, people like to work with us.
Would you call this a multicultural agency? Will you offer some of those services?
The CC Shop is definitely a multicultural agency. As Favila my business partner said, “Culture extends far beyond language; it’s the understanding of the behaviors and beliefs that define a particular social, ethnic, or age group. Our goal is to bridge that divide by helping clients connect with their target audience through a deep understanding of their wants and needs.”
