Today we’d like to introduce you to AnaGloria Valenzuela.
Hi AnaGloria, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
After a 12-year-run stunt studying and working away from home in the editorial/pr world, I’d experienced several burnout episodes and decided to go back to shore. I came back to nothing. Well, not entirely nothing…. my family, who reminded me what a support system is and what magic is made of.
I’d been an assistant for the Editor-In-Chief at Harper’s Bazaar Mexico and Latin America and rose through the ranks and became a Fashion and Beauty Editor at Quién Magazine. I’d traveled to New York and Paris for Fashion Week, interviewed Carolina Herrera, Tommy Hilfiger, Naeem Khan, Iris Apfel… and got to write and write and write… it was everything I ever wanted, but I had to take care of myself.
I was a newly 30-year-old with no job, an unhealthy bank account and a complicated relationship with the scale. I couldn’t recognize the woman in the mirror and thought that recovery was even farther away than Shrek’s Far Far Away Land. Back in town, I saw a different Tijuana. Businesses were being created day in and day out, restaurants were opening up in every corner and the neighborhood I grew up in was suddenly a hot spot for apartment buildings and an impossible place to park! I got excited. It meant there were many stories to be told.
When I was living in New York, I worked for a boutique PR firm who signed Michelin-starred restaurants as clients. There, I learned about strategy, about growing a business through media relations, alliances and events. Fast-forward to 2018, I thought I could offer a mix of my experiences and design a project that both entrepreneurs and more established business-owners could benefit from: PR and copywriting. Enter: AGency.
In social science, “agency” is the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices. I wanted to remind people of their inherent power to create the life they want.
A couple of months later, I met up with a friend, who happens to be a marketing genius, Lorenia Navarro. She told me about her life project, we decided to partner on the PR side of things and it’s been a good run with her. I’m proud of every stage this shop has gone through… it’s uncomfortable, it’s challenging, but we’re adapting and making progress to best serve the objectives of the clients that come through our door.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course not! But giving up has never been an option. If something’s not working, we go back to the drawing board and analyze why. From pitching to management, we take the time to tie up loose ends. PR can be hard to sell, so we’re trying to be very visual about it. We’re constantly sharing our placements on social media; first, because we get VERY excited to see a client featured in a story we’ve worked so hard on, but also, because we want to showcase, in a very tangible way, what our project can do for your business. We truly believe that PR it’s not an option, it’s in fact a crucial part of your initial strategy. On being entrepreneurs in this field… It’s a journey and we’re learning every day: about taxes, admin, budgets, profit, softwares, new media, etc. We’re constantly evolving.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
“Where storytelling meets strategy”, reads our motto. Both in PR and in copywriting, we take a deep dive into our clients’ world. We first need to understand their objective and their audience in order to create something that will set them apart… and that sets us apart. We understand the game, having been a journalist myself, I’m sensitive to what’s needed in order to publish a story. Being raised here, we understand how this border culture works, but we weave in our contacts and experiences from living in different cities to offer our clients a wider range of opportunities.
As far as the job itself goes, our PR branch is committed to finding creative ways to connect that message with key media outlets to ensure maximum exposure. We keep our brands top-of-mind through placements in media, strategic alliances with like-minded brands and niche events. We also offer PR audits and consultancy to get your business back in the game! The wider your audience reach, it ultimately leads to important sales opportunities and other exciting collabs.
The copywriting side of business understands that the sell is not in the technical aspects about a product, but in connecting with your customer on how it can be a solution to their daily lives. We find those words for you.
That means creating texts for websites, products, booklets, newsletters, social, and other marketing efforts in English and Spanish. One of my favorite projects was creating a children’s short story to promote a new development. Again, we evaluate your audience and speak their language to attract and entice them to your product.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I’m a bit private, so I don’t speak much my work experience, but I’ve interviewed Iza Goulart, Carmen Dell’Orefice, Zooey Deschanel, Nicoletta Romanov—a descendant to the late Russian royal family, and spent a week at Solomeo, Italy, doing a story with Brunello Cucinelli… that was out of this world! I was lucky enough to be invited to different fashion shows in New York and Paris like Lacoste, Desigual, H&M Studio, Tommy Hilfiger, Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Carolina Herrera and other brands. It may also be surprising that I have anxiety, because I seem very outgoing. Another random fact is that I had scoliosis and I’m in love with my scoliosis scar. I also had a radio show during my Boston College years and I launched a magazine at age 12 with my best friend, which folded after an issue.
Contact Info:
- Email: anagloria@agencybyag.com
- Website: agencybyag.com
- Instagram: business: @agencybyag / personal: @anagloriavm
Image Credits
“Personal: Alyssa González Magazine Aire: Homestyle Basics InStyle: Treat Yourself Cosmo: Querida Agenda, project collab with Sirenas Creative
