Client: Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte

Service: Brand Development & Content Production

Industry: Nonprofit

Creative agency: The Brand Building Shop

The Challenge.

The Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte is one of the most important organizations for Latino businesses in Queen City, North Carolina. Under new leadership since 2020, it has been expanding businesses and the institutional relations of the Hispanic and the Afro-American, Asian, and LGBTQ+ business organizations. Their goal is not only to strengthen the commercial and entrepreneurial environment but also to foster a diverse culture beyond plain statements.

They shared with us a general concern that Latinos were perceived on one side as “felons who were taking other citizens’ jobs” and, on the other, as “poor victims that needed to be taken care of.” The narrow approach of the polarized narratives about Latinos felt not only inaccurate but also difficult to escape from. The LACCC wanted us to change the narrative about Latinos, exposing the diversity and variety of industries covered by this population while not getting trapped in the polarization.

We accepted the challenge and took real Latinos in Charlotte who are nothing like the negative stereotypes running around historically. That is how we developed the SOMOS campaign responding to the concept “Change the Narrative”, which highlights the diversity, heterogeneity, and level of preparation of Latinos in the region.

The Solution.

We designed and produced a series of videos portraying the professional, empowered, diverse, thriving, interesting, productive, and talented side of the community. The spots aired and streamed on several television and internet channels, and generated great publicity for being radically different from anything previously done for and by Latinos in the Charlotte area.

The Result.

As a result, a movement is expanding around SOMOS. The Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte has made some noise and SOMOS has become a referent campaign in the city of Charlotte.