About Mariela
I'm born and raised in Miami but have lived in Brooklyn longer. Which is home? They both are. Home is the things that shape us and that still feel good when you wrap yourself inside them.
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I chose communications as a career because it felt like home. To be confronted with a words challenge. To consider my intended audience and all the possible ways to get that audience to react. To put myself in someone else's shoes.
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I have worked at media companies and PR agencies helping shape messages, promote ideas and execute
campaigns and partnerships that create change and
drive business. I've deliberately expanded the audiences I serve -- press, employees, executives, clients, and industries -- to learn, grow and gain a total view of my craft. Today, I'm a consultant working on all sorts of communications challenges.
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The eternal question I've had to answer is: why should people care? I've gotten great at it.
This is what I'd do for you. Make people care.
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My Work
A lot of my writing and strategy work is proprietary. Get in touch for samples and a conversation.
LEADING THE CHANGE CLIENT EVENT
At Univision, we weren't selling media; we were selling a consumer. And in order to do that we needed to first sell our Hispanic consumer expertise. Leading the Change is now a franchise client conference going back nearly a decade. It is all about Hispanics -- not Univision -- and I was responsible for bringing it to life from promotion, to building the agenda, to booking speakers and more. LTC won ANA's B2B Award for best New Customer Acquisition Marketing.
ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP VIDEO
The World Cup was one of the biggest sales opportunities and we knew we needed to build interest and clients' competitive spirit in advance. We also understood that U.S.-based clients are not as knowledgeable about soccer as the rest of the world. This video was a fun and educational tactic that was critical to our year-long marketing strategy. I conceived of it based on emerging explainer videos and wrote the script. It was like going to soccer school. I also oversaw the production.
SEARCH FOR CARE VIDEO
Healthcare was a big category focus, and also one where we received a lot of client resistance. I ran the category marketing strategy at Univision (healthcare, movies, auto, restaurants, CPG), and this video was one I proposed, secured funding for and produced with an external vendor. The purpose was to have a mood-setting tool to use at meetings and conferences, which were a big part of our strategy.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT
Univision was referred to as "more than a media company" because of all the work it does to support Hispanic civic participation, educational advancement, entrepreneurship and more. Still, we didn't have a vehicle that told the story. I was part of the small cross-departmental team that created and promoted the first-ever CSR report, "Access for All," internally and externally. It also lived online
MY MUSIC
Music moves me. It's been a life-long through line -- from playing classical guitar as a kid, to being part of an all-girl, indie rock band in NYC, to writing original songs with my husband. Our home is filled with music and appreciation for the emotions it expresses and engenders.
MY WORDS
Every opportunity to write is an opportunity to practice. And, like every art form, writing should be practiced. Apart from the many pieces I have ghostwritten on behalf of others, I have also penned first-person essays, co-hosted a pop-culture blog, and more.