Paco Cepeda is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Diptongo, a Colombian communications agency with an impressive track record of global advertising campaigns, award-winning films, and cutting-edge post-production work. With seven locations worldwide, Diptongo has worked with acclaimed brands including FIFA, 20th Century Fox, Movistar, Uber, Pepsi, Nike, Aguila, Reebok, and Chevron, among others.
Bogotá-born with more than 12 years of experience in the creation, direction and execution of advertising content, his work has led major transformations in advertising.
Perhaps it’s his zest for life that keeps Paco so inspired, productive, and driven. After all, he is also an industrial designer, university professor, music lover, and photographer.
When we sat down with Paco, he revealed that his ultimate goal is to bring a smile to those who view his content, and that the real key to his success is working from the heart and doing what he loves.
And yet, everyone has to begin somewhere – Paco recounts his entrepreneurial journey with us from the very beginning, and then dives into everything he’s learned along the way.
17 years ago when Paco was 22 years old, he asked the universally daunting and existential question, “What am I going to do with my life?”
He had always taken an innovative approach to things, even with his students as a university professor during his free time: “I would tell my students, ‘Look, pick up the book, but pick up the book backwards. Don't pick it up right side up, because the book right side up will limit you, it will slow you down.’”
He and some friends started creating a space for themselves (and not just literally).
“A space has four walls, a ceiling, and a floor. Put music in it, and everything happens there. That's where the magic happens – but it's like opening that space. We looked for jobs, but then basically eight hours later we were daydreaming. There are beautiful photos of my friend and I looking at the ceiling, just daydreaming. He really liked football, I liked cinema, and we dreamed 17 years ago about merging cinema and football. It started like that. And then, well, there’s also the need to seek inspiration, to consume things that you like such as music and movies.”
Along with innovative thinking, Paco reveals some other importance qualities he’s been incorporating into his work since the early days:
“Improvisation is a beautiful concept in my life. I think that’s why I like jazz so much! When we started, well, basically, we didn’t know anything. When you create a company, you have very limited concepts, but that's when you see the need to start getting together with people who can complement what you don't know with what they know – that’s where improvisation comes in… and if you do it well, it’s perfect.”
Paco also notes that part of his process is trying to find a balance between what he likes and what others might like.
“It’s not a whim, but what can work for what I'm creating and what can connect with people. Otherwise, I become the egocentric artist who doesn't care if you like my art or not, and I think that's the balance point. Within that fine line is also innovation, because that's where you find your style. That said, it’s tricky because there’s no guarantees.”
With all of the improvisation and innovation that comes with creative projects, Paco knows that you can’t rule out the importance of communicating responsibly.
“I think that one must uphold a certain level of responsibility behind creating content. It’s worth recognizing how digital communication allows you to control the masses through your ideas. For example, sometimes I cannot get behind certain brands that seek us out because it is difficult to bring myself to convey a meaningful message through those brands. So I think that there is a kind of responsibility behind it and above all, a challenge to uphold that responsibility.
Along with this responsibility comes the complex aspect of human connection in a digital world.
Paco explains, “As a content creator, you have the power to influence people – or not. For instance, if you decide to use some distinctive lingo in your advertisement, you must remember that the viewer may not be able to compare these particular words or phrases to anything else they’ve seen. Therefore, in this case, you could run the risk of not being able to significantly alter the viewers’ perspective one way or another.”
Paco also notes the unpredictability of trends: “We’ve discussed upcoming trends with our clients, and to be honest, there is a kind of uncertainty there. Never have humans been so connected and yet so far away at the same time.
He makes an interesting point - since everyone’s content is so easily accessible worldwide, every brand has the potential to reach a wide audience with many demographics. Therefore, the digital landscape has essentially become the wild west, where virtually anything is possible in terms of both creation and reception.
In the world of creative content, it’s helpful to know how every element comes together to develop the final production. Paco knows how this works.
“There is the world of the agency, there is the world of the production company, and the world of the post-production company. They work like three independent companies. But when a big client comes, all the departments work that much harder. That's when we become really competitive.”
Diptongo was able to remain resilient during the pandemic, which was a true test of adaptability.
Paco remembers, “The pandemic changed the order of everything, the routine of everything. We were afraid to take that step of working remotely. We thought, how are we going to use a 3D workstation? But if you don't adapt, you basically die in the business. Fortunately we adapted very well.
“So, right now, thanks to the pandemic, very interesting things have happened. In our Bogotá office, some people work in person and some remotely. Because of that option, we’ve grown to more than 100 people. We have people working in Barcelona, Brazil, and India. We’ve been able to connect with more people and talent.”
So how does music factor into Paco’s work?
“Well, music for me has so many meanings. It has been a lifesaver. And that is why I believe that music is very important in our work, as it is healing for everyone. Even though music belongs to musicians, I feel like my playlist is already mine.
“However, it’s also about making sure that music does not become something so mechanical and AI-generated. These are crazy times - you can create the next Chopin album in five minutes, but it will sound better than if it were played by a person who has studied an instrument for 20 years!”
Authentic music has much more character, as should content.
When it comes to client relations, trust is key, as Paco describes:
“Whenever I see an ad agency win an award for a campaign, I wonder who was crazy enough to say ‘yes’ behind the idea for that campaign. Fortunately, we’ve been able to reach that level of trust with many of our clients. These clients have invested enough in us to the point where they can say ‘yes’ to our bold ideas. Basically, I think that you have to connect with people who at least complement and share a little bit of your vision.”
To convey a brand’s identity to the public successfully, one must consider the following when creating content:
Paco has direct experience with identifying these aspects of brand identity.
“In Colombia we have a couple of very successful cases of the first brands that were on the TikTok platform. It’s like a club, you know? Like a nightclub or a bowling alley where only certain people go. The other club, which is Instagram, is a totally different network with totally different rules. And that's why you have to have a team of experts, because being an expert on TikTok is not necessarily being an expert in creativity or advertising – it’s more about knowing how to reach the right person.
“For example, we manage the accounts of the Colombian Football Federation for the Colombian National Team. In a recent post, we included a Portuguese song. One of the players of the Colombian National Team commented on the photo and said, ‘Why are you using that music? use Colombian music instead.’ Then, of course, we started to include Colombian music in our posts, but traditional music, you know? The topic went so viral and we connected so much with people that we increased our follower count by 500K in just a few days. We found what people wanted to hear. So I think that music is that element that can trigger and enhance any idea. It will always be the best tool to communicate and above all to connect.”
No matter what, Paco lives by the idea of PASSION. He pours it into his work.
“I had a conversation with a couple of entrepreneurs, new Colombian clients. We were talking about how entrepreneurship is born from the heart and not so much from the head – and this is something that people don’t teach you. At universities, they don’t teach you to make mistakes, even though it’s really important! No matter what, I always have that desire and that drive, like a flame that will never burn out.”
We’re grateful to Paco for sharing the wisdom he’s gained throughout his career! Similarly, we put passion and dedication into our services as composers, producers, music licensing experts, and sonic branding gurus.
