Unexpected Intros: Kiara Utrera

At DDB, we have a simple belief. That Unexpected Works. It means that the best idea is the one you never saw coming. The thing that catches you so off guard that you can‘t look away. And the only path to genuinely unexpected works is through creativity. 

And in order to create awesome works, you need awesome people. Because you can’t make the unexpected if you only work with the usual suspects. In this Unexpected Intros series, we take a peek behind the curtain at some of the diverse thinkers that make up our network, and validate Bill Bernbach’s notion that an idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it. 

1. Name, Title, Office

Kiara Utrera, culture lab coordinator at DDB Latina Group.

2. Introduce yourself in three emojis. 

😊🤓🤔

3. What was your very first job? 

My very first job was part-time retail salesperson at a Sports and Fitness store while I was still studying. 

4. How did you wind up in advertising? 

Advertising is my second career, I studied International Trade first, but I wasn't in love with it. I met my husband around that time, and he was studying Graphic Design, through him I got a glimpse of what the advertising world was and knew I had to be part of that world.

5. Piece of creative that inspires you? 

Volkswagen Polo Unfail. Unexpected, entertaining, and simple. It is just pure genius.

6. What are you currently reading, watching, and listening to? 

Reading: Lateral Thinking, Edward de Bono. Learning to see things from different perspectives is key as a strategist but also in life.

Watching: Babies, the Netflix documentary. I'm expecting my first child and I find it very interesting to understand how the brain of babies works and develops.

Listening: Erika de la Vega - En Defensa Propia (In Self Defense), an interview podcast about empowered and successful women and their personal and professional journey.

7. What’s a goal/hope/dream of yours?

Right now, my main focus is to find the perfect balance for me between being the career woman I've always been and the dedicated and present mom I want to be.