Kathia Gómez Sarabia, IM student and Senior Account Manager at C14TORCE · DDB

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Kathia Gómez, originally from El Salvador and living in Barcelona, ​​has found her way into the world of advertising and digital marketing. She began working in the media at a very young age, managing the digital side of things. She also contributed her knowledge to the family business, launched her own brand management project in El Salvador, and eventually worked for one of the most renowned agencies in our country. Learn about her story in the following interview.

You initially trained in communications and advertising. Did you always know you wanted to work in these fields?
No, at first I thought I'd like to be a translator (I love languages) or a doctor, but over time, and thanks to the influence of my father and older brother, I discovered I was passionate about communication. I was good at empathy, interpersonal relationships, sensitivity, and other values ​​that are very similar to this profession.

You interned at the online newspaper elsalvador.com. How did you experience this journalistic journey?
I've always valued this stage of my venezuela mobile database career because it was my first (unpaid) work experience, and I was surrounded by very talented people who had been working at the country's largest newspaper for many years. I wasn't a journalist, but rather involved in the brand's digital department, and the goal was to create the elsalvador.com profile on various social media platforms , primarily Facebook. It's very interesting to think about what social media was like in 2009 and how much it's changed now. It was truly a very fun and educational six months.

Shortly after, you began working for the multinational agency TBWA in El Salvador. How did this opportunity arise? What types of projects did you work on, and which one are you most proud of?
One of my university professors was the CEO of TBWA in El Salvador, and one day I approached him to ask if there were any job opportunities at his agency where I could go and learn. He (delightedly) replied: “There might be… What would you like to do… creativity, accounts, planning?” And I stood there thinking for a while because I was really at a stage where I wanted to know about everything , so I replied: “Whatever is available, anything would work for me,” and just like that, after 1 month of internship, they offered me a permanent position in the accounts department with the opportunity to also collaborate in planning.

TBWA was the agency that opened the doors to this world, to creativity, to processes, to strategy, and that taught me at an accelerated pace. Initially, I was in charge of various local projects, but gradually I took control of larger brands with international reach, such as Plan El Salvador and USAID. Both are social projects that led us to a position at the Cannes Awards for the first time in the history of advertising in El Salvador. All of this made me feel very proud: the awards, the team, my boss, my clients, the agency's philosophy, etc.