We recently had the chance to connect with Marcelo Salup and have shared our conversation below.
Marcelo, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: Would YOU hire you? Why or why not?
That’s a superb question. The overall answer is “Yes, of course” but let me first tell you why I would not, or at least, when I would not. I work in marketing. If your expectations when hiring me are that I will not question you, or follow your lead blindly, no, I would not hire me. With over 40 years of national and international expertise, I tend to question everything, boiling it down to its simplest, most effective elements. So, if I needed help in understanding my customers, persuading them and creating sales, then yes, I would hire. I would also hire me if I wanted to train my team, then get rid of me in six months.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
It’s hard without going into some ego rabbit hole. I am an expert in consumer-facing marketing. I really enjoy the task of getting thousands of people to buy thousands of things. The moment I went to my first advertising class in Madrid, I knew I had found my true calling. I began on the creative side, stayed for 8 years, won 2 Addy Awards, then switched to media. I cut my teeth in consumer marketing and that’s what I still enjoy the most.
I know what my “brand” stands for: uncompromising, very analytical, very creative, but rough. I am a tough negotiator.
When I was 16 I remember telling my best friend “if I am going to die poor, I might as well live interestingly” and I’ve managed to do that. I’ve lived in half a dozen countries: Spain, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Argentina, England, the US of course (New York, Hoboken, Miami) and a couple of years ago, in Nicosia, Cyprus. I’ve visited 100 countries. All of these experiences have conspired to give me a sui-generis view of the world.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
LOL. In 12th grade, my English teacher, Ada Curvera, presented me –in front of the entire class– with an ad for Jaguar whose headline was “to a world filled with compromise we make no contribution”. She saw that early.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Grace Palacios, the North American CEO for Publicitas, told me exactly what I would tell a younger self: “be more political” She was not as kind, but bottom line, that was her one thing for me.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
There are many public versions of Marcelo. There’s the professional version, analytical, rough, creative and with a clear vision of what it takes to succeed. It is a very real me. There’s the fun version: hard-driving, metal head enjoying dive bars and loud bands. It’s a very real me. I don’t believe a person should be 100% consistent across all their personalities. And I love the randomness that being so different brings to my life.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Working. I would only (1) travel (2) go to dive bars to listen and photograph bands and (3) work harder on my photography.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.TopFractionalCMO.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msalup
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/msalup
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msalup
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@YourGrayMatters-x6e
- Other: https://www.your-gray-matters.org
Image Credits
Marcelo Salup
