THE BRIDGE TO SUCCESS IN LATIN AMERICA
Sherlock Communications is an award-winning Brazilian and Latin American PR and digital marketing agency. Headquartered in São Paulo, the company also has bureaus in Mexico City, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Lima, Santiago, Panama City and San José.
With a totally bi-lingual, multidisciplinary team, Sherlock Communications is specialised in supporting international technology, fintech, services, entertainment, education, lifestyle and travel companies operating in Latin America.
The agency has won and been highly commended for a range of global awards including the SABRE Awards Latin America for Company of the Year, Best Technology Campaign, Marketing to Consumer (New Product), the PR Week Global Awards for Best Agency in Latin America and Best Campaign in Latin America, and the Global Creative Index as Most Creative Agency in Latin America.
headquarters
other locations
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Av. Insurgentes Sur 1458 piso 19, Actipan, 03230, Ciudad de México, CDMXCiudad de México 03230Mexico
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Carrera 7 #116-50, office 03-103Bogotá 110111Colombia
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Soler 4445 - PalermoBuenos Aires C1425BWYArgentina
Focus
Recommended Providers
Portfolio
Signify, Air France, Taboola, Toluna, Airfox, Quizlet, Instructure, Freshworks, Selina, Manhattan Associates, Collinson Group, China National Tourism Office, Indeed, Getty Images, Freshworks, Selina, Dobot, FLIR, Oath, TMF Group, Outfit7, Indeed, Ellen MacArtur Foundation, realme, Shopee, yubo, Virufy, betfair, Mayo Clinic, Akamai, acast, Clever Leaves, PGMBM, #Dating, WOW Presents Plus, ChekMarc, Vitalk
Sherlock Communications wins Four Golden SABRE Awards
Sherlock Communications has won four Golden Sabre Awards for campaigns created for three different clients. The PR company with offices in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica and Colombia has also been named as one of five finalists for the prestigious Platinum Sabre Award, presented for the best campaign of the year in Latin America.
Sherlock Communications won Best Campaign in Brazil as well as Best Financial and Professional Services Campaign for its work with Airfox, the Boston-based owner of a mobile banking platform called banQi. It also won Best Multimarket Campaign on behalf of audiovisual giant Getty Images, and Best Media, Arts and Entertainment Campaign for Believe in People (BiP), an anonymous North American street-artist.
https://www.sherlockcomms.com/blog/golden-sabre-awards/
Sherlock Communications named as Best Agency in Latin America by PRWeek Global Awards
Sherlock Communications was named as the Best Agency in Latin America at the PRWeek Global Awards 2019, as well as the winner of the Best Campaign in Latin America award for our “Fighting Financial Exclusion in Brazil” campaign with Airfox.
https://www.sherlockcomms.com/blog/best-agency-latam-prweek/
Sherlock Communications takes first place at the SABRE Awards Latin America
We are delighted to say that we've been named as the winner of the SABRE Awards Latin America, Best Technology Campaign for our Educador Inspirador campaign for Quizlet. The same campaign also won a Certificate of Excellence for the Marketing to Consumer (New Product) category.
Sherlock’s winning campaign involved in taking US tech brand, online learning tool, Quizlet, and successfully launching and growing the service in Brazil. We had to make it relevant and engaging, and drive downloads from multiple audiences across the country’s diverse educational system and geographical expanse.
We made champions of and sourced news-worthy, shareable materials from teachers and students, as well as running a wider content-sourcing and production program, identifying partners and influencers to produce regular study decks of Quizlet content, which we then promoted to press and via social media.
We also identified and engaged a range of highly relevant online influencers and micro-influencers such as @alexeyrusso (354k followers in Brazil), with flashcards teaching key phrases in Russian for Brazilians planning to attend the World Cup in 2018.
The campaign resulted in nearly 200 pieces of coverage and users from every state of Brazil, nationwide print, online and broadcast coverage, more than 60,000 organic shares across social media and widespread downloads and ongoing active users from across the country.
https://www.sherlockcomms.com/blog/sabre-awards-latin-america/
North America’s hottest new street artist comes to Sao Paulo
Photographed only with a mask covering his entire face. Filmed only if his voice is distorted. No interview audio recordings are allowed making journalists’ work difficult as they have to jot down tirelessly all that the artist says.
BiP, an abbreviation for “Believe in People”, is an anonymous graffiti artist who grew up in a low-income family in the Bronx, USA. He has painted over 100 murals worldwide, in countries including the USA, Russia and Hong Kong. His work features distinctive historical personas and cartoons and takes inspiration from the local communities where he works.
Coverage for BiP’s the mural has appeared in some of Brazil’s leading publications, both print and online and was have widely shared globally. His work has been reported by the vehicles Veja São Paulo and Folha de S.Paulo media.
https://www.sherlockcomms.com/blog/bip-graffiti/
China’s National Tourist Office partners with Sherlock Communications to promote event in Latin America for the first time
A night of dancing, music, and food brought together tourism representatives of two of the world’s largest nations – China and Brazil. The celebration held on Friday, October 19th, called “China Tourism Night 2018: The Charm of Yangtze River” made its Latin America debut. Over 32 people from the Chinese tourism delegation representing destinations along the Yangtze River met with top Brazilian agents and tour operators.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China hosted the dinner at the Sheraton WTC in São Paulo and was organized by China’s National Tourist Office in New York and Sherlock Communications to celebrate the cultural and touristic attractions of both countries.
Ceremony gathered Brazilian and Chinese tourism agents to celebrate attractions from both countries
The event was covered by main trade outlets such as Brasilturis, HotelierNews, Panrotas, and Mercado & Eventos.
https://www.sherlockcomms.com/blog/china-tourism-night-2018/
All images can be seen here https://www.facebook.com/sherlockcomms/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1120102441480713 . Credit: Thais Falcão.
“A picture is worth more than 1000 words”. Does it?
Located in the city of London, England, Getty Images’ Hulton Archive seeks to heal this need of people to have the most of history illustrated by images. With more than 80 million images dating from the beginning of the advent of photography in the first half of the nineteenth century, the image bank helps journalists, photographers and curious people to present image references of an important period or person.
In recent years, the advertising industry has been a major partner of Hulton Archive and other image files. This is because, more and more, the public has been interested in seeing a union between modern articles, be they clothes, drinks or even technological devices, with people or scenarios of other periods or times. The unusual of such situations has attracted and still attracts people’s interest in encountering them.
https://www.sherlockcomms.com/blog/picture-1000-words/
Getty Images photojournalist John Moore presents his work documenting immigrants
Pulitzer Prize winner and author of the photograph that captured Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance policy of separation of parents and children on the US-Mexico border, photojournalist John Moore was in Brazil for a Getty Images event. He’s been a special correspondent for Getty Images for 14 years.
“Girl Crying in the Border”, the famous picture of a Honduran mother and daughter on the Mexico-US border is a 2019 World Press Photo Contest finalist, a top award in photojournalism.
In São Paulo for the first time, John Moore discussed his work as a special correspondent for Getty Images. One of the talks was for Instituto Criar students and the moment was special for the photojournalist. He was impressed with the questions and also the interest of the students in the profession and humanitarian side of photography.
https://www.sherlockcomms.com/blog/photojournalist-john-moore/
Reviews
the project
PR Strategy for Visual Content Provider
“We trust them and their expertise on the matter.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I am a PR manager at Getty Images, a visual content provider.
What challenge were you trying to address with Sherlock Communications?
About two and a half years ago, we expanded our PR efforts into Latin America. We were looking for help telling stories in that market.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Sherlock Communications develops and executes our PR strategy in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Their team liaises with reports, writes byline articles from our spokespeople, and more. They help publicize the work done by our creative team.
What is the team composition?
I have two main points of contact at Sherlock Communications, a manager and an associate.
How did you come to work with Sherlock Communications?
After performing a Google search of Latin American PR Firms, we sent an RFP to three of them. Sherlock Communications stood out because of their Rolodex of reporters. Since we had never done this kind of work in the region, we needed someone with those connections.
How much have you invested with them?
We invest about $8,000 per month.
What is the status of this engagement?
Our ongoing partnership with Sherlock Communications began in August 2018.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’ve hit every benchmark we set out to achieve so far. Sherlock Communications has gone above and beyond what we expected to receive. We aim for 1,200 pieces of value coverage around the world per quarter, and not only does Sherlock Communications hit their portion of that mark, but they exceed it. They’ve done an amazing job.
How did Sherlock Communications perform from a project management standpoint?
Sherlock Communications provides reliable and honest feedback on how our strategy will play in the Latin American market. We trust them and their expertise on the matter.
Their account management skills are incredible. Their reaction times are head and shoulders above other agencies. Our teams primarily communicate via Slack and email with weekly phone calls.
What did you find most impressive about them?
We appreciate their old-school approach. They pick up the phone and establish relationships with journalists, which has been instrumental in their success. I can give them a story at 2 pm on a Tuesday afternoon and by Wednesday morning they have that story placed in a major news outlet.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They could work on producing written strategy documents in English. They’re quite good at doing it in other languages. It’s not a glaring issue because we rarely need them to do that.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
If you’re looking to tell stories in the Latin American market, Sherlock Communications is the agency to go to.
the project
Marketing Efforts for Biotechnology Company
"The Sherlock Communications team understands our requirements very well and is very proactive."
the reviewer
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The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
Our company is a biotechnology company based in France, founded in 2013 and listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 2015. Our company's innovative technology platforms have the objective to modulate the body’s natural immune system machinery to treat patients with inflammatory diseases, viral infections and cancer.
As a clinical-stage company, our company leverages its immune enhancing and antiviral platforms to optimize and develop drug candidates to treat ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and other inflammatory diseases (ABX464), Covid-19 (ABX464) and liver cancer (ABX196).
Our company’s mission is to utilize its drug development platforms to bring innovative and effective solutions to patients in these therapeutic areas with significant unmet medical needs. I am the Director of Communications and responsible for all aspects related to communication, PR, media relations and social media.
For what projects/services did your company hire Sherlock Communications?
Focus of the collaboration was a media and communications campaign around a clinical phase 2b/3 trial in Covid-19 that evaluates the effectiveness of our company’s lead drug-candidate (ABX464) for the prevention of severe disease in high-risk Covid-19 patients.
Our company is conducting this trial in Europe and Latin America. Brazil was the first Latin American country where the trial started and we had no experience with the Brazilian market, neither for clinical trials nor in terms of communiation.
What were your goals for this project?
The objective of the media and communications campaign was an increased visibility of the trial among the broad public as well as specialized healthcare staff.
Potentially eligible patients and healthcare professionals should be made aware of the ongoing clinical study, appropriate platforms had to be established to provide all necessary information about the inclusion criteria for eligible patients and access to the contact information of the participating trial site and the responsible investigators had to be insured.
How did you select Sherlock Communications?
We were searching for different communication agencies in Latin America and Brazil on the internet and had a calls with several potential partners. We discussed with the Sherlock team over the phone and they convinced us with their understanding of our needs and their capabilities.
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
- Guidance on different options and possibilities as well as on the functioning of the Brazilian media environment
- Drafting and publishing a press release about the clinical trial, including translation from English into Portuguese
- As not all trial centers were ready for recruitment at the same time, the release was issued in the respective regions where the site opened up, including the media follow-up with the local network
- A dedicated website, flyers and social media campaign was set up, submitted for approval to the Brazilian ethics committee and deployed
- Set-up of a hotline to inform potentially interested trial participants about the modalities
- Organization of a radio web with the local trial coordinator and radio advertisements on different radio channels
What was the team composition?
Two senior advisors were involved in setting up the entire strategy and were available whenever help was needed. My main contacts were three more junior, very capable and motivated Sherlock colleagues, for:
- the PR and media campaign
- social media and
- website and flyer design.
As far as I understood more team members were involved in the background and all were in close exchange with the senior advisors in the course of the project.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
Approximately 200 articles (print and online) were issued in Brazil from July to December 2020 (campaign still ongoing in 2021), incl. very impactful top level journals as well as radio and TV interviews. Traffic from social media is driven towards the website. The traffic on the website is very good with app. 100 to 150 visitors per day.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Most communciation was done vie email and, more rarely, over the phone. The Sherlock team is extraordinarily reactive and responsive and communicates very well to make sure all information is shared timely.
All tasks were addressed within the timelines. Potential issues were identified by the Sherlock team, flagged to us and solutions were proposed. Whenever contact needed to be established with local people (e.g. responsible medical doctors on site to organize interviews) the team took over coordination and organization.
They have an excellent balance between working independently and coming back to the client if a decision needs to be taken. Despite the different time zones, the team was always available and responsive to short-term or urgent requests.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
The Sherlock Communications team understands our requirements very well and is very proactive, comes up with own initiatives and new ideas how to improve the outcome. The team does not only execute on tasks that they are asked to fulfil, but does proactively go beyond the defined requests if they see the need to do so to solve an issue or to get better results.
They act in a very professional manner and no need to follow up or remind them of outstanding tasks. They have a great media and third party vendor network (e.g. to do radio advertisement) that was very precious for us in the course of the campaign. All team members are highly motivated and committed to the project.
Are there any areas for improvement?
I had an excellent experience and no suggestions for improvement.
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PR Services for Nonprofit Advocacy
"With their support, we have been able to reach key audiences in several countries."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am Latin America Communications Manager for a UK-based organisation that develops and promotes the idea of a circular economy. We work with, and inspire, business, academia, policymakers, and institutions to mobilise systems solutions at scale, globally.
For what projects/services did your company hire Sherlock Communications?
We hired Sherlock Communications for continued PR support in a number of Latin American countries. We were expanding our regional focus in Latin America and needed an agency that could provide market expertise and on-the-ground support in different locations.
What were your goals for this project?
We wanted to expand the reach and uptake of the circular economy idea in Latin America, across sectors and countries.
In order to do that, we needed to mainstream the opportunities that a circular economy offers for better growth and its relevance in the solutions space for key challenges such as climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
And we needed to do it in a way that spoke to the different audiences in Latin America that have a role in the transition to a circular economy.
How did you select Sherlock Communications?
I researched online for PR agencies that had offices in multiple key locations across Latin America. After an initial selection based on portfolio and values, I interviewed 4 shortlisted agencies including Sherlock Communications.
Sherlock was an obvious choice for a number of reasons including their professionalism, genuine interest in our work, and their unique integrated approach to regional communications.
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
After an initial briefing meeting where we clarified our objectives, needs and core messaging, I worked with the account manager to set up the tools and processes that support our ongoing work.
The Sherlock team has since worked with us on several regional campaigns, helping localise messages, plan and execute press outreach, and track media coverage.
With their support, we have been able to reach key audiences in several countries with the idea of a circular economy and its benefits for the business, society and the environment.
What was the team composition?
The team is composed of a Latin America Account Manager, that is my main liaison, and an online team of consultant leads and PR executives in four countries.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
We have been able to increase the reach of our campaigns, geographically and numerically, as demonstrated by various metrics relevant to different campaigns.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
I have regular fortnightly calls with the account manager, covering status updates and campaign briefings. I also communicate with the broader team on an ongoing basis via email, whatsapp and shared documents.
Overall, I have been very impressed with their responsiveness and the ease of coordination.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
The team is driven and has a great deal of market expertise. Sherlock also has a very unique approach to regional communications.
Their way of working with clients in multiple countries relies on careful coordination within the regional account teams that makes the relationship very manageable while also offering access to their local teams' market expertise and support.
Are there any areas for improvement?
None that I have identified.
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Branding & Marketing for Financial Services Startup
"Our company is better off today because of Sherlock Communications."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I’m a marketing manager at Airfox, a US-based startup that does business in Brazil.
For what projects/services did your company hire Sherlock Communications?
We were launching our product in the Brazilian market and needed help with PR and branding.
What were your goals for this project?
We wanted to build basic brand recognition and keep the PR under control.
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
Sherlock Communications handles our PR for the Brazilian market.
What was the team composition?
The four-person team includes one partner and three resources for branding, PR, and social media.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
Monthly reports demonstrate growth in our brand awareness. The team is always eager to help and has executed tactics to maximize our PR. Their expert opinions and skill sets are invaluable to our success.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
We communicate via weekly meetings, email, and WhatsApp. We move fast and would appreciate a more efficient way to share information, but the current arrangement works.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
The team goes out of their way to help us, even if the tasks are last-minute or exceed the scope. They know our customer base and do not shy away from critical feedback. Our company is better off today because of Sherlock Communications. They are an invaluable member of our team.
Are there any areas for improvement?
Not at the moment, but we would share any concerns directly with the team.
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Latin America App Marketing for Computer Software Company
"Their speed to action is outstanding."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
Virufy is an international research organization that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose COVID-19 from cough patterns, rapidly and at no cost through the use of a smartphone. I am the founder & CEO.
For what projects/services did your company hire Sherlock Communications?
I hired Sherlock Comms to build Virufy's brand in LATAM through marketing and PR.
What were your goals for this project?
To increase the number of visitors to our website and web app.
How did you select Sherlock Communications?
Spoke with the CEO and was very impressed with the speed of action and professionalism.
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
To build brand in 5 countries across LATAM. This involved lining up press releases, TV interviews, radio, newspaper, etc.
What was the team composition?
The CEO assigned a few digital marketing experts to work with my team.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
We now have millions of viewers of our product. We can STOP the spread of COVID-19 thanks to Sherlock's excellent work!
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Very efficient, we used email and WhatsApp, and Google Docs.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
Their speed to action is outstanding.
Are there any areas for improvement?
Would be nice to use the Slack messaging app.
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Marketing for Consulting Firm Branch Launch
"We couldn’t have asked for better service or quality. We’ll be coming back to them for new projects."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I’m the CFO of Edificios Inteligentes. We’re a technology company that provides consultancy, design, implementation, and support services for multi-national companies working on audio, video, security, and IT projects.
For what projects/services did your company hire Sherlock Communications?
We needed marketing services to complement the launch of a branch in a new city.
What were your goals for this project?
We wanted our property to receive immediate visibility in our market sector.
How did you select this vendor?
We researched many companies in our region and narrowed the list to several serious options. Sherlock Communications’ pitch won us over immediately, and we knew we had to hire them.
Describe the project in detail.
We held a detailed briefing after we selected Sherlock Communications and formed a virtual team. Over the next three months, they developed exactly what we wanted.
What was the team composition?
We worked with a project manager, as well as with virtual team members such as journalists.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
We received interest within 2–3 months, some of which turned into opportunities and projects for us.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
We received timely, concise, informative updates regularly.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
They were energetic and possessed extensive market knowledge. Additionally, we were pleased with their high level of professionalism.
Are there any areas for improvement?
No, not that I saw. We couldn’t have asked for better service or quality. We’ll be coming back to them for new projects.