SPAIN - Economy
CEO, Disset Consultors
Bio
Antoni Pons is founding partner and CEO of the communication consultancy agency DISSET, founded in January 1994. He was CEO of the media agency Proximia Baleares (Havas Group) between 2008 and 2015. He was Dean of the Official College of Advertising and Public Relations of the Balearic Islands, vice-president of the Publishers’ Guild of the Balearic Islands, president of the Association of Young Entrepreneurs of the Balearic Islands and president of the Association of Communication and Public Relations Consultants of the Balearic Islands, member of the Executive Committee of the Confederation of Business Associations of the Balearic Islands (CAEB), member of the plenary and the Tourism Committee of the Chamber of Commerce of Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera, and member of the Economic and Social Council of the Balearic Islands (CES), among other positions.
What are some of Disset’s milestones as a Mallorcan company dedicated to communication?
We were established as a graphic design studio. Little by little, we incorporated professionals. Today, we offer global communication services. Our main milestones include the strategic alliance with Gabinete Echeverría in 1996, which allowed us to offer the highest level of corporate identity; the creation of the proximity media agency with the Grupo Havas in 2008; the opening of our office in Havana in 2018; and the internationalisation process that we experienced in 2019, carrying out different projects in New York, London, Marrakech, Cuba, Cape Verde and Dubai, among other places in the world. Now we continue with this diversification process, taking on national and international projects, such as the three national campaigns carried out for the Ministry of Equality of the Government of Spain in 2020 and 2021, and now the Cuban tourism promotion campaign.
What would be Disset’s evaluation of the effectiveness of corporate communication by Mallorcan companies?
We act as a consultant to local companies and propose they establish a constant relationship with their stakeholders. Mallorcan companies know that a good brand reputation is preliminary and must be worked on concurrently with any commercial communication. Aspects such as sustainability, and social responsibility in a broad sense, are very present in most local companies. It is already in their DNA, and now they also know that they are highly valued requirements from their potential clients. We see it in the tourism companies we work with, public institutions, distribution companies and producers who care about the image that their brands project to their target audience. The consumer has changed. Of course, companies have also adapted and changed their communication to respond to new concerns and demands from their customers.
What opportunities have opened up for local companies thanks to the NextGenerationEU Funds, and how can public and private collaboration be promoted for this purpose?
The NextGeneration funds will be a true “lever” for transformation and a catalyst for local companies. Public-private collaboration that is already taking place in many areas is essential. It is even more essential in the case of SMEs because, unlike large companies, the teams are smaller and the planning and financing capacities in the medium and long term are also lower. Therefore, the NG funds, together with the collaboration between business groups and public entities, can be an element that represents a great opportunity to take a step forward, especially in the digitalisation and sustainability fields. From the European Funds technical office, which we have created in Disset, we are working with SMEs, clusters and business organisations to optimise the resources made available by the EU while following the criteria and priorities set by the State Government and the Balearic Islands Government.
What business prospects do you have for 2022-23?
2022 will be good for the tourism sector, and, beyond that in the Balearic Islands, all the other sectors that come with it. Predictions are good. After almost two years of a shutdown due to the pandemic, we hope that 2022 will be the recovery year, which should be consolidated by 2023. In Disset, we are diversifying and looking further and further abroad. For example, thanks to our office in Havana, we have been able to take on Cuba’s tourism promotion campaign, which we won in a contest competing with more than forty international agencies. But we do not neglect local clients at any time. We continue to propose communication strategies based on our experience of more than 28 years and the orientation towards consulting that we undertook a long time ago.
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