429: How Do You Market a Place? With Invest Puerto Rico CMO, Nicole Vilalte

Marketing Today with Alan Hart

Nicole Vilalte was born and raised in Puerto Rico, went to college on the island, and started her career there as an account executive at DDB LATAM. She eventually moved to New York to work for JWT before becoming an account supervisor at The Vidal Partnership for Sprint Wireless. She relocated to Portland for a few years to take over the Target account at Wieden + Kennedy before heading back to New York to work on IBM Global at Ogilvy. In 2017, Nicole returned home to become the Business Director for Puerto Rico Tourism Company, and after another stint with Ogilvy, she was hired on as the Chief Marketing Officer at Invest Puerto Rico in 2021.

Invest Puerto Rico is on a mission to promote the island and bring new capital investment and businesses to the region. It is a public-private partnership that helps companies get established on the island by assisting them in navigating incentives, connecting them with resources for real estate selection and access to talent, and facilitating introductions to key stakeholders like sector experts and industry associations. Over the last 5 years, Invest Puerto Rico has secured commitments of $1 billion in capital investments, contributed to the establishment of over 550 new businesses, and helped create 20,000 new jobs.

On the show today, Alan and Nicole talk about the unique challenges of marketing a place, who their target audience is, and how they communicate the benefits of establishing and expanding business operations in Puerto Rico. Nicole also tells us about the inspiration behind their new campaign, “It’s not what’s next, it’s where,” and what business sectors they are focused on the most.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Invest Puerto Rico’s mission and how they market a place.
• The inspiration behind their new campaign: “It’s not what’s next, it’s where.”
• The future of marketing for Invest Puerto Rico

Key Highlights:

• [01:55] Life with a hot sauce addiction
• [04:45] Full circle agency career path
• [12:55] Invest Puerto Rico: Their mission and who they serve
• [14:55] How do you market a place?
• [18:55] Which sectors are they trying to grow in most?
• [23:20] The new campaign, “It’s not what’s next, it’s where.”
• [26:30] Benefits of being in PR
• [27:40] The future of marketing for Invest Puerto Rico
• [29:40] Unique challenges of marketing a place to niche audiences
• [31:10] Crossroads that shaped who Nicole is today
• [34:05] Advice to her younger self
• [37:10] The AI portion of the show
• [40:10] Watching the metaverse and VR space

Looking for more?

Visit our website for the full show notes, links to resources mentioned in this episode, and ways to connect with the guest!

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