Cultura Advertising, a Bryan Street-based agency that markets such clients as Mercedes-Benz, Presbyterian HealthCare System and M&Ms to a Spanish-language audience, is shutting down -- and moving about 200 miles down the highway. Today, downtown Austin-based LatinWorks announced that it has bought Cultura, which also handles the likes of Shell and Pepsi. Greg Knipp, the CEO of the agency, tells Unfair Park that Cultura is bringing 15 of its 32 employees down to Austin. "A vast majority were offered jobs and some chose not to move, just for personal reasons," Knipp says; alas, there were also "redundancies," and some folks are not being brought down.
Says Manny Flores, the CEO and managing partner of LatinWorks in a media release shipped this a.m.: “The world is a changing place, and the culture of America is changing. The Hispanic community is reshaping the nation into New America where new skills and ideas are required from marketers. This acquisition positions LatinWorks to champion this changing marketplace.” --Robert Wilonsky