El Merkat: the advertising agency that focuses on human strategy and female leadership

Merkat has forged its own path by advocating a different way of understanding advertising: more human, more strategic, and closer.

From Sabadell, Rut Milla and Laia Rojas lead a boutique agency that has grown while maintaining its core essence: understanding each brand from within, working closely with clients, and putting people at the heart of communication.

In an industry often characterized by speed, large structures, and repetitive formulas, El Merkat has forged its own path, championing a different approach to advertising: more human, more strategic, and more personal. At the helm are Rut Milla and Laia Rojas, two partners who have made trust, commitment, and a female perspective essential to their agency model.

Founded in 2012, El Merkat was born with the aim of offering an alternative to conventional agencies. Its name is a declaration of intent: it evokes the traditional market, a space where direct interaction, quality, and trust are as important as the product itself. This philosophy continues to define the agency more than ten years later.

“We wanted to create an agency that was close to its clients, capable of truly understanding each company’s business and becoming an extension of their team,” explains Rut Milla. This way of working has allowed El Merkat to grow without losing the agility of a boutique structure, combining strategy, creativity, branding, communication, and events.

Although the agency maintains a strong connection to and pride in its origins, its current activity demonstrates that it is connected to both Sabadell and the world, avoiding any kind of local pigeonholing. Today, it develops projects for a diverse portfolio of local, national, and international brands.

This geographic openness also translates into great sectoral versatility. The agency works across a wide variety of sectors. Furthermore, the team demonstrates a deep understanding of different communication styles, perfectly recognizing that the mass-market approach required for consumer goods demands a completely different strategy than that of a specific campaign geared toward the B2B channel.

This adaptability is reflected in its track record. Over the years, the agency has worked with leading consumer brands and institutions such as Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Schweppes, Torres, Estrella Galicia, and Codorníu, while also firmly establishing itself in the B2B sector with major industrial and technology companies like Klinea and Simon Lighting.

“The key is to listen before proposing. We don’t believe in prefabricated solutions, but rather in understanding each brand, each context, and each objective to build a truly useful response,” emphasizes Laia Rojas.

Maintaining a boutique structure has not hindered their ability to compete at the highest level. Merkat has carved out a niche for itself in the complex and competitive advertising market, going head-to-head with large multinational agencies and, in many cases, winning pitches and projects.

This competitive strength has been fully validated by industry recognition. El Merkat boasts an impressive track record that solidifies the agency’s position within the history of the communications sector, including prestigious awards such as the national Anuaria award, the international Publifestival social advertising award, and the IGDEA, Brandor, and Pelikanor awards. Furthermore, its creative and technical excellence has been recognized in key design and visual communication competitions, winning the Letra awards twice and the Latampack packaging awards.

Despite these accolades, the true differentiating factor remains unchanged in its daily work method: active listening and an absolute rejection of prefabricated solutions to guarantee effective responses for each context and objective.

At a time when Artificial Intelligence is transforming the sector, El Merkat is committed to integrating new tools without losing sight of human judgment. For the agency, technology can help optimize processes, identify opportunities, and streamline tasks, but creativity, sensitivity, and strategy remain irreplaceable.

“AI is a very valuable tool, but advertising needs vision, intuition, culture, and empathy. The difference still lies in the people,” says Laia Rojas.

This approach is also reflected in their leadership style. In a sector where women have still had to fight for decision-making positions, the two partners have consolidated a project based on collaboration, flexibility, and trust. Their leadership prioritizes more human-centered teams, more honest relationships with clients, and a way of working that places talent and well-being on the same level as results.

Today, El Merkat is an advertising agency that has grown and earned its international presence without abandoning its founding principles: proximity, quality, and a commitment to supporting brands from strategy to execution. In an increasingly competitive environment, the agency champions a simple but powerful idea: the best advertising is not just that which makes an impact, but that which connects.

Source: www.marketingdirecto.com