alma Offers Brands Free 'Ungeneral' Work and a Trip to Miami

The ad industry (and marketers in general) have a big problem. The demographic makeup of consumers is shifting rapidly, but most of the industry is still viewing 'general market advertising' and 'multicultural advertising' as two separate things. That’s why earlier this year, alma, the Miami-based creative shop, introduced a refreshed positioning as the ungeneral agency - a shop that pushes beyond binary thinking about how to reach subcultures, to one that knows how to leverage specific insights to reach an increasingly diverse audience. 

Last month, the agency doubled down on this messaging, taking to the streets at Advertising Week New York to spark important conversations around 'general market' advertising, and what it means to be ungeneral. 

“For our team, 'ungeneral' is more than a description of our point of view of the new general market - it’s a commitment to unlocking culture for brands through unexpected creatively effective ideas,” said Ana Bermudez, SVP, managing director at alma. “This stunt was a big part of our goal to kickstart some important conversations around why we must be guiding brands to fight a generic, one-size-fits-all marketing approach, and instead get to the ungeneral deepest insight that builds authentic connections with today’s modern consumer.”

The idea was simple: Spark conversation at AWNY by offering attendees 'Ungeneral Tickets' – scratch-offs that invited participants to engage with the evolving market in an unconventional way. When scratched, each ticket unveiled a deeper cultural truth, emphasising that to find great work, you have to go beyond the 'general' surface. 

The result of the stunt is a 'man on the street' style video. In it, people in New York attending Advertising Week New York, one of the industry’s top marketing conferences, were asked questions about what 'ungeneral' means to them and invited to unveil some 'ungeneral' truths hidden on scratch-off tickets. Not only that, each ticket entered them into a drawing to win one of multiple prizes from alma including:

• Meet the Ungenerals in the 305: One person. Two nights. You'll meet our team, sit down for a creds meeting and get to learn more about how the General Market is now ungeneral, with a side of Cuban cafecito.
• Ungeneral Truths with Jorge Becerra: You receive a two-hour virtual session with Ad Age's 2024 Strategist of the Year to talk about what ungeneral insights your brand can unlock.
• Ungeneral Pitch: Share your brand business problem and we’ll deploy our team to pitch an ungeneral idea that solves it. 
• Ungeneral Surprise Swag: You'll receive a personal alma Swag Kit to ungeneralise your fit. 

“We wanted to remind Advertising Week New York attendees and the industry that stepping beyond the general is where the real magic happens,” said Jorge Murillo, VP, executive creative director at alma. “We believe that we opened a lot of eyes with this stunt and helped people see consumers from a different perspective. We’re excited to continue challenging the market to look for what’s beneath, because the ungeneral is where real impact begins.”

Brands and ad leaders who are interested in participating or learning more can head here. Winners of all prizes will be revealed on or around November 11th.