ABOUT
BARÚ. An independent and woman owned agency dedicated to elevating multicultural marketing and media.
BARÚ CELEBRATES -
over 13 years of forward thinking and audience inclusive strategies that motivate and create behavior change for our clients.
We track and predict what communities want. Bridging the gap between you and your audience, creating a deeper connection - by highlighting the universal truths that connect us all.
OUR CLIENTS
Fortune 500 companies including Viacom and NBC/Universal as well as public entities such as California Department of Public Health come to BARÚ to execute creative + marketing + media strategy.
OUR TEAM
We are a cross disciplined and diverse group of specialists, across marketing, media and creative. BARÚ is perfectly positioned to create campaigns that connect on a cultural level.
OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM
ELIZABETH BARRUTIA
Founder & CEO
MICHAEL McNELLIS
COO & CCO
As Co-Founder of BARÚ, Michael currently serves as COO and Head Of Creative. Prior to joining BARÚ full time, Michael served as VP of Creative Services at PlayNetwork in LA. After being accepted by The Director's Guild of America (DGA) in 2003, Michael spent three years as a Sr. Segment Director on the Dr. Phil Show. From there, he traveled internationally as a Field Producer and Director on various TV programs for Discovery, History Channel, and other cable networks. Michael was awarded an Emmy in 2001 for his network branding campaign with International Channel, and was soon recruited by Discovery Networks as Supervising Producer of On-Air Promotions. Michael is a graduate of Colorado State University, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communications.
Elizabeth founded BARÚ in 2007 to engage untapped consumer groups with a new cross cultural perspective. With a 20+ year career in general and Hispanic markets, she is a strategic innovator in multicultural marketing and media. Elizabeth has cultivated a high-growth agency that has made a positive impact in social and behavior change among hard-to-reach multicultural communities. She has led campaign strategy, development and activation across an array of category verticals including Government and Nonprofit Entities, Retail, Consumer Packaged Goods, Alc-Bev, Entertainment and Technology. Elizabeth continues to champion and advocate for diversity and inclusion at large, and is grateful to work on important initiatives that have elevated and empowered underserved communities. Having lived in Spain, Brazil, and Mexico, she is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Elizabeth is a graduate of UC Berkeley.
MADELINE BENIFLAH
VP of Integrated Strategy and Client Services
An industry veteran with extensive experience in communication strategy and planning, Madeline spent 16+ years at IPG and Mediabrands holding senior leadership positions at UM, Momentum and Identity. Madeline sets strategic vision at BARÚ as an innovator and subject matter expert in Integrated Media Comms Planning and Multicultural/Diverse segments. Diving deep into analytics, Madeline identifies trends and mines insights that tell stories to pave a path forward for our marketing strategies. Her depth of experience leading teams and reporting to the executive branch, has developed a proven track record in creating transformational solutions that drive business results for clients. Madeline’s category experience is vast including Consumer Packaged Goods, Telecom, Education, Healthcare, Government, Automotive, Finance and Banking, Technology, Energy and more. Madeline is driven by data, new marketing approaches, and tapping new trends and technologies.
RAYMOND WU
Integrated Strategy Director
Raymond joined the BARÚ team in 2017, he’s an accomplished marketing professional with over 18 years of industry experience. He brings expert analysis of local market data and understanding of complex media planning tools. Raymond’s knowledge and planning strategy expertise enables BARÚ to deliver the right balance and mix that is needed to build meaningful connections in local communities and deliver maximum audience engagement. He is bi-lingual and also a multicultural marketing specialist. Raymond was born in China, raised in Mexico and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Cal-Poly Pomona, California. On his spare time, he’s an avid cyclist, foodie and enjoys the arts and architecture.
MAGALI GARCIA
Broadcast Investment Director
An outcome driven advertising professional with extensive experience in account management, team management, and media planning/buying. In her role as Associate Media Director, Magali provides the traditional media team with direction and insight relevant to the specific account and category, ensuring that client objectives are met across all media channels. With a keen eye on driving results, she works with media partners to develop integrations and sponsorships that extend reach, and connect our clients/brands with the target audience in relevant and meaningful ways. The breadth of her experience crosses all categories and includes Entertainment, Telecommunications, Banking, Healthcare, Retail, Insurance, Restaurant/Food/QSR, and Government. Magali is a UCLA alumna with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and a Minor in Business and Administration.
CARLOS DURAND
Group Account Director
Carlos is an innovative account director focused on providing the most optimal strategic management solutions to clients. With experience in every area of the marketing ecosystem, he is always finding ways to elevate project and account management to a new level. In addition to having led some of the most renowned brands in multiple verticals, he has launched various business initiatives through his career. He has an MBA from The University of Texas at San Antonio and Bachelor in Business Administration degree from the distinguished Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City. He maintains a very dynamic and active lifestyle — and is always ready for a good hike or a run by the beach.
GABRIEL ASCENCIO
Creative Director
Gabriel has 20+ years of multicultural advertising and creative development experience. He's worked on conceptualizing and producing integrated campaigns for clients such as California Department of Public Health, Comcast, Chick-fil-A, JCPenney, Valvoline, Taco Bell, Coors, Alaska Airlines, California Lottery, SiteOne, and other Fortune 500 companies.
MJ LAZCANO
Creative Director
MJ is a 9-year advertising veteran who specializes in art direction and is now serving as Creative Director at BARÚ. After graduating from Miami Ad School, she quickly began developing 360 campaigns for high profile clients such as Walmart, Verizon, AT&T, Wells Fargo, Best Buy, and Pizza Hut. Exceeding expectations won her several awards for her social media work for Walmart and Verizon. MJs contributions on Covered California and CDPH have won BARÚ several awards.
CHELDY MORAN
Account Director
Cheldy has diverse experience that includes advertising, marketing, strategy and business development. Bringing with her more than 10 years of multicultural marketing excellence. She’s helped propel brands such as DIRECTV, American Express, Nestlé (Outshine & Häagen-Dazs), T-Mobile, Southern California Edison, PBS KIDS, First 5 LA and most recently National University. Her experience goes beyond advertising, as a marketer, she brings her ‘client hat’ – working on Hispanic driven strategic initiatives at Nexxo Financial Corporation. Los Angeles native and member of The Junior League of Los Angeles. Cheldy's committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of children within the foster care system, and improving the community.
AIDA ROQUE
Account Director
Aida Roque’s wide experience in advertising over the last 10 years has provided her with an extensive knowledge within the industry. Having worked with fast-paced, high profile clients such as T-Mobile, CenturyLink, Lowe’s, Intel and Covered California within the broadcast, digital, print, OOH and social realm, she has gained a deep understanding of results driven accounts and given the foresight of the challenges ahead that face large campaigns. With both large agency and educator backgrounds Aida is very adaptable, flexible and insightful when appealing to different segment markets and audiences and is always thriving for excellence. When she finds herself with some free time, she enjoys discovering the world through the eyes of her toddler.
LATEST WINS
With great work, comes great awards.
3 Telly Awards
3 Davey Awards
4 Anthem Awards
