Member Since December 2023
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About
Maria Alonso leads Fortune 206´s account management department, creating campaigns and initiatives that engage and empower the community, especially marginalized groups, responding to and resonating with their unique needs and challenges. She’s an accomplished marketing executive with proven success and a passion for leading programs that drive brand growth and enhance customer experiences. She brings diversity, equity and inclusion to the ad agency world, curating campaigns for Fortune 500 clients that include Starbucks, Amazon, and Coca-Cola. Alonso helps brands connect with their audiences by communicating unique narratives and big ideas that stand out in a crowd. She has more than 15 years of experience working with top clients, such as Unilever, T-Mobile, Abbott, Janssen, Novartis, and Jim Beam (US and globally) across a range of categories that include consumer packaged goods, beauty, personal care, infant care, nutrition, OTC health & wellness, and HCP initiatives. She’s worked on Dove’s “Real Women” campaign, created synergy in all digital branding for Starbucks in LATAM, increased 15% of patient (OBGYN) appointments for UWMedicine, and managed to increase diversity by 150% in a local NGO. Maria has been honored as a “Woman of the Week Future for Us,” served as a board member for the American Marketing Association Puget Sound, and speaker on diversity in advertising and multicultural advertising. In addition to her role at Verity, Maria founded a line of handbags, Colibri Handbags, producing one-of-a-kind pieces designed and created by a community of artisans in Chiapas, Mexico. She gives back 30% of all profits to artisan communities in Mexico. Outside of work, Maria enjoys trying new restaurants, traveling, visiting friends and family at home in Mexico, caring for her Bischon frise pup, and continually supporting marginalized communities.
Maria Alonso
Published content
expert panel
Apply these suggestions to strengthen your social media following while remaining authentic and credible. In a digital marketing world, where content is king, one of the biggest challenges YouTubers and podcasters may face is how to keep their channels fresh and interesting. With the potential short attention spans of today's viewers, social media posting is not only about picking the right time and day to share updates with target audience members and current followers—it's also about finding a way to connect with people, authentically, every time you show up. Showing people the real version of you, unfiltered, may captivate them a few minutes longer and encourage them to focus on the message you are trying to convey. You never know whose life you can positively impact by crafting a well-thought-out piece of content that keeps them coming back for more. Suppose you are a content creator trying to grow your audience. In that case, eight leading experts from Fast Company Executive Board have additional ideas to share with you to help boost your brand's authenticity, demonstrate personal influence, and gain even more credibility among your followers.
expert panel
Here's how to elevate your personal brand of social influence in today's digital economy. When American YouTuber and actor Lucas Cruikshank was the first person to reach $1 million subscribers on his Fred channel in the early-to-mid 2000s, it gave potential social entrepreneurs—before anyone truly knew what that title meant—a glimpse of how far engaging content creation could take them. Fast forward to today's competitive marketplace, where everyone is always feeling the pressure to be "on" social media platforms and pair that with an uncertain economy—it takes much more than one's ability to hype up their target base about a product or service. Being comfortable networking with like-minded individuals or brands who are willing to ally will help each stakeholder grow further and faster. In an ever-changing digital space, the best path for social entrepreneurs to make the most impact in their industries—promoting their cause through aligned partnerships—may not be written in stone, however, nine experts from Fast Company Executive Board each share strategies on what is currently working for some of the leading influencers in today's social economy.
expert panel
Apply these best practices to expand the lifetime value of what customers have come to expect. Technology continues to be the solution to helping brands and their customers elevate their business and personal experiences. One key indicator to assessing a client's satisfaction with a particular device is to gain access to their existing daily habits and how the product impacts their life. Once that information is determined and measured through a combination of data analytics and real-time user feedback, the brand can work on modernizing its product to make it better. The most important predictor of satisfaction and long-term stickiness for devices such as wearables is how well they fit into existing lifestyles and habits. Careful assessment of the users' existing habits is essential. A device must not rely on the formation of new habits for success. Rather, it should make existing habits easier or automate as many steps as possible. Below, 12 experts from Fast Company Executive Board each offer one suggestion to help other brand leaders and creative UX designers adapt their product designs for new and evolving wearables, smart home devices, and other Internet of Things devices.
expert panel
Customers will thank you kindly for putting their design needs first, leaving non-essential product bells and whistles at the door. It's an exciting time when a company is preparing to launch a new app or feature on one of its existing products. However, before introducing an updated design or functionality on the current model, it's important to gather as much feedback as possible from the end users and other stakeholders to give them what they want, so you can add meaningful value to their journey with the brand. Creating an overcomplicated design will waste time and budget, so remember that less is more. Below, 10 leaders from Fast Company Executive Board weigh in on how to help creative UX teams develop visually appealing and functional designs. Implementing these best practices will ensure that aesthetic choices do not compromise product usability, and customers are satisfied with their experience.
expert panel
Here's how to introduce Innovation and team creativity alongside company standards. Oftentimes, in the business world, employees may be afraid to get creative or express themselves freely because they are certain their ideas will get shot down, especially if it's outside of traditional regulations. However, in the digital landscape that continues to evolve, company leaders must keep an open mind about potential ideas that may sound risky but could be exactly what is needed for the company to thrive in the long run at a rapid rate. Below, 11 members from Fast Company Executive Board each discuss one way employers can balance innovation with regulation to avoid stifling team creativity while ensuring safety and ethical standards.
article
Sep 23, 2024
Data-driven marketing is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity for brands that want to stay relevant, engage their audiences effectively, and achieve tangible results.
Company details
Fortune 206
Company bio
Fortune 206 is a pioneering independent creative agency proudly owned by women of color. Committed to transforming challenges into opportunities, we specialize in guiding our clients through the most demanding business situations. As adept storytellers, our team crafts compelling narratives and bold ideas, enabling our clients to build robust brands and establish meaningful connections with their audiences. Beyond storytelling, we serve as brand architects, delivering innovative designs that not only drive the sale of products and services but also facilitate business growth and future readiness. At Fortune 206, we blend creativity with strategy to create powerful solutions that resonate in a crowded market.