We don't fear artificial intelligence. We understand the world has changed.
En el IAB Day Colombia, la agencia SAMY ofreció un diagnóstico sobre la fragmentación que aún define gran parte del marketing digital: equipos desconectados, canales aislados y una experiencia de marca que no logra cohesión. Frente a ese diagnóstico, la compañía presentó su propia transformación —de agencia de influencers a ecosistema social integrado— como evidencia de que otro modelo es posible. En el fondo, el mensaje fue filosófico tanto como estratégico: en un mundo donde la inteligencia artificial redefine cómo los consumidores buscan, descubren y deciden, las marcas que no evolucionen con sus audiencias corren el riesgo de volverse invisibles.
- La fragmentación sigue siendo el enemigo silencioso del marketing digital: equipos de social media, influencers y pauta paga operan en silos que nadie conecta, generando experiencias rotas para el consumidor.
- SAMY llegó al IAB Day Colombia no solo a diagnosticar el problema, sino a presentar su propia reconversión como prueba de que la integración de canales es viable y urgente.
- El talento digital colombiano es reconocido como competitivo a nivel global, pero su mayor obstáculo ha sido el acceso a metodologías, marcos de trabajo y herramientas que los equipos internacionales ya dominan.
- La irrupción de ChatGPT, Claude y Gemini ha cambiado radicalmente cómo los consumidores buscan información y toman decisiones, obligando a las marcas a repensar dónde y cómo aparecen.
- SAMY apuesta por entrenar a sus equipos para trabajar con IA de forma eficiente —no como atajo, sino como amplificador— y ha desarrollado nuevas soluciones para ayudar a las marcas a ganar presencia en estos territorios digitales emergentes.
En el IAB Day Colombia, la agencia SAMY expuso con claridad un problema que muchas marcas sienten pero pocas nombran: la fragmentación. Hoy, las audiencias están en todas partes dentro del ecosistema social, pero las agencias que las atienden siguen operando en compartimentos estancos. Un equipo maneja redes sociales, otro gestiona influencers, un tercero administra la pauta. Nadie conversa con nadie. El resultado es una experiencia desarticulada para el consumidor y un potencial desaprovechado para las marcas.
Ana María Gaitán, directora de mercado para Andina y Centroamérica de SAMY, explicó que la propia agencia nació desde el marketing de influencers. Pero con el tiempo comprendió que esa disciplina era apenas una pieza de un rompecabezas mucho mayor. La apuesta fue reorganizarse desde adentro —en procesos, en formación de equipos, en promesas a los clientes— para convertirse en lo que hoy define como una compañía social-first: un ecosistema integrado donde todos los canales trabajan en conjunto.
Camila Tribín, Global Head of Social Media Excellence de SAMY, aportó otra dimensión al debate: el talento colombiano. Desde su posición de trabajo con equipos en múltiples mercados, Tribín identifica en Colombia un potencial creativo genuino cuyo principal obstáculo ha sido el acceso —a metodologías probadas, a marcos de trabajo globales, a herramientas que otros mercados ya utilizan con fluidez. Su rol es precisamente ese puente: traer lo que funciona afuera y adaptarlo para que los equipos locales puedan competir en otro nivel.
Pero la conversación más disruptiva del evento giró en torno a la inteligencia artificial. Herramientas como ChatGPT, Claude o Gemini han transformado la forma en que los consumidores buscan información, descubren productos y toman decisiones. SAMY presentó soluciones diseñadas específicamente para ayudar a las marcas a navegar ese nuevo territorio, con un enfoque claro: no temer a la IA, sino entrenar a las personas para trabajar con ella de manera eficiente, usándola como amplificador y no como sustituto del pensamiento. La conclusión implícita fue que las agencias capaces de combinar talento creativo local, conocimiento global y herramientas nativas de IA serán las que definan la próxima etapa del marketing digital.
At IAB Day Colombia, the marketing agency SAMY laid out a case for how the industry has been doing digital wrong—and what it needs to do instead. The problem, as Ana María Gaitán, the company's Andina and Central America Market Director, sees it, is fragmentation. Brands today have audiences everywhere on social platforms, yet the agencies serving them remain siloed: one team handles social media, another manages influencer relationships, a third runs paid campaigns. Nobody talks to anybody. The result is a disconnected experience for consumers and wasted potential for brands.
Gaitán explained that SAMY itself was born from influencer marketing—that was the foundation of its business in Colombia. But the company came to understand that influencer work was just one piece of a much larger puzzle. The real opportunity lay in building an integrated ecosystem where all those channels and capabilities worked together. "We understood that influence marketing was part of a much bigger ecosystem," Gaitán said. "Today we are a social-first company." That shift wasn't theoretical. It meant reorganizing how the agency worked, how it trained people, and what it promised clients. Events like IAB Day gave SAMY a platform to show that this integrated approach was no longer an experiment but the way forward.
Part of what makes this pivot possible is the talent pool in Colombia itself. Camila Tribín, SAMY's Global Head of Social Media Excellence, works across markets worldwide and sees something distinctive in the Colombian digital creative sector. The local talent is strong—the problem has always been access. Access to the latest methodologies, to proven frameworks from other markets, to the tools and knowledge that global teams use. Tribín's role, in part, is to be a bridge. She brings what works elsewhere and adapts it for Colombian teams, giving them the leverage to compete at a higher level. "Colombia has all the potential," she said. "The role of SAMY is to amplify what we already know how to do and give people more tools to get the best out of the digital world."
But the real disruption at the conference wasn't about channels or integration—it was about artificial intelligence. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini: these tools have fundamentally changed how consumers search, discover, and interact with information. They've also changed what brands need to do to stay relevant. SAMY presented new solutions designed specifically to help companies navigate this shift. The approach wasn't to fear AI or treat it as a threat. Instead, the agency is training teams to work alongside these tools effectively, to use them as amplifiers rather than shortcuts. "We don't fear artificial intelligence," Tribín said. "We understand the world has changed and we have to move with it. What we do is train people to work with AI efficiently, not just copy-paste."
The company has invested in research to understand how these technologies are reshaping consumer behavior and brand strategy. The findings led to new products—tools designed to help brands establish and strengthen their presence in these emerging digital territories. It's not enough anymore to have a social media presence or run ads. Brands need to show up where their audiences are asking questions, getting recommendations, and making decisions through AI-powered platforms. SAMY's bet is that agencies that can help brands do that—that can combine local creative talent with global knowledge and AI-native tools—will be the ones that matter in the next phase of digital marketing.
Notable Quotes
We understood that influence marketing was part of a much bigger ecosystem. Today we are a social-first company.— Ana María Gaitán, Andina & CAM Market Director, SAMY
We don't fear artificial intelligence. We understand the world has changed and we have to move with it. What we do is train people to work with AI efficiently, not just copy-paste.— Camila Tribín, Global Head of Social Media Excellence, SAMY
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
So SAMY went from being an influencer marketing shop to something much broader. What actually changed in how you work day-to-day?
The biggest shift is that we stopped thinking in silos. Before, you'd have a social team, an influencer team, a paid team—all separate. Now we ask: where is the audience, what do they need, and how do we reach them across all the places they actually spend time? It's not just about adding services. It's about how teams talk to each other, how data flows, how strategy gets built.
And the AI piece—that feels like it could either be a huge opportunity or a way for agencies to cut corners. Which is it for you?
Both exist. We've seen plenty of people use AI as a shortcut, and that shows. But we're training teams to use it as a thinking partner, not a replacement. If you understand your brand, your audience, your market, AI becomes a tool that makes you faster and smarter. If you don't, AI just makes you faster at being mediocre.
You mentioned Colombian talent specifically. What's different about the market there compared to, say, the US or Europe?
The creative instinct is there. The hunger is there. What was missing was access—to the latest frameworks, to people who've done this at scale in other markets, to tools that cost money. SAMY's role is to be that bridge. We bring global knowledge back to Colombia and let local teams run with it.
When you say brands need to show up on AI platforms, what does that actually look like?
It means understanding that search is changing. People aren't just Googling anymore. They're asking ChatGPT questions, getting recommendations from Claude. Brands need to be discoverable and credible in those conversations. That's a different skill than traditional social media or paid ads. It requires different tools, different thinking.
So the agencies that figure this out first win?
The ones that figure it out and can do it at scale, yes. And that requires both the creative talent and the infrastructure to support it. That's what we're building.