Ricardo Henriques da Silva, co-founder of White Way, shares with Marketeer the vision of the branding and creativity agency, which, over the past 18 years, has been a partner to major brands such as The Navigator Company, Secil, and JLL. With a focus on innovation and continuous training, White Way is preparing for the challenges of 2025, investing in the integration of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and building strategic partnerships. In this interview, Ricardo reveals how the agency is adapting to the new market demands, responding to the growing need for authenticity and sustainability in brands.
How is White Way, as a branding strategy and creativity agency, preparing for the market challenges in 2025?
White Way’s strategic plan includes investing in innovation and team training to remain competitive and stay updated with market trends. Since the end of 2022, we have taken significant steps in digital evolution and the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which puts us in a strong position to face the challenges of 2025. We are also focused on continuously improving our skills and credentials, ensuring that we can respond quickly to the changing needs of our clients.
But the main focus of the management team is on people. Internally, it is the relationship we build with all our employees, from interns to the supervisory line, and the framework for personal and professional development that we promote. Externally, it is the relationship we establish with our clients, where we typically become an extension of their teams, a result of the work of everyone, but led by the Partners and the Client and Strategy Directors.
Based on the focus on partnerships with ‘People, Brands, and Companies,’ what types of collaborations do you believe will have the greatest impact in the coming year?
We believe that collaborations combining creativity and technology will have a significant impact. Partnerships with technology companies, innovative startups, and digital influencers could be crucial in creating creative solutions that resonate with an increasingly knowledgeable and demanding audience. Additionally, we see partnerships that promote sustainability and authenticity being increasingly valued.
In a constantly changing context, what are the main challenges you identify for brands in 2025? How does White Way help overcome them?
I would say that the main strategic and operational challenges include the desire to integrate AI in an increasingly transversal way, maintaining a strong brand management focus, and the need to establish relevance and authenticity in markets that are typically saturated and trend-driven. We see the macro challenge as how to work on brands to differentiate them from competitors in a scenario where products and services are becoming more and more homogeneous.
White Way has been a successful partner for various brands, helping them overcome different challenges through personalized strategies, developed with our own methodology and in close proximity to our clients. The complementarity between strategy, creativity, and technology, built over more than 18 years, has been crucial for us to successfully respond to increasingly demanding and ambitious briefs.
How does White Way balance creativity with a results-oriented approach? Will this relationship change in the coming year?
Over the years, we’ve realized the importance of differentiating ourselves through the strategic component, and today our Strategy Director is a consultant with experience in one of the Big Four, working directly with the strategy, content, design, and digital teams. As a result, we strive to balance creativity and results through a holistic approach based on objectives, know-how, and data. Currently, we have the ability to intervene at different stages of the customer journey, and in 2025, we will continue refining this approach with new analytical tools, while also working on the integration of AI to optimize processes and outcomes.
What role will new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, play in the branding and creativity strategies the agency proposes for its clients?
Before technology and the numerous solutions available in the market today, it is essential to have ambition in creativity and courage in embracing change. If we fail to ensure these two points, it will be very difficult to achieve satisfactory results in any business area.
Regarding AI, what we have observed is that it is indeed a transformative force, establishing itself as a powerful tool due to its ability to drive project development, create foundations for inspiration, expand creative expression, and accelerate processes. Therefore, we have never viewed AI as a threat to our business, but rather as a complement to our ideas and creativity. In 2025, we intend to continue evolving our knowledge and use of different AI tools, which will allow us to improve the agency’s competitiveness and offer more effective and innovative solutions to our clients. We believe this process can yield results with enormous transformative potential, opening new opportunities for innovation and business growth.
How does White Way plan to support brands in responding to the growing consumer expectations regarding authenticity and sustainability?
In recent years, the agency has focused on strengthening its position as a responsible company committed to the principles of sustainability in its various dimensions, and since 2022, it has been an associated member of GRACE. In other words, before supporting our clients, we aimed to be an agent of change ourselves on a journey that impacts all of us. This commitment puts us in a privileged position to help brands become more transparent and responsible. Operationally, we develop strategies that highlight the authentic values of brands and promote sustainable practices, aligning them with consumer expectations. Our approach is based on continuous evolution and adaptation to the new market demands.
In your opinion, which sectors or industries will be most open to creative and strategic innovations in 2025?
Honestly, I would say all of them. When we look around, we see AI and automation transforming entire sectors, we see an increasing transition to a low-carbon economy, e-commerce growing exponentially, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality redefining media consumption, the financial sector integrating with blockchain, the fashion industry seeking to create eco-friendly products and circular business models—examples are everywhere, across all sectors. In healthcare, energy, logistics, entertainment, education, or food. It’s all-encompassing. And to compete and grow, it’s necessary to be at the forefront of innovation. That’s why all sectors are constantly evolving and looking for new ways to connect with consumers.
Finally, what advice would you give to brands looking for a more strategic and creative approach to achieve their goals in 2025?
First and foremost, they should choose the right agency to work with, share objectives and data, align the creative vision with a partner capable of materializing ideas consistently and with commitment, and have the courage to view change as something positive. We all know that change is the driving force behind growth and innovation, but not everyone can step out of their comfort zone, which is essential in a world that is constantly transforming.
Getting to know the client and placing them at the center of strategies, developing brand narratives that are authentic, inspiring, and educational, incorporating emerging technologies, maintaining a focus on user experience, and exploring new channels will be key points in the search for new competitive advantages. Similarly, it is important to be agile and adopt flexible strategies, optimized based on the defined KPIs and analytical measurements that allow us to learn and adjust.
And finally, ensuring alignment between Strategy and Creativity, because they are much more effective when working together. Creativity without direction is ineffective, and Strategy without innovative and ambitious ideas is also not.
Article originally published in Marketeer.
