Highest Consultores makes the leap to the media

Núñez de Balboa Street, one of the main streets of the capital, welcomes a new tenant that promises to be a talking point in the coming months. Highest Consultores, the communications consultancy headed by Ángel de la Rúa, was created with the aim of supporting companies in the communications sector. A sector that it recognises as being little used by the rest of its direct competitors. To this end, Highest has tools within the reach of few that will be launched in the coming weeks: a general radio station and a magazine that will combine diplomacy and lifestyle. ATALAYAR has interviewed the founder from the heart of the newsroom.

What is Highest and why did you decide to embark on this adventure?

Highest is a consultancy that aims to strengthen companies in brand and product development and in the process of internationalisation. This is a phase within companies that is still not very developed in Spain. We say that being a good professional is not always associated with being a great entrepreneur, and the problem that sometimes occurs is that there are very good professionals with great products or services, but unable to digest them at a business level. In this niche market there are many medium-sized companies that want to grow, or family businesses that are facing a generational changeover, which we understood that we have to protect and help. 

Do you focus on national companies or do you also aspire to work with international companies?

We work a lot with national companies, but also with a marked vision of internationalisation. Both those companies that want to look for a market to establish themselves in Spain and Spanish companies that want to be present in other markets, such as those in Latin America -one of our areas of influence-, Asia or the Middle East. The latter are, logically, a focus of business where the international market is going to be more focussed. 

To what extent is communication essential and to what extent are Spanish companies still not properly aware of it? That is to say, you can have a good product, you can have good management, but if you don't make it known...

There are media, and specialised media such as Atalayar, in which this process is fundamental. And that is why we like, within the consultancy firm, to rely on different loudspeakers not only to disseminate the commercial message or the product or service, but also the company's philosophy. The media are essential for a company to grow. If you don't have a good media or a good communication policy, you can have the best product in the world and it will be stuck in a drawer. It is necessary to have media, communication segments, different loudspeakers, it can be digital, press, radio, television, multichannel... and depending on the product, segment it and specialise it. There is no other way, moreover, in a globalised market like the current one. Either you differentiate yourself and get out of yourself or you're dead. 

The consultancy firm is therefore going to differentiate itself in terms of communication. Is that your main objective?

Communication is not the end, but a means. Whoever wants to focus communication on their business target, normally does not generate profits. Where they are necessary is as a transmission belt for the message. At Highest we design multidisciplinary products and strategies, among which we have to include communication. However, there is always a previous work of strategy development, company analysis, product analysis, market analysis... and, from there, we select the media or the information distribution points as another tool. 

What is the differential factor that Highest has with respect to the rest of the consultancy firms currently operating?

One of the characteristics is, apart from the work philosophy and the professionals of recognised prestige that make it up, the specific treatment with external and internal media. We are going to develop and are launching a media outlet, a radio station, which will be launched in September. Therefore, we are not only going to collaborate with external media, but we are going to have our own media, which is a generalist media. We will then collaborate with publications to introduce our own content. A tendency that tends to be repeated when we work with other consultancy firms is that the message never arrives as it is intended to be conveyed, but is distorted or positioned in an area that does not correspond to it. If we have that capacity to influence with our own media, we will take care of the message because we treat it ourselves from the moment it is born until it is disseminated. Right now, I don't think there is any consultancy firm at the national level that covers the whole cycle. 

What are the objectives, in the short or medium term, until the launch of the station?

Our objective is to consolidate our press project, a monthly magazine that we launched in July called Diplomatic World Magazine. And, above all, to forge alliances. Because we don't see the world of communication as independent islands. We are going to participate as actors in the media. Before we were users and now we are getting into the circus, but we will never stop participating with other media. I believe that interaction and collaboration between media is fundamental, because if we don't manage to establish this nexus, the clear, good and positioned message of our clients and our products will not get through. Moreover, this collaboration will allow us to create work synergies and help each other. Unfortunately, there are media with which we can collaborate a lot and very well, and others with which we cannot collaborate at all, because they still think that we are in the 90s and that the piece of the cake is defined and nobody can touch it. That's over. 

What features will the magazine have, what content will you cover and who will be the target audience?

The magazine will have an international focus. On the one hand, it will be a digital magazine aimed at companies with the objective of internationalisation through embassies. We know that there are some media that do this and that bring the diplomatic world closer to the general public, but we are going to focus a lot on not simply discovering the official part of the embassy, that is, the activity of an ambassador or a country in Spain and of that country in the rest of the world, but to discover something more, to have a more personal relationship with the ambassador and to serve as a reference for business people who have interests in that country. Half of the magazine will be dedicated to the specific country being analysed, and the second half will be entertainment, in the style of Esquire, GQ, Vanity Fair... The analysis in question will take up about 40 pages and then there will be fashion trends, motoring, art, culture, etc., unrelated to the above. Because a magazine also has to be entertaining. 

A lifestyle?

"That's right. Otherwise the media in this area are perhaps too dense. The average reader, the businessman or the executive, which is who we are targeting, has to have access to a magazine that is entertaining. 

You are building a radio studio, what radio project do you want to set up?

Decision Radio is a project independent from the magazine, each one has its own entity, but the radio aims to have a generalist character in terms of its content. However, it will have two main characteristics that will differentiate us from other national radio stations. Firstly, we are going to have a lot of technology and specific content to attract young listeners. Secondly, we want to transmit a series of values. We will focus, above all, on the business world and the new generations. We also intend to create a radio station with a la carte content based on the tastes demanded by society. We want to be disruptive with the current radio landscape and modernise the medium. 

What broadcasting channel are you going to use, do you have the option of a frequency or directly online via social networks?

New technologies are the future. Although, until the arrival of 5G to replace FM, radio listeners in Spain are very traditional. I, for example, still listen to the radio with a transistor. Therefore, we are working to have an FM in Madrid and we will try to reach different areas of Spain with repeater posts. For the moment, digital and FM have to coexist. 

How do you finance yourselves and do you think that European recovery funds might come your way, or is it something you don't consider?

If you set up a project thinking about future European aid, stay at home and save yourself the trouble. If they come, they will come, and if they don't, they won't come. I am more of those who believe in the latter. As long as they are used to plug holes, that's enough. I have other companies that are going to sustain the media project. This is the basis for us to have a certain financial stability, because if you want to get rich through a media outlet, it's better to do something else. As long as we don't lose, that's good enough for us. It's good enough for me because I will be able to offer another alternative quality service to my clients. That is why this project is being developed. Advertising and the companies that want to collaborate with us will be part of the financing, but we cannot depend on the financing coming exclusively from there, because then the project would be born dead. Even more so if you depend on political powers to finance you with institutional advertising, then you lose even your independence. 

Are there any confirmed names to lead the station's programming?

We can't reveal any names yet, but they will be top journalists. We have very powerful collaborators who come from other media, so I can't tell you until the radio season ends in July. If you want to have a winning project you also have to have top level communicators. 

At Highest you have promoted a project to sponsor artists, and with this project you have already launched a programme on Radio YA. What is your relationship with culture?

Both Decision Radio and DW Magazine have a strong cultural content. At present, there are not many spaces for cultural approaches, and those that do exist are relegated. On the radio, we will have an hour a day on history and, in the afternoon, another hour for segments on culture, art and entertainment, with renowned professionals. In addition, in our work of patronage and representation of artists that we carry out in the consultancy firm, we aim to provide them with a means of dissemination to transmit their message. 

What is the link between Highest and the media? What will be the field of activity of each party?

The limit is set by the client. The media is just another section of the integral service we offer. Our vocation is that our client's product has the maximum possible presence in the media and that it is treated in an optimal way. Everything is complementary and communication is essential. We will rely on our media, but that does not mean that our clients will not use other tools and other media to do so. The more media, the better. 

What would your elevator pitch be? How would you sell your product to a potential client?

At Highest we want to be a part of your company and we want your product to succeed. Therefore, if you want your service to work, you have to go through Highest Consultants, because we are going to give you a treatment that no other consultancy firm will give you and, in addition, we are going to give more value to what you are doing. We are product enhancers, we will make your product reach the top. We are going to multiply your sales tenfold.