Mercado Libre CMO: ‘I only make 1% of the decisions. And I’m proud of it’

Throughout his tenure, Mercado Libre’s share value has risen nearly 2,400% and it now dominates the LatAm market. Summer time’s position has additionally expanded to incorporate not solely consumer-facing advertising, but in addition its burgeoning promoting enterprise (in Q3 alone, it grew 63% year-over-year), in addition to its gross sales and product divisions.

“Advertising has lastly graduated right here in Mercado Libre. We now have confirmed that we’re a enterprise driver. Being a know-how firm, it’s nearly like no person believed in advertising. It’s all concerning the product and in case you construct the suitable product, folks will come. However that’s not the case now. When you construct the suitable product, you get the prospect to speak about it.”

Regardless of being based in 1999 and an IPO in 2007, the advertising operate at Mercado Libre was solely formally created in 2018. Beforehand, every enterprise unit of the corporate operated independently. Beneath Summers’ path, the operate has grown to deal with 500 folks and investments have elevated by over 100x in that point. “I’ve by no means been in a enterprise the place each single month you shut and [the board] asks ‘you already know, we may make investments a bit bit extra? Do you have got an current technique that may ship a bit bit extra, or a brand new technique that we might be investing in?’ It wasn’t at all times that means.”

Taking dangers

It’s the form of speak that CMOs studying this story will envy: greater budgets with fewer questions requested on the way it’s spent. Summers credit the belief that his advertising has earned, considerably paradoxically, to the tradition of risk-taking that has been fostered.

“In an effort to win on this very aggressive market, it’s a must to make choices actually quick. It’s important to take dangers. I make just one% of the selections in advertising as a result of I’ve a workforce of people who find themselves actually sensible, and they’re empowered to make choices.”

Take its sponsorship of 21-year-old F1 driver Franco Colapinto. Summers says the choice (one of many few he’s needed to green-light) would imply ploughing finances into a comparatively unknown sportsman on the time with no assure that he would make it to the worldwide stage. To some other marketer, this would possibly seem to be an enormous danger that might inevitably be debated on the highest ranges. But from listening to concerning the alternative to agreeing, it took Summers simply 48 hours to signal on the dotted line again in August 2024.

“It’s the calculated danger. Why not X, Y and Z is one dialog. Then let’s simply fucking do it. What’s the worst that may occur? Individuals have change into too conservative and too frightened about whether or not it doesn’t work out. I made the choice assuming that it wouldn’t work out. However as a result of the remainder of the demand era engine is working very well, we’ve the posh of getting that. And in case you are not taking danger, what’s the message that you simply’re sending to the workforce?”

Within the months that adopted, Colapinto would go on to change into the Check and Reserve Driver for BWT Alpine F1 Team. When Summers came upon that he was going to be a quantity two seat, the advertising workforce developed a TV advert in simply two weeks to announce the information to followers.

“I’ve by no means been in a spot the place the advert grew to become the information. We received 12m natural views within the first 24 hours, nearly 20m views within the first 48 hours. It was insane. I had by no means participated in one thing so viral. ”

It was a guess that paid off. And one Summers may solely make because of the “social capital” that he’d accrued from figuring out the place the opposite 99% of its advertising finances is spent and precisely the way it delivers for the corporate.

“Each time that we ship enterprise outcomes, we earn social capital. However we’ve to have the heart to make use of that social capital. One of many issues I really like is that we don’t ask for permission. We apologize. I’ve been in organizations the place there’s forms and it’s a must to ask everybody, can we do it? There’s no such factor [here]. There’s 100% accountability on our facet for the issues we do proper and the issues that don’t work out. So that provides us 100% freedom to make the selections. And if my administration fashion is to present my workforce 100% of possession and independence to make choices, I count on the remainder of the group to honor that. And if I screw up, the workforce screws up, no massive deal. Why would you construct social capital and never use it?“

That he willingly arms over the overwhelming majority of promoting decision-making can be emblematic of the truth that Summers doesn’t see his position because the orchestrator of the model’s communications. Sure, he’s chief advertising officer, however he’s chargeable for a myriad of different business-critical capabilities in addition to the rising retail media community. He neither wants nor needs to log off on each advert that goes to market. Take this yr’s all-important Christmas marketing campaign – he noticed it only a few days earlier than the nation.

“I hate what marketeers have executed over the past 20 years. We now have turned advertising right into a communications space. And I couldn’t be extra towards it. I made that selection on goal. Over the past six years, I’ve discovered people who find themselves higher than I’m at judging creativity. If I need to create an atmosphere the place they’re making choices, I’ve to belief them.”

His greatest message for the trade is {that a} CMO can not spend their days approving copy. “Our operate is a lot extra important from a enterprise viewpoint that we shouldn’t permit it.”

Reinvent the advertising operate yearly

Summers lives by the philosophy of “what labored for us final yr just isn’t going to work for us subsequent yr.” Within the early days, he may create a advertising plan – a formulation – optimize it, rinse and repeat the subsequent yr. He grew to become a grasp of that formulation. He now has to begin from scratch each 12 months.

“Irrespective of how profitable we’re, we’ve to reinvent all the demand era engine each 12 or 18 months. That’s the one means. We’re in fast-paced industries. Our rivals are good, and they’re going to catch up. So except we make aware efforts to maintain innovating in a quick means, they’re going to catch us.”

No shock, then, that AI is high of thoughts by way of the way it can do extra, sooner. As an e-commerce firm, its investments within the foundations of this tech have been ongoing for almost a decade. Nevertheless, since 2023, it has had a specific give attention to generative AI, with its 20,000 software program builders and customer support groups being tasked with integrating it into their processes. This yr, the advertising operate was tasked with attending to grips with how the tech can gas productiveness, effectivity and effectiveness within the coming years. Right now, each component of the promotional calendar, branding actions and efficiency advertising has been deliberate with a view to how Gen AI instruments will assist its groups ship extra.

“Eight years in the past, we had zero media presence. Right now, 52 weeks of the yr we’re throughout all media: open TV, cable TV, digital, YouTube, out-of-home, you title it. So you’ll be able to think about, the quantity of artistic that we’re producing is big. How will we make it extra environment friendly in a means that doesn’t detract from high quality?“

It calls for that each member of the advertising unit be proficient in AI, and for Summers, that has meant a hiring freeze ostensibly supposed to drive them to undertake new instruments. He explains: “We determined that it was a superb time to create a constraint. So we’re not going to develop the headcount, despite the fact that we aspire to continue to grow like loopy. We’re forcing ourselves to extend the adoption of all Gen AI instruments.

“At the start it was a bit bit scary, however everybody embraced it.”

On efficiency advertising, for instance, it has its personal content material creation, attribution and optimization instruments. Proper now, 80% of marketing campaign work that flows by way of the system is automated with human “supervision” managing 20%. “We need to push that 20%. How do you flip it to zero? By creating brokers that do this supervision.”

Or take its current entry into the TikTok world. Referrals from TikTok are going by way of the roof however having the model present up there in a shoppable means meant it wanted to provide tens of millions of customized movies for particular person merchandise. Gen AI was the one reply.

“Right now, we’re the most important supplier of movies to TikTok worldwide. However as an alternative of telling one thing humorous, we’re attempting to present you the reason why to purchase this product, and in two clicks, you’ll be able to.”

Now it’s handed those self same Gen AI instruments over to product producers and sellers – giving them scripts, photos and a ultimate video in a matter of minutes. 

Then there’s its Christmas advert – created utilizing AI. Or a marketing campaign it created for Samsung? Additionally, AI made.

Summers dispels any notion that this large shift in the direction of automation is something for its advertising workforce to fret about. He insists it’s not about changing the folks, however fairly making the work they spend time on extra fascinating, to make room for revolutionary, entrepreneurial considering and empower them to push boundaries.

“Once I began my profession, advertising was the place to be in enterprise. However I speak with younger folks now and I’m undecided that they see it like that [anymore]. And I believe it’s our fault. We haven’t made it thrilling. We’re not innovating. We’re not taking dangers. We’re not getting exterior of our consolation zone,” he says.

“The advertising operate, irrespective of during which trade you’re employed, is altering so quick that you have to let go.”

Sean Summers has been nominated for The Drum and the World Federation of Advertisers’ International Marketer of the 12 months Award 2025. Yow will discover out extra concerning the accolade and this yr’s nominees here. 

Earlier winners of the award embrace Asmita Dubey, chief digital and advertising officer at L’Oréal, who received for 2023, and Marcel Marcondes, international chief advertising officer at AB InBev, who won for 2024.