The group behind the Biden-Harris 2024 Latino media campaign strategy is launching a new consulting firm, The Hill has learned.
The new firm, Conexión, was founded by Colin Rogero, whose creative work has become a staple of national Latino campaigns; Adrián Saenz, former deputy director of public engagement at the Biden White House; Pili Tobar, former deputy communications director at the White House; and Marsha Espinosa, who ran communications for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“Our team is a synergy of strategic minds, communications experts, and true creatives that have helped elect candidates at every level, helped organizations navigate complicated challenges, and broken new ground creatively to ensure brands, people and causes make the conexiones that are critical to influencing people and driving change,” Rogero said.
The new firm will advise political campaigns on one end and corporations and nonprofits on the other.
While Conexión will specialize in Latino outreach — helping campaigns design and implement their Hispanic media strategy or corporations reach consumers — Saenz said the group’s reach will extend beyond Latino communities.
“What the firm will do, it’ll lead on the Latino front both on the political and public affairs side, but I think we’ll also take a broader multicultural approach and our broader team will be more multicultural as well as we grow our portfolios of work,” Saenz said.
One early client of the firm — other than President Biden’s reelection bid — is Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson (D), who this spring survived an expulsion vote in the state House after leading a gun control protest on the floor alongside fellow Democratic Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, who were expelled.
“She’s running for U.S. Senate against [Sen.] Marsha Blackburn [R-Tenn.] now and we’re doing that race, so we’re not limiting ourselves to the multicultural or the Latino space because we can do it all,” said Saenz.
Saenz, Tobar and Espinosa are well-known strategists in Latino politics, with ample legislative and administration experience, and Rogero is known for his filmlike ad productions.
“With Conexión we are bringing together the best in creative messaging, political strategy and public affairs to meet the moment and build lasting power. Our goal is to serve as the vital link between our clients and their target audiences, ensuring impactful and measurable engagement through meaningful connections,” Tobar said.
Rogero, who produced Biden’s Spanish-language launch video and has produced media for campaigns throughout the country and abroad, is also known for pushing the envelope with his productions.
In 2017, a Rogero-produced ad for the Virginia governor’s race rankled the Trump White House for its explicit portrayal of the dangers of racism.
Saenz, who in 2020 ran the Biden campaign’s Latino media program, said the new firm’s combination of strategic and creative capacities will allow Conexión to take a more holistic approach to Latino outreach.
“I had a similar role on the last campaign, overseeing the Latino program, but they had a creative team in-house. It was a little bit different structure last time. This time, we’re doing the creative and we’re also doing the strategic buying and placement,” Saenz said.
The firm’s prelaunch work has already been tested amid 2024 wrangling: Earlier this month, Univision aired an exclusive interview with President Trump that has been widely panned for not challenging the former president enough on various claims.
Conexión had secured ad space for Biden ads to run during the interview — Univision pulled those ads at the last minute, giving Trump an unfettered platform to reach Spanish-speaking audiences.
“It started a real swirl after they dropped those. After they dropped the ad — I mean, they didn’t drop it totally. They just said they couldn’t run it during that program,” said Saenz.
The Univision controversy is an example of how contested access to Latino audiences is becoming.
“The truth is, we have seen Latino budgets grow gradually over the years, and I would say exponentially in the last couple of years. Exponential in terms of their rate of growth, particularly on the political campaign side,” said Saenz.
Yet there are still few large Latino consulting firms compared to the size of the market and few with the range of experience of Conexión’s partners.
“As a team of strategic changemakers who have worked our way up from the grassroots to the highest levels of government and campaigns, we have built coalitions, lifted up new voices, and shaken up the political landscape to affect change on behalf of candidates, causes, and the American people,” said Espinosa.
“Whether it’s our national security credentials, public policy experience, or knowledge of the inner workings of the DC political ecosystem, Conexión is bringing unmatched experience to the table.”