Maria Baera Productora Periodista
After working almost 10 years in Spain –mostly as a TV reporter for Televisión Española, the largest audiovisual group in her native country-, María García Barea, a journalist by profession, decided to move to the United States to give a spin to her career, encouraged by the evolution of media towards digital.
She settled in Los Angeles, California, where she completed her Marketing studies at UCLA. In 2015 she moved to New York and began her journey in global brand consulting with Interbrand where she is now the Global Marketing Director, Social, and Digital Media, developing the content strategy for social media with a focus on creating audiovisual content.
“During the almost six years that I have been responsible for the video unit, we have produced interviews with the CEOs and CMOs of leading brands in the market, video series of topics related to branding and also projects related to DEI, highlighting the talent, projects, and personal stories through our 14 offices around the world,” explains García Barea.
In 2020, during the lockdown, since they could not hold the annual face-to-face event in October – the Best Global Brands ranking – they decided to do something completely different and that is how the documentary Business Unusual was born.
“The project was led by Emmy Award-winning Flicker Filmworks, and we decided to use a hybrid format – Zoom and Outdoor – to conduct the interviews in compliance with COVID-19 protocols. The documentary deals with the challenges that brands faced during the pandemic and the need to adapt to a new reality, the increase of social justice movements, and how brands have lost the fear of positioning themselves for the common good. All from the perspective of experts and brands such as Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Toyota Salesforce, Amazon, among others,” she said.
García Barea is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The National Television Academy and has judged Emmy entries in the ‘Overall Excellence’ and ‘Community Service’ categories for the NATAS Suncoast Chapter, where she also holds active membership. This year she won two Telly Awards in the ‘Remote Production’ and ‘Social Issues’ categories.
Currently, she is promoting, together with director Manolo Campos, with whom she has worked on different video productions for Interbrand, a series based on the short film Precursor that Campos directed for Filmstorms. Precursor is inspired by social justice movements like Black Lives Matter.
“Through Precursor: The Series, I aim to make people rethink their perspectives about issues that are key to contributing to the betterment of society. We’ll include conversations about immigration, transgenderism, bullying, Gen Z & Gen X, politics, feminism, etc. Each episode is meant to be educational and act as a catalyst for social change,” she explained.
In Precursor: The Series, García Barea takes on the role of producer. She is focused on looking for a partner that can help to co-produce and amplify the idea. “We’re in the process of pitching to brands, content networks, and TV stations. My goal is to start the production of this series in the next couple of months and continue raising attention to the problems and injustices that minorities face daily. And to enrich perspectives and points of view in order to foster a societal culture of tolerance, respect, and understanding. I am sure that after Precursor, I’ll have the opportunity to take on more social impact projects.”
“I also intend to continue working at Interbrand, partnering with some of the best global brands to create inspiring content on what’s next,” she concluded.
Watch the short film Precursor
