Gut’s bold expansion proves that agency brands still matter

“Everything we wrote down on one page when we started is still the same,” he says. “We’re a brave agency for brave clients. Courage, transparency and intuition - none of that changes, no matter how big we get.”

And these brave clients include the likes of AB InBev, Mercado Libre, Tim Hortons, P&G, Kraft Heinz and DoorDash.

A brand with a point of view

If there’s one lesson Ramos wants the industry to take from Gut's rise, it’s that agency brands still matter.

“Agencies forget the power of branding,” he says. “Maybe that’s what some networks are rediscovering now. It’s so important, so interesting.”

He says it with a smile, but the point stands. As legacy names like DDB appear at risk of disappearing, Gut is doubling down on building its own identity.

“When I see brands like DDB disappearing, it’s sad,” he admits. “For us ad-nerds, those names meant something. DDB was an inspiration. It almost invented modern advertising. But in our case, the Gut brand is growing, expanding, getting stronger. That’s unusual in our business.”

It’s a revealing contrast: where others dilute, Gut distils. Its name, values and tone are consistent from Buenos Aires to Amsterdam. Ramos’s inbox might now be full of management spreadsheets and the logistics of a big business, but he still talks about the agency like a band protecting its sound.

Culture as the operating system

That focus on brand isn’t just for clients, it’s internal too. As part of the integration with Globant, Ramos and Bigio have spent months onboarding new staff, or “Gutsies”, through an almost ritual introduction to the culture.

“We’re talking to everyone about who we are and what we stand for,” Ramos says. “It’s been a recommitment to our culture. Even for us, it’s a reminder of why we do this. We’re not about playing it safe; we believe bravery means business.”

Every new recruit learns the same three values: courage, transparency and intuition. But there are over 50 principles that spell out what those words mean in practice. Ramos jokes that Gut has its own language, but the approach has a serious intent: to keep a coherent creative culture as the company scales.

It’s a delicate balance - Globant brings deep expertise in AI, data and digital transformation, while Gut brings the human spark. Ramos frames it neatly: “They’re daring tech; we’re brave creativity.” The result, he says, is a single network that can now offer end-to-end marketing, from creative through to data analytics, without losing the craft or instinct that defined its early work.

Globant itself, one of Latin America’s most successful technology companies, employing more than 30,000 people across five continents, is also expanding globally. Best known for helping brands modernize through data, AI, and digital transformation, it counts Google, Fifa, and Electronic Arts among its clients.

Creativity in the age of AI

For Ramos, AI isn’t a threat but another tool in the creative process.

“We love AI,” he says. “As a creative, you can either fear it or love it – there’s nothing in between.”

But how should creative people future-proof themselves? His advice is simple: “Learn everything about AI. Immerse yourself in it. But still learn how to sit down with a blank sheet of paper and sketch out an idea. Never lose that.”

That line captures the philosophy running through Gut’s growth: technology may extend the canvas, but the idea remains the art. In an era obsessed with automation, Gut’s proposition—that bravery drives business—feels almost radical.

“The best creatives are curious by nature,” Ramos says. “They’re using AI to make ideas better, not to replace them. In the end, ideas will always be valuable - more valuable than ever.”

Still founder-led, still creative at the core

Ramos and Bigio have now built three agencies together—Agnaldo, David, and Gut – and the chemistry shows. “We’re still creatives at heart,” Ramos says. “We talk about ideas all the time. It would be like owning a sneaker factory and not talking about sneakers.”

He’s aware that Globant’s backing gives Gut the firepower to compete with the global networks, but he believes its independence of spirit remains the real differentiator. The business still feels owner-managed. “We’re designing the agency we wish we’d worked for,” he said.

So what next? The agency now has a new office in Bogotá and Copenhagen. However, there is one obvious gap in the coverage: London. Ramos himself reveals the agency already “holds the handle for ‘Gut London’ so one maybe one day soon”.

But this agency is not about real estate. It is about the brand. And perhaps that’s the lesson. While some chase efficiency, Gut is doubling down on belief - proof that a strong brand, led by creatives who still care about the work, can thrive even inside a tech giant.