Alexander Onaindia is the Co-founder and CEO of Distinction Agency, a marketing agency that works with athletes, businesses and social media influencers. Based in Miami, Alexander has developed strong relationships with Fortune 500 companies and emerging start-ups, marquee media, professional athletes, social media influencers and non-profit organizations through strategic marketing and communications campaigns.

• CEO Hack: Networking with intention everyday through the small things
• CEO Nugget: Focus on getting 1% better every day
• CEO Defined: Service and leadership

Website: https://www.distinctionagency.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexonaindia/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aonaindia?lang=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-onaindia-71257783/

FULL INTERVIEW

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Transcription

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[00:00:02.20] – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, start-ups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkness values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

[00:00:30.60] – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I Am CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today, Alexander O'Nadia of Distinction Agency. Alexander is awesome to have you on the show.

[00:00:40.70] – Alexander Onaindia

Appreciate you having me, Gresh.

[00:00:42.60] – Gresham Harkless

No problem. Super excited to have you on. And before we jump in, I want to read a little bit more about Alexander, so you can hear about all the awesome things that he's doing. Alexander is the co-founder and CEO of Distinction Agency, a marketing agency that works with athletes, businesses, and social media influencers. Based in Miami, Alexander has developed strong relationships with Fortune five hundred companies and emerging startups, marquee media, professional athletes, social media influencers, and nonprofit organizations through strategic marketing and communication campaigns. Alexander, are you ready to speak to the I AMCEO community?

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[00:01:16.79] – Alexander Onaindia

Let's do it.

[00:01:18.09] – Gresham Harkless

Let's do it. Let's make it happen. So to kick everything off, I wanted to kinda rewind the clock, so to speak, hear a little bit more about how you got started. Take us through your CEO story. We'll let you get started with the business.

[00:01:27.90] – Alexander Onaindia

Yeah. Absolutely. So I grew up, you know, always being fascinated with sports and, you know, played growing up and through high school. And I would say by my junior and senior year of high school, I knew I wasn't gonna play much further past that. Right? So looking at how you can still somewhat go down the path of being in the industry. And so for me, you know, I was kinda looking at schools where I could, you know, go and study sports management. So I went off to Florida State University, you know, I was excited to go there. Big athletics program, obviously, and, you know, focus on the sports management side. And so in my time there, you know, had a couple of different internships that allowed me to really get started in this industry. You know, my first internship was with a PR firm, focused on some different sports clients, both brands and universities, and helping them, with various different things.

So throughout that experience, I enjoyed it and learned a lot more about what PR and marketing really are and how it relate to the sports business. I think I was very fortunate too. At the same time that I was going to school and then even when I graduated and went into my first agency job, social media was really just becoming a thing. You know, it was really starting to take off and you're starting to see brands use it a lot more and certain talent, leverage it as well. And so that was a great opportunity for me because as an intern and then even as an entry-level, you know, employee, a lot of the more senior executives and people didn't want anything to do with social media. There weren't necessarily positions designed just for that at the time. And so I was able to learn a lot, manage some accounts for both brands and individuals, and kinda see the power that had.

At the same time, you know, I was doing a lot on the traditional PR side, working with a couple of agencies, and the Miami Dolphins communications department as well, and learned a lot about, you know, corporate communications and working with startups and all these different variables, and knew I was really passionate about it. And I think kind of the turning point for me was I was working with some consumer brands, around twenty-sixteen, twenty seventeen that had brand ambassadors who were athletes. And so really building out holistic marketing and communications campaigns, leveraging not only the brand and the product, but the athlete or the celebrity talent, was something I was really passionate about. And, you know, saw this huge need for designing these campaigns that not only set up interviews, you know, with a Forbes or an ESPN magazine but then also building it out on social.

So how do you, you know, really drive interest, and create great content that brands want? And so really enjoyed that process, and we were seeing as well a need for influencer marketing. That was something that was emerging. Agencies didn't know how to handle that at first. It just kinda fell in the same bucket as, you know, athlete marketing or traditional PR. And so as I was learning influencer marketing, I was finding there weren't many agencies at that time, you know, focused on helping those individuals. You know, it was kind of the wild wild west. It still is a little bit. But, you know, there wasn't much, and so these influencers didn't know, you know, how much to charge for a campaign, what the deliverables would look like, how to negotiate with a brand, you know, in a way that you know, so saw that huge need, in twenty eighteen with my business partner. We started Distinction Agency and, you know, really focusing on serving three types of individuals, athletes, influencers, and businesses.

[00:04:52.10] – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I absolutely love that. And as a, you know, big sports junkie, I definitely love how you, you know, you transition from that to building your agency, and still those foundational principles, in the beginning, are still evident. And then it's kinda awesome that you've been able to do that. I'm I'm a huge Peter Wark fan. I don't know if you know Peter Wark. But he was yes. I was a huge fan before he went to the Bengals. But, yeah, I used to always love watching, Florida State as well too. So definitely, you know, love how you've been able to kinda transition that. So, I know you talk about it a little bit. Can you take us through, like, kinda your process and how you work? I know you work with different client bases, but could you take us through kind of like the foundational principles of that?

[00:05:28.50] – Alexander Onaindia

Absolutely. So, you know, there's three types of of groups that we serve, you know, specifically the athletes and influencers first. We customize everything we do for them. I think the core element that we do for each one is brand partnerships. So looking to add to their brand portfolio. A lot of individuals come to us, and they're already doing some partnerships. It's probably something mainstream, like maybe a shoe deal an energy drink, or a water company. But they're looking to diversify and work with different types of companies, maybe industries that they're passionate about, like technology, fitness, fashion, etcetera. And we also have individuals who wanna get involved with startups, and maybe even look at nontraditional endorsement deals like equity opportunities. So that's something that we build out with each individual, and each individual is very different on what they're looking for in the brand partnerships.

And so we help them, you know, bring that those extra opportunities to the table. You know, with the athletes specifically, a lot of times, they do have an agent. However, that agent might be focused on, you know, their top clients on their roster, their Pro Bowl players, or their multiple-time stars for marketing, because they're not, you know, specialists in marketing. And so the players who are kind of on that next level who, you know, start for their team or have won an Olympic gold medal or whatever that might be, there's so much untapped marketing opportunity. So we help them try to find those extra partnerships and be a valuable partner there. We also offer services like public relations and content creation and really help these individuals build a brand. You know, I like to say that building a brand isn't one campaign that you do for a few months or anything like that. It's a lifestyle.

So you really have to identify, you know, how you're gonna build this brand, what you want your tone to be, you know, both with the media and in your content, you know, who you wanna work with, and so we help them through that as well. And then on the businesses side, you know, we operate kind of like a traditional agency in a sense, you know, offering services, you know, like social media marketing, public relations, content creation. We just did our first event, during Super Bowl here in Miami this year as well. So have those services as well for businesses. And what I think makes us unique is we're able to really look at how we can leverage the talent we work with to help those brands and also offer some traditional services, that benefit them.

[00:07:48.39] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. I absolutely love that. And I think too and I don't know if you find this with clients. And I know you you you mentioned your your secret sauce. Do you find that because, you know, I don't wanna say it's completely new, but it's probably definitely ever evolving kinda like the influencer and just marketing in general and PR as well? Do you find that a lot of the clients maybe, they just wanna do, you know, what they're really, really great at and having that opportunity to kinda lean on somebody that able to kinda come up with those maybe creative ideas or they might see as out of box ideas prevents that really great kinda relationship and really co, co, creation opportunities.

[00:08:24.50] – Alexander Onaindia

Yeah. For sure. And I think a lot of times, you know, we talk to brands who they're doing a really great job maybe with their social media marketing content, but maybe they're lacking on the public relations side or vice versa. And so we try to look at, alright, how can we storytell through our content and then through the PR side. So an example would be like, you know, if we work with an Olympic gold medalist, you know, building out an endorsement campaign where that individual is promoting that product on social and creating content and doing appearances, but then also leveraging that story on PR.

So maybe this was a traditional consumer brand that all of a sudden sports media are interested in talking to. And there's also, you know, an entrepreneurial element to that about how an athlete is working with various brands. So that's kinda how we look at it as, you know, we try to what you're doing well already and then how we can, you know, reach those on top untapped areas. And I think the example of, you know, leveraging an athlete to get some sports press talking about your brand that might not have a lot to do with sports is a great way to do that.

[00:09:30.50] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. And I love kinda like the organic nature of it because I think so many times, you know, you might just have you know if something had doesn't have to do with sports, you just have it plopped there and it doesn't kinda organically be it isn't organic. We can kinda massage through that, you know, through the way that it's communicated. But I love, you know, really thinking about it and getting creative on that story piece and what the brand stands for and figuring out how to make that transition, but doing it in kind of a seamless way is definitely a huge thing. Absolutely. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I wanted to, switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

[00:10:08.10] – Alexander Onaindia

Yeah. So the habit, I think, that it has really helped our business grow and it just has helped me personally, is always looking at networking every day. And it doesn't have to be getting on the phone or sending a bunch of emails. But it can be even little things like you're sitting on the couch, there's a football game on in the background, and you're sending a few messages on Instagram or LinkedIn or engaging with people's content. And I found that to be huge if you can just dedicate, you know, a small part of your day to engaging with people, whether they're people you already know and work with or people you aspire to get to know and work with and, you know, try to set up time to speak with them in the future. I found that to be really successful, and it's an easy little hack because, you know, it doesn't have to be something where you carve out all your day. It can be just something as simple as you're already on Instagram, you're already kinda scrolling. Why not use it with intention, and try to get something out of that?

[00:11:04.89] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. I love the word intention. And I think too that, you know, kinda speaking to, obviously, what you do with, you know, these these athletes and these and these organizations and these, brands, helping them kinda see things in a different light. And I love how you talked about networking, but looking at it in a different way. Because I think sometimes we don't necessarily see networking as that, but getting that opportunity to engage, as you said, and interact and connect at its heart can be done, obviously, in a face-to-face networking event, can be done, you know, via phone call, but can do be done as well on social media. So I love that aspect as well too that you kinda presented.

[00:11:37.10] – Alexander Onaindia

Yeah. Absolutely. I think I think it's something that anybody can incorporate in their day and, you know, it's just something easy to do. You're already on these platforms, you know, just use it with intent and try to find ways, you know, that will ultimately benefit you or your business.

[00:11:51.79] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. And you and anybody who, you know, you might be an accountability partner or something and saying, hey, you know, why are you spending so much time on social media? Now you can say that you're networking for sure, and that always helps happen. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:12:01.29] – Alexander Onaindia

Yeah. Yeah. Because I wanna get those raffle screen time reports, someone will say, it's not after five.

[00:12:07.29] – Gresham Harkless

Exactly. I absolutely love that. So, now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. So that could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something you would tell a client or if you were to hop into a time machine, you might even tell your younger business self.

[00:12:20.50] – Alexander Onaindia

Yeah. That's that's a great question. And then I think it's something I would tell my younger self and really anybody who's looking to start a business or is in the early stage and that's, you know, something I've heard from some mentors and people along the way is, focus on getting one percent better every day, both as an individual and a business. There are very few, if any, overnight sensations. And if you can just focus on getting a little bit better in every aspect of what you're doing, you will see the results over time. So that's what, you know, I try to focus on is, you know, how can I just be a little bit better today and those results start to add up over time?

[00:12:58.00] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely love that. And I think too that, I don't know if you would consider yourself, you know, competitive, but having that competitive mindset, I think sometimes you can kinda push it externally. You can get caught in the comparison mindset, which is not great. But if you have that competitive fire, but you kind of, point it internally, and you're able to say, hey. How can I be better than, you know, Gresh was yesterday or Alexander was yesterday? And just have that mentality. It helps you to kinda continue to grow, but do it, I think so, in a kind of a healthier way.

[00:13:28.10] – Alexander Onaindia

Yeah. For sure. And I think, you know, it's human nature to compare yourself to other individuals. Right? But if you look internally and say, you know, what did I do yesterday? How can I just improve a little bit more today? That's how you can do it realistically because you're not gonna go from, you know, working a 10:11 hour day to a sixteen-hour day every single day. Like, it's just not realistic. You know? So how can you just get a little bit better with everything you're doing? And it can even come down to how you write a better email or, you know, how you make a better introduction or get on a phone call with somebody, but just looking at those little areas to improve.

[00:14:02.50] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Those little areas add up to big areas and and become those overnight successes that happen in, you know, like, 10:12 years as well too. So I love that perspective. And, now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So, Alexander, what does being a CEO mean to you?

[00:14:20.79] – Alexander Onaindia

Yeah. I think it's it's service and leadership. So I think it's serving, you know, your team first and foremost. A lot of people think, you know, I have my own business. I don't have a boss anymore. And that might be the case when it's just yourself or you and your business partner. But as you grow and have employees and people that look up to you, you know, you're serving them. And in the client industry, I'm serving each one of my clients every day. So how can I make sure that I'm serving them? And, you know, if I'm falling short in any area, how can I improve that and communicate why that happened? So that's what it means on the service side. And then the leadership side, you know, I'm really big on leading by example. I think, you know, there's nothing I won't tell anybody on my team to do that I wouldn't do myself. So that's what I really think it's about.

[00:15:07.00] – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. Absolutely. That service piece and and being a true leader is practicing what you preach in a a lot of, aspects in the business and and in life, I think too. So being able to kinda couple those two things and have that perspective and understand why you're doing the things that you're doing and the and the people that you're supporting, the people that you're you're coaching, I guess, and collaborating with and you wanna see succeed, provides a really great perspective on, you know, why we do the things that we do when we really drill down and look at it. Absolutely. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Alexander, truly appreciate, that definition. I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know and, of course, how best they can get a hold of you and find out all the awesome things you're working on.

[00:15:52.39] – Alexander Onaindia

Yeah. I appreciate that, Gresham. This was a pleasure. And you can find more information about our business at distinction agency dot com, and we're on all social media platforms, as well. And then my personal, platforms are just my first and last name. So look forward to connecting with, as many of you as possible.

[00:16:09.50] – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Thank you so much. And to make it even easier, we'll have the links and information in the show notes as well. But I appreciate you again, my friend, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

[00:16:17.70] – Alexander Onaindia

Thanks. You

[00:16:19.79] – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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