Georgia Entertainment recently released the names of the 200 Most Influential of Georgia’s Creative Industries. The individuals are highlighted in the bi-annual printed publication – Georgia Entertainment: The Creative Economy Journal. See the digital version. Our 200 Spotlight series showcases many of those that were included.
By Carol Badaracco Padgett, Senior Writer
Roberto Gomez Jr., SVP, Chief Creative Officer, Standard Press at the Assembly Studios Atlanta grand opening
Roberto Gomez Jr. knows the promise of Georgia’s creative industries on a completely personal level. The multi-lingual industry executive was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised in Atlanta, where he lives to this day and works in the creative industry that has always fueled his passion.
Over three decades in the media industry, Gomez Jr. has worked with clients such as Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Sony Entertainment, and Paramount Pictures. Well-rounded in experience, he has also done work for the White House, the United Nations, and a number of other notable enterprises.
When asked what he loves most about the Peach State, Gomez Jr. doesn’t miss a beat.
“I started my career in the creative industry in Georgia back in the 1980s,” he states. “As a young artist, actor, and musician, I could feel the energy and momentum building up, and gaining support not only from the talented individuals but also from the community leadership and the state government. This support gave me the opportunity to stay here and pursue my career in Georgia.”
Gomez Jr. says his main objective is to help his clients achieve success and growth in their businesses by designing innovative content and marketing strategies that help them connect and attract action. Alongside his role at Standard Press, he also serves as the American Advertising Federation-ATL Board Vice President, Board Chairman of ARTE-GA, and he formerly served as the DC Chapter President of The National Black & Latino Council.
A creative by nature, he credits the Peach State for giving him the immense opportunities necessary to achieve his business goals while working in the industry he loves.
“Despite my passion for music, I was always drawn to creative design and advertising, which led me to study creative design at the Art Institute of Atlanta in 1986. As a crazy creative, I also dabbled in acting and film, and Atlanta’s up and coming film industry at the time provided an outlet for my creativity,” Gomez Jr. notes.
Gomez at the Atlanta Film Festival
Along with finding an energizing creative outlet in Atlanta and Georgia overall, he also found a welcoming sense of community.
“As a Latino in Georgia at the time, there were not many of us in the industry. However, I have had the opportunity to see our community grow and [to]be a part of it,” Gomez Jr. shares about his journey. “In the late ‘80s, I worked for a publishing firm as a creative designer and [I] eventually started my own advertising and marketing firm, specializing in multicultural marketing and partnering with other firms in Atlanta.”
In the years since, Gomez Jr. has watched the Creative Economy in Georgia continue to rise and to provide the same opportunity for his two sons.
“One has graduated from SCAD, in film, and the other in culinary,” he notes.
Today, the Creative Economy continues to fortify Gomez Jr.’s own aspirations and dreams. “Now, as the chief creative officer of Studio SP, I can not only create good work for our clients but also elevate my community and the industry in Georgia. I believe that the state has a thriving Creative Economy that can bring amazing ideas to the forefront of the process, not just a production economy.”
Alongside the opportunity that Georgia has provided him, Gomez Jr. credits a colleague he considers to be a life-changing mentor and role model: Daniel Vargas.
“We met over 20 years ago when I was developing my agency and needed some guidance. At the time, [he]was the CEO/president of Vargas & Amigos, which was the first Hispanic and minority advertising agency in Atlanta and the Southeast. We started working on projects together and later merged into one agency. Dan’s background is impressive [once the executive art director at BBDO, creative director at Wells Rich Greene, and executive creative director at RSVT, among other top creative roles].”
In addition to noting Vargas’s professional work, Gomez Jr. says his community leadership, too, was unmatched — and something the Standard Press executive learned to emulate in his own life.
“He taught me the importance of knowing where you come from and balancing all sides of your creative spirit to support family, industry, and culture,” Gomez Jr. says of Vargas. “To this day, that is what empowers me to help others.”
