This year, APPLE TREE has again earned exceptionally positive ratings in SCOPEN’s PRSCOPE study, a comprehensive review of communication agencies nationwide. We are very fortunate to have secured the top position in assessments from both our competitors and clients. Additionally, more than 875 managers from leading Spanish companies have evaluated and acknowledged our performance.

But what I’m particularly proud of is that, for six consecutive years, we’ve been the sole communication agency in our country, consistently ranked in the top 10. Yes, the only one! Despite not being the largest in the sector, nor the most well-known, and in fact, being relatively young, we stand out as the only agency consistently recognised in the top 10 by both the market, our clients, and even our competitors. No one else has achieved this.

This has led me to wonder what our team, especially our management team, must be doing right. I attribute our consistent success at the ‘top’ (and I sincerely hope this continues in the future, fingers crossed!) to APPLE TREE‘s core values and leadership approach.

As I see it, we have four values that set us apart as a strategic agency that lives by and for INNOVATION and NEW THINKING.

Kindness. In my opinion, kindness is the only ingredient that guarantees teamwork. With good people, you can build organisations that foster a good atmosphere and happier, more motivated professionals. We incorporate a BB assessment in our recruiting process, valuing both high performance and good values in our new hires.

Courage. Daring to challenge “the status quo”, to try new things that have not yet been done, not accepting that things must be done one way and, above all, thinking big–reaching for the moon! This value has to be the one that guides us as we face our day-to-day lives, no matter what.

Curiosity. People who practice the same old methods and don’t want to learn more skills than the ones they have already mastered are, in my opinion, at a professional dead-end. Our professionals cannot say, “I don’t do this”, but must instead think “, I have to learn a lot about this” in order to keep up with the times.

The ‘Honours Diploma’. Our professionals must work to achieve maximum excellence in everything they do; they must not be satisfied with an “A”; they must always want to push themselves further–get that honours degree.

Regarding leadership, we have a distinct vision of the qualities our leaders should possess. Must they have charisma, vision, strategic insight, and be highly commercial? The answer is NO. In my view, the primary attributes of a leader are generosity and a willingness to serve. This is precisely what all of us at the agency strive for daily—dedicating ourselves to allowing our people to shine, learn, develop, and succeed. Our top partners and managers should always be available to assist and collaborate with teams and clients. Our directors are very hands-on, and we always try to be on top of every detail.

At the team level, I believe individuals must take responsibility for their performance—the well-known concept of ‘accountability.’ I don’t accept the notion that when people underperform, it’s solely the fault of the organisation, the client, or the circumstances. In this regard, my vision is clear: every professional must strive and give their utmost effort to achieve ‘excellence every day.’ They should constantly be pushing for that  ‘honours degree’. If they fall short, it’s not due to external factors but rather because we, as a team, haven’t done well enough.

With responsibility comes recognition. Since the inception of APPLE TREE, we’ve consistently shared between 10% and 15% of the company’s annual profit among our team members—our ‘manzanitos’—when we successfully meet the year’s budget. We view this distribution as a collective responsibility and a testament to everyone’s hard work.

If we can persist in cultivating leaders characterised by generosity and a commitment to service, maintaining a workforce that takes ownership of their performance, and consistently upholding our four core values, we will continue to be well-regarded in the future by both customers and competitors.

For our part, we will continue to put the best of our NEW THINKING, hard work, and talent toward achieving this goal.

Carme Miro

CEO and Founder

APPLE TREE