Promoting advertising in Spain

In 1928, on the eve of the celebration of the Barcelona International Exhibition of 1929, Roldós and Company led the first alliance of advertising agencies in the country and signed the constitution of la Empresa Española Roldós-Tiroleses, S.A. de Publicidad, it was the result of the union of several outstanding companies such as Roldós i Companyia, Los Tiroleses, Helios, Prado Tello, Agència Reyes and Societat General d'Anuncis de España, with the aim of offering more efficient and expansive advertising.

ts growth was not only reflected in its network of offices, with a presence in eleven Spanish cities, but also in its involvement in key events in the sector, such as the 1st National Advertising Congress in Barcelona, which showed the rise of advertising in Catalonia, or the celebration of the Exhibition of Advertising Ideas for Posters and Press Announcements, consolidating its image as a leader. In addition, he promoted the creation of l'Associació d'Eempreses de Publicitat de Barcelona (el Gremi), an event that contributed to the strengthening of the sector. However, this initiative ended in 1932 and the agency continued to offer its services under the name Agència Roldós. In 1933, the agency merged with the reputable Publicitat Gispert agency, giving way to l' Agencia de Publicidad Roldós-Gispert, S.A.

Creativity and resilience in difficult times

The period before the Spanish Civil War also witnessed a new era in advertising, characterized by the boom in consumption and an artistic revolution that had an impact on advertising design. In this context, Roldós-Gispert established itself as a reference in the sector, actively participating in industry events and maintaining a loyal client portfolio, among which were brands such as Frigidaire, Calzados Segarra and Pastillas Aspaime.

The Spanish Civil War had a significant impact on the Roldós family's businesses. Both the Roldós-Gispert advertising agency and the newspaper Las Noticias, were deeply affected by the conflict. After the war, the agency changed its name to Roldós, S.A. and it opened to the new generation of creatives who were starting to stand out in the country, like Agustín Centelles, Joaquim Muntañola or Marçal Moliné contributed to the creative rebirth of the company, which established itself as a relevant actor in the Spanish advertising scene, despite the political and social tensions of the moment.

During this period, the agency adapted to the advances of the advertising industry and contributed to the consolidation of modern advertising in Spain, while offering creative, marketing and public relations services.

Renewal time of changes

In the 60s and 70s, the Spanish advertising scene experienced a boom, driven by internationalization and the arrival of multinational agencies that arrived in Spain with very advanced and sophisticated techniques. However, the economic crisis of the 1970s affected many local agencies, including some of the larger ones. In this context of international competition and economic crisis, Roldós, S.A. he had to adapt - despite having a creative services branch, Roldós-Tuset - and opted for a change in his business model; specifically decided to change its service offering to an agency more specialized in the planning, processing and management of advertisements.  Again, despite the economic recession and the transformation of the advertising market, the agency continued its activity without interruption and remained a benchmark in the knowledge of local advertising, serving small and medium-sized companies. In view of this trajectory, in 1989, the agency received the Millennium Award 88, for being the oldest company in the Advertising Business Association.   

The decade of the 2000s began with a change of location, Roldós was no longer located on Carrer Vergara to move to Passeig de Sant Joan, coinciding with an important structural and strategic change of the agency. The arrival of the Internet and its growing role in advertising radically changed the media landscape. This, together with the print media crisis, led the agency to reorient the business model to adapt to the new times. That's when Roldós Publicidad began to transform into today's Roldós Media, a media agency specialized not only in traditional media, but also in online media planning, which allowed it to attract new advertisers and improve the quality of the services they offered.

Also, in response to the growing complexity of the media landscape, the agency had to reconfigure its structure to meet the advertising planning needs of advertisers, an adjustment that not only included the integration of new digital channels, but also the sophistication of media planning processes, which became more complex and specialized.