Spending a month working from another office may seem, at first, like nothing more than a change of scenery. But for me, the experience was an opportunity to get a closer look at a different work environment, understand how another communications market operates, learn from and exchange knowledge with a different team, even though we are all part of the same company, now working in another country. I was selected to participate in Sherlock Communications’ Exchange Program in Buenos Aires and, for a month, temporarily became part of the Argentine office’s routine.
During this time, I took part in some projects in Argentina, followed the team’s day-to-day work closely, and learned about different ways of working in public relations and media relations. At the same time, I was also able to share practices that are part of our daily work in Brazil.
I had already been to Buenos Aires at the end of the previous year, during my first international trip. Returning a few months later, this time for work, completely changed the experience. It was my first exchange program and, to this day, the most incredible professional, cultural and personal experience I have ever had.
This time, I got to experience Buenos Aires beyond its tourist attractions. I lived the routine of someone who works and lives in the city, spending time with a local team and experiencing a little of everyday life there.
Getting to know another communications market
During the first week, my main goal was to understand how the office worked. I got to know the team better, along with their routines, schedules, dynamics and the way projects were handled. Some days I worked from the office, while on others I worked remotely.
Little by little, I started noticing some differences between the Argentine and Brazilian markets. One of them is related to the size and structure of the media landscape itself. In Brazil, we are used to working with a very large number of outlets and editorial sections, while the Argentine market is more compact.
This creates its own challenges for public relations work. In Brazil, the breadth of the media landscape allows us to approach the same story from different angles, adapting it for sections such as business, economy, technology, tourism or ESG, for example. In Argentina, with fewer outlets and editorial sections, it can be more challenging to expand these possibilities and find different ways to explore the same story.
I also noticed differences in the channels used to build relationships with journalists. In Brazil, WhatsApp is a very common tool in our day-to-day media relations work, alongside email and phone calls. The same is true in Argentina, but LinkedIn also plays a strong role, not only as a way to follow journalists, their posts and updates, but also as a contact tool, especially when there is no WhatsApp number available.
Another situation where this difference in context became particularly clear was during the promotion of the new edition of REPCONE, an initiative by Rede de Jornalistas Negras por Diversidade na Comunicação (Rede JP). The campaign was already being handled by our Brazil team and, during the exchange, I supported the adaptation of the materials into Spanish with the goal of increasing registrations in Argentina.
We discussed how to present the opportunity while taking into account differences in the way racial and gender issues are understood in each country. It was a good example of how adapting a story for another market goes far beyond simply translating a text.
These differences also came up in our everyday challenges. Each market has its own reality, which changes the channels, contacts and ways of building an approach. But the need to understand the context and find the best way to reach each audience remains the same.
The axchange goes both ways
One of the best parts of the exchange program is the opportunity to share knowledge. As part of the program, each participant is invited to lead one or two training sessions during their time abroad, sharing a practice, skill or experience that can contribute to the office’s routine.
During the third week, I led my first training session, “Media Relations in Sherlock Comms Brazil,” giving the team an overview of how we approach media relations in Brazil. We talked about adapting global stories to the Brazilian context, finding local data and hooks, personalizing pitches and building media lists. I also shared some of the strategies we use to maintain relationships with journalists on a daily basis, such as events, media kits and monthly meetings, as well as the importance of creating these opportunities to connect with them.
During the fourth and final week, I led my second training session, “Visual Content for PR and Social Media,” focused on producing photos and videos during events. This is something that is very much part of my life as a photographer and also of our PR routine as a whole, especially because of the high number of events that take place in Brazil and that our clients participate in.
In Brazil, it is common for PR teams to document an event and make images available to journalists alongside a press release. A good photo can help a story get published, but the material can also be used on social media, in presentations, case studies and other internal communications materials at Sherlock Comms.
That is why I shared some of the practices we use in our daily work, such as varying shots and framing, capturing the environment and context, thinking about horizontal photos for the press, and producing short, vertical videos for social media. The idea was not to turn my PR colleagues into photographers, but to show how small choices can make this material more useful. In Argentina, there is not the same intense flow of events as in Brazil, but it was still an opportunity to discuss how to make better use of the moments when this type of content is available.
Exploring Buenos Aires
Beyond work, presentations, projects and meetings, throughout the month I also had the opportunity to visit parts of Buenos Aires that I had not seen before, enjoy my weekends and practice Spanish in everyday situations. I arrived in the city with the natural insecurity of someone who is still learning a new language, outside their home country, and left feeling much more comfortable. Practice made all the difference. I am still not fluent in Spanish, but I lost some of my fear of taking risks. Before, I would think a lot before speaking. There, I simply had to try.
This also had a direct impact on my work routine. Weekly meetings with one of our clients bring together teams from Brazil, Mexico and Colombia and are held in Spanish. Until then, I usually gave the Brazil updates in English, a language I am also still learning. During the exchange, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to develop my Spanish further.
Beyond work, spending time with the team also allowed me to experience a little of the local routine. Lunch was a very social moment. Around 1 p.m., we would sit down to eat together, talk and exchange ideas that went beyond work — travel, language differences, and even words that are similar or completely different between Portuguese and Spanish. They were simple moments, but culturally very meaningful to me.
The Buenos Aires office itself helped create this atmosphere. It is a very cozy and welcoming space, which made these moments of interaction happen naturally. And, of course, there was mate, such an important part of Argentine culture and also of the office routine. I tried it for the first time and loved it!
I also celebrated my birthday at the office, together with Lucila, whose birthday was one day before mine. We also had a farewell happy hour at a place near the office, bringing the exchange to an end with another opportunity to spend time with the team. From my very first day, everyone was incredibly welcoming and willing to listen, teach and share their experiences, which made me feel like part of the team even though I was only there for a month.
What I brought back
When I think about the exchange, I cannot completely separate what I learned professionally from the personal experience. I came back with a better understanding of how another communications market operates, along with new references for media relations, strategies and ways of working. I also had the opportunity to share knowledge with a different team and realize that practices that feel completely natural in our daily work in Brazil can be new to other markets, and vice versa.
On a personal level, the experience helped me work through some of my fears and become even stronger as a professional. Leaving my city, my routine and my familiar environment to spend a month in another country made me realize that we do not always need to be completely prepared before accepting a challenge. Sometimes, the preparation happens while the experience is happening.
That was the case with Spanish. It was the case with work. And it was the case with the experience of living somewhere else. I came back from Buenos Aires with new professional references, more confidence communicating in Spanish, and a broader perspective on how different Latin American markets build their communications strategies.
But above all, I came back certain that an exchange between offices also happens when we are willing to listen, observe and learn from the way other people approach the same work.en que otras personas hacen el mismo trabajo.