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Cognita Schools LATAM - Marketing Organization

Main Hub: Complete Overview

🔄 Last Updated: February 14, 2026

Table of Contents

What is Cognita Schools LATAM Marketing?

We are the marketing organization responsible for 36 schools across 5 countries in Latin America, driving enrollment growth through both short-term lead generation and long-term brand building.

Our Mission

To fill schools with the right students by creating powerful brands, generating high-quality leads, and delivering exceptional parent experiences throughout the enrollment journey.

Organization at a Glance

The Numbers

  • 36 Schools across Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Mexico
  • 71-75 Team Members (Regional + Office teams)
  • 5 Offices managing regional clusters
  • 2 Marketing Strategies: Short-term (performance) + Long-term (brand)

Geographic Coverage

🇧🇷 Brazil - 4 schools in São Paulo area
🇨🇴 Colombia - 13 schools across 7 cities
🇨🇱 Chile - 17 schools (13 mid-market, 4 premium)
🇲🇽 Mexico - 2 schools in Mexico City

Our Structure: Centralized Strategy, Distributed Execution

🎯 Strategic Hub (Panama)

Physical Location: Marketing Director only (1 person in Panama)
Reporting Structure: All marketing teams report to Marketing Director

What happens here:

  • LATAM-wide strategy and goal setting
  • Cross-country coordination
  • Budget allocation and governance
  • Brand standards and creative direction
  • Marketing operations governance

🌎 Distributed Teams (In-Country/Office-Based)

Physical Location: 70-74 people embedded in offices across 5 countries
Reporting Structure: Three main groups reporting to Marketing Director

Team Distribution:

  1. Performance Marketing Teams - Lead Generation Specialists + SDRs in each market
  2. Brand Marketing Teams - Brand & Communications Managers + School Communicators
  3. Service Layers - Marketing Ops + Designers embedded in offices

What happens here:

  • Paid advertising execution and lead generation
  • Local content creation and campaigns
  • Community events and school support
  • HubSpot operations and campaign tracking
  • Design and creative production

👉 Learn more: Performance Marketing
👉 Learn more: Brand Marketing
👉 Learn more: Marketing Operations

How We Work: Dual-Engine Model

graph LR
    subgraph Services[" Service Layers "]
        MO["Marketing Operations
3 Specialists"]
        CR["Creative Services
6.5 Designers"]
    end
    
    subgraph PM[" Performance "]
        LG["Lead Gen
Specialists"]
        SDR["SDRs"]
        PAG["Performance Media Agency
(Paid Digital)"]
    end
    
    subgraph BM[" Brand "]
        OM["Office
Managers"]
        COM["Communicators"]
        EVENTS["Events &
Content"]
        BAG["Brand Media & PR Agencies
(Offline + Digital)"]
    end
    
    MO -.->|"Setup & Analytics"| PM
    MO -.->|"Registration & Data"| BM
    
    CR -.->|"Creatives"| PM
    CR -.->|"Materials"| BM
    
    style PM fill:#fff4e1
    style BM fill:#ffe1f5
    style Services fill:#e1ffe1

Organization Chart

graph TD
    MD[Marketing Director
LATAM]
    
    HPM[Head of Performance Marketing]
    SOM[Senior Marketing Operations Manager]
    CD[Creative Director]
    OM[3 Brand & Communications
Managers]
    
    LG[3 Lead Generation Specialists]
    SDR[12-15 SDRs]
    MOS[3 Marketing Operations Specialists]
    COM[36 School Communicators]
    DES[6.5 Designers]
    
    MD --> HPM
    MD --> SOM
    MD --> CD
    MD --> OM
    
    HPM --> LG
    LG --> SDR
    SOM --> MOS
    OM --> COM
    CD --> DES
    
    style MD fill:#e1f5ff
    style HPM fill:#fff4e1
    style SOM fill:#e1ffe1
    style CD fill:#f5e1ff
    style OM fill:#ffe1f5
    style LG fill:#fff4e1
    style SDR fill:#fff4e1
    style MOS fill:#e1ffe1
    style COM fill:#ffe1f5
    style DES fill:#f5e1ff

Our Two Marketing Engines

⚡ Short-Term: Performance Marketing

Focus: Fill this year's enrollment spots
Timeframe: 0-3 months
Tactics: Paid ads, lead generation, SDR outreach, tour scheduling

Key Activities:

  • Facebook, Instagram, Google, TikTok advertising
  • Lead qualification and nurturing
  • SDR team managing inquiries
  • Cost-per-qualified-lead optimization

Team: 18-21 people distributed across markets

  • 3 Lead Gen Specialists (Brazil, Colombia+Mexico, Chile)
  • 12-15 SDRs (reporting to Lead Gen Specialists)
  • External agency support

👉 Learn more: Performance Marketing

🎨 Long-Term: Brand Marketing

Focus: Build lasting brand equity and community
Timeframe: 6-24 months
Tactics: Content, social media, PR, events, partnerships

Key Activities:

  • Organic social media and content creation
  • Open houses and community events
  • Parent newsletters and engagement
  • Local PR and media relationships
  • Brand positioning and storytelling

Team: 39 people distributed across 5 offices

  • 3 Brand & Communications Managers (Brazil; Chile; Colombia & Mexico cluster)
  • 36 School Communicators (one per school, trainee entry-level, reporting to Brand & Communications Managers)

👉 Learn more: Brand Marketing

Transversal Service Layers

Two teams serve BOTH Performance and Brand Marketing:

🔧 Marketing Operations

Role: Tech/data service layer
Team: 3 Marketing Operations Specialists (Brazil; Chile; Colombia & Mexico cluster)
Reports to: Marketing Director

What they do:

  • Manage HubSpot CRM (our central platform)
  • Set up campaign tracking and analytics
  • Create automation workflows
  • Ensure data quality and reporting
  • Support both lead generation AND brand campaigns

Service Model:

  • 40% supporting Performance Marketing
  • 40% supporting Brand Marketing
  • 20% LATAM-wide initiatives

👉 Learn more: Marketing Operations

🎨 Creative Services

Role: Design/creative service layer
Team: ~6.5 FTE Designers (distributed in offices)
Reports to: Creative Director

What they do:

  • Create ad creatives for paid campaigns
  • Design event materials and brand assets
  • Produce social media graphics
  • Develop school communication templates
  • Ensure brand consistency

Service Model:

  • ~50% supporting Performance Marketing (ads, landing pages)
  • ~50% supporting Brand Marketing (events, content, social)
  • Creative Director manages queue and prioritization

Leadership & Governance

Marketing Director LATAM

Role: Regional marketing leader for Cognita Schools LATAM
Focus: Strategic leadership, cross-country coordination, budget allocation, governance of both engines and service layers

Location: Panama (only person physically at HQ)

Direct Reports:

  • Head of Performance Marketing – manages 3 Lead Generation Specialists and the Performance Media Agency (Paid Digital)
  • Sr. Marketing Operations Manager – manages 3 Marketing Operations Specialists (Brazil; Chile; Colombia & Mexico cluster)
  • Creative Director – manages the Creative Services team (~6.5 Designers)
  • 3 Brand & Communications Managers – Brazil, Chile, and Colombia & Mexico cluster; each manages School Communicators

👉 Learn more: Marketing Director Role

How We Work: Key Principles

1. Centralize Strategy, Distribute Execution

  • Regional team sets direction and standards
  • Office teams execute with local adaptation
  • Best practices shared across offices

2. Data-Driven Decisions

  • HubSpot as single source of truth
  • Weekly performance reviews
  • Monthly cross-functional alignment
  • Quarterly strategic planning

3. Dual Engine (Performance + Brand)

  • Both engines run simultaneously
  • Marketing Ops supports both equally
  • Balanced investment and measurement

4. Service Model for Ops

  • Marketing Ops serves internal clients
  • Clear SLAs and prioritization
  • Escalation to Director when conflicts arise

5. Career Development

  • Clear progression paths for all roles
  • Cross-training and knowledge sharing
  • Promote from within when possible

Technology Ecosystem

Core Platform

HubSpot CRM - Marketing automation, lead management, analytics

Advertising

Meta, Google, TikTok - Paid media platforms

Creative

Figma, Canva Enterprise - Design and brand templates

Analytics

Google Analytics 4, HubSpot Analytics - Performance measurement

👉 See full tech stack: Tools & Technology

Key Metrics We Track

Enrollment Impact (Primary Goal)

  • Total enrollments vs target
  • Marketing-attributed enrollments
  • Cost per enrollment

Performance Marketing

  • Cost per qualified lead (CPQL) by market
  • Lead volume vs targets
  • MQL → SQL conversion rate
  • SDR productivity

Brand Marketing

  • Brand awareness in target markets
  • Social engagement rates
  • Event attendance
  • Content performance

Operational Excellence

  • Data quality score (>95%)
  • HubSpot adoption rate
  • SLA compliance
  • Team retention

👉 Detailed metrics: KPIs & Measurement

Office Breakdown

🇨🇴 Colombia Office (Largest)

  • 13 schools across 7 cities
  • 18 team members
  • Bogotá, Cali, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Valledupar, Medellín
  • Redcol brand legacy

👉 Colombia Office Details

🇨🇱 Chile Mid-Market Office

  • 13 schools across 4 cities
  • 18 team members
  • Santiago (majority), Valparaíso, Puerto Montt, Temuco
  • Manquecura and Pumahue brands

👉 CL1 Office Details

🇧🇷 Brazil Office

  • 4 schools in São Paulo metro
  • 7 team members
  • Portuguese language market
  • PlayPen, Villare, Laviniense, Gaylussac brands

👉 Brazil Office Details

🇨🇱 Chile Premium Office

  • 4 schools in Greater Santiago
  • 7 team members
  • Premium market positioning
  • Dunalastair and San Francisco Javier brands

👉 CL2 Office Details

🇲🇽 Mexico Office (Smallest)

  • 2 schools in Mexico City
  • 5.5 team members
  • Olinca brand

👉 Mexico Office Details

Communication & Collaboration

Daily Rhythms

  • SDR team huddles (morning)
  • Urgent issue resolution (Slack/Teams)
  • Campaign monitoring and optimization

Weekly Cadence

  • Marketing Ops ↔ Clients sync (Mondays)
  • Performance reviews (Fridays)
  • 1:1s with direct reports (rotating)

Bi-Weekly

  • Marketing Ops Council (all 5 specialists)
  • Cross-functional alignment meetings

Monthly

  • Three-way meetings (LeadGen + Office Manager + Mkt Ops)
  • All-hands marketing team meeting
  • Performance reporting to leadership

Quarterly

  • Strategic planning sessions
  • Budget reviews and reforecasting
  • Designer workshops (brand training)

Workflows & Processes

Lead Generation Flow

Paid Ads → Landing Page → HubSpot → Lead Scoring → SDR → Tour Scheduled → Sales Team → Enrollment

👉 Detailed workflow: Lead Generation

Event Marketing Flow

Office Manager Plans → Designer Creates Assets → Marketing Ops Builds Registration → School Communicators Promote → Event Happens → Follow-up Nurture

👉 Detailed workflow: Event Planning

Marketing Ops Service Model

Request Submitted → Priority Assessment → Queue Management → Execution → Quality Check → Delivery

👉 Detailed workflow: Marketing Ops Service

Getting Started

New to the Team?

  1. Read this page fully to understand the big picture
  2. Find your sub-pillar (Performance, Brand, or Ops)
  3. Read your role description in roles/
  4. Study your office configuration (if applicable)
  5. Review key workflows you'll be involved in
  6. Meet with your manager for onboarding plan

Looking for Something Specific?

  • Roles: See roles/ folder
  • Office details: See offices/ folder
  • Processes: See workflows/ folder
  • Tools: See tools/ folder
  • Metrics: See metrics/ folder

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Last Updated: February 14, 2026
Version: 1.0
Owner: Juan Vasquez, Marketing Director LATAM

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