Cheryl Metivier
Even if she had never won a single award nor received a single accolade for the numerous creative projects she has spearheaded, just the opportunity to engage in conversation with advertising maven Rhonda Landreth-Smith and get a glimpse into her mind would be sufficient to leave one inspired.
Her depth, drive and humility are sobering and refreshing, even though a random Google search of her name will reveal a range of articles and images about her mark on the advertising industry and her numerous achievements and awards.
Over the last 14 years, Saltwater Studios, the agency she owns and at which she is the creative director, has won 43 gold and 89 silver awards – the first Gold 4th District ADDY award (first ever by a Trinidad and Tobago agency for Radio), Legends of Advertising ADDY in 1999, the coveted Charlie Award at 4th District (best in print overall) in 2020, Best in print overall (Newspaper Advertising category) in 2019, and Judges' Choice #D Newsday Magazine in 2012.
For Landreth-Smith her work and play are synonymous, making it difficult to compartmentalise the professional and non-professional “Rhondas.”
“It’s not work, it’s like a career, a passion and a love all rolled into one,” she told WMN.
She’s disciplined, that’s clear. And her daily routine focuses on maintaining a holistic balance which includes career, spirituality, physical fitness, and taking great care about what she consumes.
Always mindful that the opportunity to successfully sustain herself in a field about which she is passionate is a tremendous blessing, and one which she does not take for granted, Landreth-Smith said she commits daily to her strength and weight training, while ensuring that her spirituality does not evolve into just a label that she slaps on. Her spiritual walk, she said, pervades all aspects of her life, including the manner in which she conducts her affairs professionally – maintaining integrity in the conduct of her business.
[caption id="attachment_1004162" align="alignnone" width="916"] Rhonda Landreth-Smith's daily routine focuses on maintaining a holistic balance. -[/caption]
Professionally, Landreth-Smith told WMN, she entered the industry at the bottom of the ladder as a copywriter over 26 years ago, and discovered an intense love for it. She put in all the required work, fought against a tide of resistance, discrimination, and other challenges to emerge as the advertising executive she is today. And, as if to reverse the injustices she endured, she continually “pays it forward” by being generous with the knowledge that she has amassed over the years, ensuring that her recruits have every opportunity to learn any aspect of the industry which places them in the best position to succeed.
She said one tangible result of her approach to mentoring her team members has been a low attrition rate within her agency, and of course a level of commitment that is reflected in their achievements and awards over the years.
“I felt almost called upon to give, to be of service and to
