Didion Tortilla Industry Association Ad
Overview
A full-page advertisement for the Tortilla Industry Association (TIA) membership publication, surfaced as an urgent request during the [1] marketing sync on 2026-01-28. The contract and budget were approved the day before the meeting, leaving an extremely short turnaround — deadline is approximately Monday or Tuesday of the following week.
Ad specs: 8.5" × 10.5", no bleed, full page.
Context
Diana Henry brought this up mid-meeting after just receiving the signed contract. The opportunity was not anticipated in advance; it is an annual publication placement. No bilingual requirement was confirmed, though the question was raised given the Tortilla Industry Association's audience.
The source material being considered as a starting point is the existing Corn Masa sell sheet, created by Michal in Illustrator and stored in the Didion client folder under Client Provided > Source Files (to be renamed "Masa Arriba Source Files").
Design Approach
Proposed Direction (discussed on call)
- Adapt the existing Corn Masa sell sheet layout to fit the full-page ad format
- Reduce the prominence of the "Corn Masa" headline — it doesn't need to dominate
- Consolidate supporting copy; remove elements that don't serve the ad context
- Add a Didion brand call-to-action, e.g., "Discover the Didion Difference" with contact information
- Retain key product visuals; consider whether current photos are appropriate for the TIA audience
Challenge
Diana's initial plan was to import the Illustrator source file into Canva and adapt it herself. Melissa flagged that this workflow is inefficient — the time Diana would spend wrestling with the file conversion could exceed the time it would take the design team to produce the ad directly.
"In the time that you're going to mess around with it, we could potentially have done it in half the time." — Melissa Cusumano
Decision Point
As of the meeting close, no final decision was made on who would design the ad. Diana was weighing:
- Melissa / Asymmetric design team produces the ad directly (faster, higher quality)
- Diana adapts the file in Canva herself (avoids last-minute ask, but slower and lower fidelity)
Diana was leaning toward attempting Canva first but acknowledged the capacity and skill gap. Melissa offered to help if Diana could provide a rough content sketch and direction.
Action Items
| Owner | Action |
|---|---|
| Diana | Decide: have Melissa design the ad, or proceed with Canva adaptation |
| Diana | If handing off — provide content direction and any copy/layout notes to Melissa |
| Melissa | If taking on — adapt Corn Masa sell sheet in Illustrator to TIA full-page ad specs |
Source Assets
- Corn Masa Sell Sheet (Illustrator): Located in Didion Google Drive → Client Provided → Source Files (Masa Arriba)
- Ad Specs: 8.5" × 10.5", no bleed
Related
- [2]
- [3]