Why US companies are building their marketing teams in Colombia

The talent is there. The time zones align. The cost difference is real. Here's what we've seen from companies that made the move.

Over the last two years, we've helped dozens of US companies build parts of their teams in Latin America. The most common starting point? Marketing.

It makes sense. Marketing teams are output-driven, collaboration-friendly, and don't require physical presence to function at a high level. And Colombia — particularly Bogotá and Medellín — has become one of the strongest talent markets in the region for exactly these roles.

The talent is real

This isn't about cheap labor. The marketing professionals coming out of Colombia's top universities — Los Andes, EAFIT, Javeriana — are world-class. Many have worked with international agencies, US clients, and global brands. They know what good work looks like.

What we consistently see in our placements:

The time zone advantage

Colombia runs on EST year-round — no daylight saving time adjustments. That means your team in Bogotá is working the same hours as your team in New York or Miami. Slack messages get answered. Standups happen in real time. Nothing falls into a timezone gap.

This is one of the most underrated advantages of hiring in Colombia specifically. Compared to Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe, the operational overlap is essentially complete.

One of our clients — a DTC e-commerce brand in California — went from a two-person in-house team to a full nine-person marketing operation in Colombia in six weeks. Same quality. 61% lower cost.

The cost difference is significant

A senior marketing director in the US might cost $120,000–$160,000 per year in salary alone, before benefits, taxes, and overhead. The equivalent role in Colombia — same experience level, same output expectations — typically runs $24,000–$40,000 USD per year as total employer cost.

That gap compounds across a team. Five marketing hires in Colombia can cost less than one equivalent hire in a major US city.

What actually makes it work

The companies that succeed with LATAM teams aren't the ones who hired the cheapest option. They're the ones who treated the team like a team, were specific about the role, had a real onboarding process, and used an EOR so everything was compliant from day one.

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