VML begins operations in Brazil

With VML Global Chairman Matt Anthony and VML CEO and President Jon Cook in attendance, Newcomm Group digital agency VML officially launched in Brazil, announcing two new accounts: Sephora and LG’s digital communication.

SÃO PAULO — The undisputable importance of Brazilian communication market was proven once again, with the launch of VML Brazil. On Thursday, 17 November, Newcomm Group, led by entrepreneur Roberto Justus in a partnership with WPP, officially introduced the Young & Rubicam Group’s primary full-service agency with digital DNA. The company’s launch event included the presence of VML Global Chairman and Y&R Chief Global Digital Officer Matt Anthony, VML CEO and President Jon Cook, the President of the agency’s Brazilian unit Fernando Taralli, and President of Young & Rubicam Brazil, Marcos Quintela.

“VML’s arrival brings to Brazil an array of new technology and marketing tools, and represents new possibilities for both brands’ clients, since VML works integrated with Young & Rubicam,” Justus said.

Acknowledged as one of the leading digital marketing agencies in the United States, VML initiates operations in Brazil among the market leaders in digital marketing, as it takes in Energy’s client portfolio. Until now, Energy has been responsible for the digital communication of some of Y&R’s main clients, including Accenture, Baccardi, Banco Safra, Dafiti, Groupon, Hoteis.com, MINI Cooper, NetMovies, Paramount, and Singapore Airlines, and online accounts of the brands serviced by Y&R – Casas Bahia, Cielo, Colgate, Estadão, Goodyear, Perdigão, Ponto Frio, TVA and Vivo.

The launch event included the announcement of two new accounts, French Sephora, a traditional LVMH Group cosmetics brand that will sell its products in Brazil through the virtual store Sack´s (Sephora plans to open its first retail store in São Paulo in March 2012), and LG’s digital account, a brand currently supported globally by Y&R.

“Our ambition has always been for VML to correspond to the clients’ global demand for innovating digital strategies. VML’s arrival in Brazil is part of the process,” Matt Anthony stated. “Launching the agency under the Newcomm Group umbrella is a natural path to offer the best creative solutions in Latin America, especially at a time when the spotlights are on Brazil,” Jon Cook said.

Since 1992, VML has delivered creative solutions at the intersection of marketing and technology. With a strong reputation for its digital abilities, strategic vision and creative leadership, the agency was acquired by WPP – the largest communication conglomerate in the world – in 2001. At that time, it had approximately 100 employees divided between the Kansas City, Missouri, and New York offices and $16 million dollars in annual revenue. In 2005, VML aligned with the Young & Rubicam Group network. With the launch of VML Brazil, the VML digital network now exceeds 1,000 marketing professionals around the world.

VML builds digital experiences for some of the most respected and known brands in the world, among which Carlson Hotels, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, English Premier League, Ford, Gatorade, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Kellogg, Microsoft, Sam’s Club, SAP, Southwest Airlines, T-Mobile, Western Union and Xerox. VML is based in the U.S. and has a network of global offices, including New York, Seattle, Chicago, Toronto, London, Milan, Geneva, Auckland and Brisbane. The VML digital network also includes the Atlanta-based agency Studiocom, with offices in Boston and Bogotá.

VML’s arrival in Brazil is part of Newcomm Group’s restructuring process foreseen in the expansion strategy announced by Justus last May. At the time, the entrepreneur renewed his contract with WPP and ensured his position as CEO for the group until 2016. Also as part of this process, Marcos Quintela became a partner in the holding company in July – which in addition to VML and Y&R, the market-leading agency for nine years, includes the recently launched New Energy, Wunderman and Ação Premedia e Tecnologia.