Local movement brings to its portfolio the account of the automaker Ford, a nucleus that will be directed by Martin Zucchini with the departure of Vico Benevides
The score of the Brazilian operation of the giant VMLY&R has a new arrangement. Orchestration gains reinforcement from two areas that were previously
independent, but which become part of the WPP brand umbrella. The movement is strictly local and was personally coordinated by CEO Fernando Taralli, in addition to just over a year after the merger of the Y&R and VML brands.
The decision involves the incorporation of GTB Brasil, an exclusive agency for the Ford automotive company, which in the Brazilian market is shared with Energy BBDO. In the international market, the GTB brand continues to meet the demands of marketing and the automaker’s dealership network, as well as in the country. The new leadership of VMLY&R’s automotive core will be Martin Zucchini, who will replace Vico Benevides, who left the operation.
The new orchestration also includes the arrival of VMLY&R Commerce, which, according to the agency, will boost the UX (Consumer Experience) and e-commerce experience. This area already serves Coca-Cola and Ford, in addition to specific projects for customers. The business will be led by Ana Toscano, operations and client services leader at VMLY&R Commerce, who has been in this position since 2013, when she was still identified as Geometry.
“Logically, the pandemic was an accelerator of the transformation of Brazilian shopping habits. Today, all customers have DTC strategies, either on their own or through marketplaces. Supporting our customers in this evolution is natural, now having expertise in any stage of the funnel and being able to solve challenges at the moment of purchase or, ideally, in an integrated way”, assures Fernando Taralli, CEO of VMLY&R. “We believe that the brand experience goes beyond communication and needs to be integrated with the consumer experience, generating emotional and functional value for people. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to work integrated with Commerce”, he adds.
The scope for Ford involves the transformation of the automaker’s digital activations, which ended its industrial activities in Brazil, in addition to “strategy, creation, production and optimization of digital platforms, as well as the entire digital consumer journey experience, including analytics, UX/UI, shopper and social networks”. “Ford’s new business model is focused on an increasingly qualified and connected audience, where the personalization and journey of experiences and communications need to become more unique and special. We live an opportunity to unify in a single agency the doing and the talking, CX and BX, digital, e-commerce and brand experience to make the client’s life energized and ready for more”, says Zucchini.
VMLY&R gains from these new deals, but Taralli has an explanation that goes beyond the financial scope. “More than numbers, we are looking at our portfolio of services and clients, thinking about the future of the agency and the brands we work with. Supporting our customers in this evolution is natural, now having expertise in any stage of the funnel and being able to solve challenges”, concludes Taralli.
