VEX, which is already the largest holder of highway concessions in the country, will carry out the largest digitalization ever seen on Brazilian roads to definitively consolidate its audience power, impact and frequency in this segment.
Founded 22 years ago by Alex Daniel and his wife Tarita Romano, VEX was born from the fusion of Brazilianness, determination, persistence and resilience. “Alex da VEX”, as he is known in the industry, began his career as a motorcycle courier and found a transformative opportunity in the world of outdoor media (which we now call OOH), becoming a billboard photographer at Evidência Luminosos. Later, he became a point collector and salesperson. After 2 years, he decided to open his own company with his wife. In a small 9m2 basement where they lived, on September 18, 2001, at 3 am, VEX was born – a name that has its original meaning in the “V” of Vilma (Alex’s mother) and Alex’s “ex”. That was the beginning of his tireless journey.
In 2007, Alex faced his first major challenge: “I ended up learning about the country’s politics, with the law that banned all outdoor advertising in the capital of São Paulo. For me, it was a cowardly and unilateral act. At the time, VEX had 300 gable-type, building-top and front-light panels, with more than 50 employees and more than R$ million invested over 6 years. This was destroyed in a few days.”
With resilience, it was from that moment that Alex decided to enter Brazilian highways. Simplicity, originality, in-depth knowledge of Brazilian geography and the relentless search for the best spots consolidated VEX as a leader in large-format highway advertising. With assets in more than 300 municipalities, in all 5 regions of Brazil and in 18 federative units, the company currently has more than 1,600 static and digital faces, being present in the circulation radius of 180 million people and thus reaching around 84% of the Brazilian population.
According to Alex, VEX does not deviate from its focus: media on highways. “The locations are selected primarily at the entrances and exits of cities. In large cities, there is a huge commuting movement of people who go to and from work every day using the access highways. On the 10 highways that reach São Paulo alone, this traffic represents 500 thousand people daily.” – Alex points out.
And he continues: “And it is in small and medium-sized cities that VEX stands out even more as a unique media opportunity. That is why we say that we are the Brazilian company with an “S”, because we are not only present in large centers. In the interior, in the depths of Brazil, people use the roads as true avenues – to study, work, date, etc. Furthermore, in several cities the highway cuts the urban area in half, effectively becoming the main route for the population – as is the case in Sinop and Sorriso (MT) and São José dos Campos (SP). And VEX is always there, impacting all these people.”
Among VEX’s historical milestones, the largest billboard in Brazil, validated by RankBrasil, with 718m2, in partnership with Ultrafarma, stands out, on the banks of Via Dutra. In addition, one of VEX’s most recent emblematic cases was the production of the largest billboard on top of a toll booth in Brazil, with 480 m2 per side (a record also validated by RankBrasil). Located on BR 101, in Santa Catarina, this project attracted the attention of the market even during its implementation, and the first advertisers were Beto Carrero World and Mastercard. This case exemplifies VEX’s commitment to pioneering the market, always seeking new ways to impact and engage the public.
To assess its impact on the OOH market, VEX uses traffic data provided by highway concessionaires and INFOOH, a database on outdoor media audiences in the country. This allows for more effective media planning for agencies and advertisers.
In 2024, upon completing 22 years, VEX is now focused on revolutionizing the OOH market again, moving strongly towards digitalization on highways and connecting with programmatic platforms.
“We were pioneers as the first highway media company present throughout Brazil. And once again we will be pioneers, with the first nationwide highway digitalization project, using cutting-edge technology – which will allow campaigns to reach every corner of Brazil in real time. VEX is proud to be 100% focused on the roads, bringing safety and credibility”, concludes Alex Daniel.
