VML South Africa will have offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town, with over 300 brains integrated into one company in South Africa. In order to ensure that VML South Africa benefits fully from the power of the VML network, Jason Xenopoulos will be stepping into a global role as chief vision officer for VML globally, and chief creative officer for VML EMEA.

Jarred Cinman will be taking over as CEO of VML South Africa with Di Wilson as deputy-CEO. Ryan McManus will be taking on the role of chief creative officer. Other changes within the leadership will allow us to service the new agency structure.

We will also leverage the VML global network, with 33 offices worldwide and over 3 000 employees. Yes, we are a new kind of agency.

What this means for businesses and brands

By expanding our integrated strategy, and leveraging the VML global network, we can now provide the local market with something completely unique. We can deliver a true full-service offering (including ATL, BTL, shopper, and digital), while simultaneously being able to design and build sophisticated digital platforms and experiences that underpin real customer experience transformation.

But what makes our offering most unique is the ability to combine these worlds together in a way that allows us to address the entire connected consumer experience – from the point of inspiration through to engagement and all the way to ongoing commitment. This gives us the ability to create, what we call, 'connected brands'.

How do we create connected brands?

Well, we do it by re-imagining the entire connected consumer experience and inspiring connections at every touchpoint. Below you will see how we created inspiring connections across platforms and across cultures:
  • Nedbank Ke Yona Team Search – Inspiring connections between a bank and its customers or inspiring connections through sport
  • Absolut – Inspiring connections through music
  • The Foschini Group – Inspiring connections through radical convenience, and
  • I Am Muslim – Inspiring Connections through Social Activism.
Brands now need to think and act differently, which means agencies need to think and act differently to service these brands. All this calls for a new kind of agency.

"NATIVE started as a vision of the future. Each change we have made has been deliberate and designed to maximise value for our clients and be an exceptional workplace for our staff. That same spirit of adventure and quest for excellence permeates this new move. We are not only ahead, we are playing a different game. That’s the only way we can keep winning," concludes Jarred Cinman, CEO of VML South Africa.

For more information, visit www.vml.com. You can also follow VML South Africa on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.