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Tag: Jon Cook

  • The question really is how WPP is going to transfer the legacy of JWT and Y & R into a Johnny-come-lately such as VML, writes Prabhakar Mundkur

    WPP fells two great brands in one stroke

    Courtesy Pexels, under Creative Commons Licence

     

     

    Prabhakar MundkurBy Prabhakar Mundkur

     

    Is this the final death of advertising as we know it? The last nail on the coffin? Or is it that the communications conglomerate that started it all has forgotten what is branding in their quest for “interconnectivity of brand experience, commerce and customer experiences” words that Jon Cook, Global CEO of VML used to the announce the death of Thomspon, previously J Walter Thompson and Y & R, previously Young & Rubicam.

    Not to speak of Wunderman.  

    Although I don’t think Wunderman was nearly as great a brand as either J Walter Thompson or Y & R, it had certainly gained a reputation starting from its origins as a direct marketing agency.  Somehow I am unable to shed tears for Wunderman but to think that both J Walter Thompson and Y & R do not exist even as the initials depresses me. To me, it is the death of creativity and strategy more than the death of advertising. The fact that they had been reduced to initials itself was depressing but I had just begun to accept it.

    Strangely, the erstwhile JWT which was named after its founder J Walter Thompson had sold the business at the turn of the early twentieth century because he thought that advertising had no future.  While it did well in the intervening 100 years or so it is strange that his spooky prediction about the future of JWT should finally turn out to be true. 

     

    So what is VML?

    Do those 3 letters conjure up any images in my mind? I am afraid not. Who do those initials belong to and what do they mean to the rest of us? To me, I am sorry to say, it sounds like a company producing scooters at best. Maybe that classifies me as an advertising dinosaur. But even dinosaurs must have their say on history.

    John Valentine, Scott McCormick and Craig Legible started VML in 1992 in Kansas City.  I never thought that a great communications company would emerge out of Kansas City. Kansas city is known only for BBQ and a mighty good time!

     

    The Challenge for WPP

    The question really is how WPP is going to transfer the legacy of JWT and Y & R into a Johnny-come-lately company such as VML. What happens to 100 years of thinking about advertising and branding that made JWT famous?  Thanks to stalwarts like Stephen King, Jeremy Bullmore and many others.  People who laid down the foundation of the advertising business and built interesting theories about how communication worked. Or the creativity of Y & R who is known to have produced the first colour television commercial in advertising history? Or the theory of Archetypes and how that could be brought to hear on advertising which first emerged from writers that worked at Y & R?

    What happens to the legacy of proprietary knowledge, analytical rigour and creative solutions  these two great advertising agencies brought to bear on the rest of the communications industry?

    Or are 100 years of history and knowledge going to dissolve in the vacuous nothingness of AI, technology, customer experience and commerce? That is a lot of words that somehow  don’t convey much to me but are found in the press releases of the new age communications companies.

    In retrospect, Wunderman-Thompson was a good example of bad branding from the world’s largest communications conglomerate. Why would they have  delegated Thompson to second place in the first instance? More people surely knew Thompson rather than Wunderman. And in process kill an over 130 year old brand with much higher equity. 

    Wunderman was a small entity. Thompson was a big entity.  Wunderman-Thompson was a non-entity. So I am not even sure I  should be shedding any tears now that both of them are dead. 

    I am sure  “Commodore”  J Walter Thompson as he was lovingly called must have flipped a few times sadly in his grave last evening when he saw the VML press release.

    Goodbye, J Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam and Wunderman.  

    Hello, VML, whoever you are!

    And Sir Martin what do you think of what your successor is doing?

     

    PS: Meanwhile, Sir Martin’s successor has just got himself another five-year contract from the Board. Share price is trending at a third of its 2015 peak and lagging behind Publicis and Omnicom to No 3.

     

  • VMLY&R Commerce will be WPP’s new end-to-end Creative Commerce Company

    Geometry hooks up with VMLY&R to set up VMLY&R Commerce

    By A Correspondent

     

    WPP has announced the launch of VMLY&R Commerce, a new end-to-end ‘Creative Commerce Company’ combining the talent and scale of two thriving global offerings. VMLY&R Commerce will operate as a distinct company within the VMLY&R global network. VMLY&R Commerce will be fully operational from January 1, 2021, and the integration of the agencies’ teams and assets will continue through 2021.

     

    Notes a communique: “WPP agencies Geometry and VMLY&R will bring together their respective commerce capabilities to provide world-leading expertise and delivery for clients at a time of unprecedented global growth in ecommerce. VMLY&R Commerce will be led by Global Chief Executive Officer Beth Ann Kaminkow, currently Global CEO of Geometry. VMLY&R Commerce will be central to the VMLY&R network’s total brand and customer experience offering. It will help connected brands grow by unifying client strategies around commerce to drive both brand equity and conversion.”

     

    Said Beth Ann Kaminkow: “Consumer experiences today are centered on commerce, making it increasingly important to our clients’ marketing and media decisions. As the pandemic accelerates new consumer behaviors and expectations, commerce is fast becoming the next channel for the most creative engagements and experiences. With the launch of VMLY&R COMMERCE, we can now offer our clients creative commerce at scale, harnessing data and technology to build brands and sell products across channels.”

     

    Added Jon Cook, VMLY&R Global CEO: “I’m thrilled to work with Beth Ann on the evolution of our collective commerce offering through VMLY&R Commerce. We have been partnering closely across many clients and it is clear we share a vision and belief in the role commerce plays in a consumer’s journey and creating connected brands. Importantly, we both have a deep passion for leading our businesses with a focus on culture – both internally and with our client partners which is essential in creating a new company built for the future.”

     

    Said Mark Read, CEO of WPP: “2020 has seen explosive growth in ecommerce as brands adapt to a new reality. This new company will offer outstanding creativity, industry-leading commerce expertise, and sophisticated data and technology skills to help brands grow in an omni-channel world. It also meets clients’ needs for simple, tightly integrated propositions from their marketing services partners.”

     

     

  • Cook will report to Mark Read, Chief Executive Officer of WPP

    WPP merges Y&R with VML. Jon Cook to oversee ops

    By A Correspondent

     

    WPP has announced the creation of a new agency, VMLY&R, uniting two leading brands to deliver a contemporary, fully integrated digital and creative offering to clients on a global scale.

     

    Notes a communique: VMLY&R’s proposition will combine brand experience and brand advertising, drawing on the complementary expertise of VML and Y&R to create connected brands that drive value for clients.

     

    The new agency will be led by Global Chief Executive Officer Jon Cook, who is currently Global CEO of VML. Jon will report to Mark Read, Chief Executive Officer of WPP. David Sable, former Global CEO of Y&R, will continue to support Cook, VMLY&R and its clients as Non-Executive Chairman as he transitions to a new role in WPP.

     

    Added Read: “VMLY&R will be a powerful brand experience offering and a core agency brand for WPP. VML and Y&R have distinct and complementary strengths spanning creative, technology and data services that make them a perfect match. This is an important step as we build a new, simpler WPP that provides clients with a fully integrated offering and easy access to our wealth of talent and resources.”

     

    Said Cook: “I’m thrilled for the VMLY&R team as we start this journey together and harness the best of each agency to deliver culturally relevant world-class work. The landscape of our industry is changing rapidly, and we are committed to being an invaluable partner to CMOs around the world. I look forward to leading this unprecedented unification of two exceptional agencies.”

     

    And this is what Sable said: “VMLY&R has been nearly 18 years in the making as we have worked to build two successful brands and develop partnerships together with clients such as Colgate-Palmolive, Dell and the U.S. Navy. I’m proud of this pinnacle moment as we are now able to provide clients one robust, seamless offering. I look forward to supporting Jon and our VMLY&R client partners as I take on my new role within WPP.”

     

     

  • VML Global CEO Jon Cook and Global CCO Debbi Vandeven offer an insight into the journey of VML on August 8

    Storytelling the VML Way (Text + Video)

    By Anuka Roy

    Video by Santosh Jangid

     

    On Monday evening, Jon Cook, Global CEO VML and Debbi Vandeven, Global CCO VML took the audience at a tony lounge in South Central Mumbai through the interesting and eventful journey of VML. The company was founded in 1992 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri and nine years later, it joined WPP. VML has more than 2,300 employees with principal offices in 26 locations across six continents.

     

    Cook and Vandeven made a presentation on ‘Creative Storytelling- Brand Engagement and Business Results’. According to Cook, today brands are very careful about the purpose and have started giving more importance to storytelling about them. He explained how they used to be just an ad agency and how slowly and steadily they have now become a full service digital agency. They used the four important elements from the iconic movie ‘Wizard of Oz’ – Heart, Wisdom, Bravery and Home to explain about the brands they worked and their respective success stories.

     

    Vandeven explained three very important brand rules. She said, “Firstly, brands should put themselves in the consumer’s shoes. Secondly, they should be disciplined and decisive. Finally, what a brand does matter as much as what a brand says.” Following this, each of them explained the four elements one by one. “Storytelling should be done in a smart way using technology,” said Cook.

     

    Cook, explained ‘Wisdom’ through rational creativity. He showed the audience the example of Wendy’s Pretzel burger and how they used the various tweets from consumers to turn them in to a series of love songs. The songs were an instant hit, thus increasing the brand value as well as profit of Wendy’s overnight.

     

    Emotions are something that connects everyone instantly. So, the explanation of ‘Heart’ was about the human connection that brands should possess. To explain this, the example of Gatorade- the sports drink was used. They showed how talented athletes despite thetough situations can stay positive and strive to achieve the thing that he is most passionate about.

     

    Brands have to take calculated risks in order to succeed, and that is how ‘Bravery’ can be explained. Cook gave the example of car manufacturer ‘Ford’ in this case. The company has a good understanding of the market and its target audience.  And, finally, the global Olympic campaign was used as an example to explain ‘Home’. This was more of a public service announcement and the objective was to bring all the cultures together through sports.