So what’s been going on with VMLY&R since the merger?
You may have noticed that the new WPP agency has picked up several pieces of new business that we would call interesting and, in some cases, peculiar. The latest is social suite Sprinklr, which has selected VMLY&R as its digital AOR after a review.
The release tells us VMLY&R will be tasked with leading the evolution and repositioning of the brand, which is interesting because the brief will primarily involve selling these products back to marketers and their agency partners.
“As we kick off 2019, now is the time to get a fresh perspective on Sprinklr’s brand and focus on compelling content that resonates with our customers while aligning with our ambitious long-term strategic vision, Sprinklr chief experience and marketing officer Grad Conn said in a statement. Conn said the agency share Sprinklr’s “passion for customer-centric marketing” and that it looks “forward to partnering with an agency that deeply understands how to tell our story in creative and impactful ways.”
In a statement, VMLY&R West executive vice president Eric Baumgartner called the appointment “an incredibly exciting opportunity to help the company lead and define a new category of enterprise software.” So it’s not just a way to see how many people liked or engaged with your clients’ Facebook posts.
Looks like this one is firmly on the VML side of the business.
It’s also the latest in a string of small wins that WPP hopes will add up over time. The oddest of the bunch is definitely Thrivent Mutual Funds, a Minneapolis-based company that offers investment advice to Christians. No, really. What will those ads look like?
VMLY&R’s largest win so far has been for vitamin company Nature’s Bounty and Sundown Naturals, which came last week. That one is considerably bigger than Thrivent but still not a huge win, though some have positioned this as a red hot streak.
And then, of course, the agency will be making Serena Williams’ Super Bowl ad for networking app Bumble.
Sprinklr recently announced a partnership Havas Media, so more ads are coming. And they probably won’t be quite like this effort, which is really more of a presentation.