ROLLINSVILLE, Colorado, USA—ICOM, a leading global network of independent advertising and marketing communications agencies, has elected Rino Ferrari president and seven other members to the board of directors.
Mr. Ferrari, president of Rino Publicidade, São Paulo, is the first Brazilian to be named to this position, which he will hold for two years. He replaced Frank Weyforth, founder of Weyforth-Haas Marketing, Overland Park, Kansas.
Mr. Ferrari will also continue in his role as ICOM regional director for Latin America. Board members elected to represent other regions and their agency affiliations are: Regional Director for Asia/Pacific George Romanyk, Creative In-house, Bangkok; Director-at-Large for Asia/Pacific Cindy Chang, United, Taipei; EMEA Regional Director Patrick Walhain, Dassas, Paris; EMEA Director-at-Large Uffe Just, Just/Kidde, Copenhagen; Latin America Director-at-Large Juan Carlos Sandoval, Publinter, San Salvador; North America Regional Director Bob Morrison, The Morrison Agency, Atlanta; North America Director-at-Large Peter Krivkovich, Cramer-Krasselt, Chicago.
Among Mr. Ferrari’s goals are continuing to strengthen the network with the best independent agencies in markets where ICOM is not yet represented (currently, ICOM has more than 70 members in 50-plus countries); increasing interaction and exchange among members; and enhancing information available to all members.
Mr. Ferrari said it is an important time for ICOM as more and more multinational marketers are choosing independent agency networks that can now provide full regional service to clients while preserving the benefits a local agency offers. “Flexible globalization,” as he describes it, provides companies a more agile and flexible way to achieve their communications objectives, Mr. Ferrari said.
Among some recent projects, he cited as examples are a campaign in Brazil for the Orlando Convention & Visitors Bureau, conducted in partnership with a North-American agency, and a project for the Brazilian Export & Investment Promotion Agency, together with Mexican agency Montenegro. Rino Publicidade also has worked with ICOM agencies in Australia, China and France to promote Brazilian coffee.
Other clients shared across regions include Bayer Crop Science, Caterpillar, Disney Channel TV, Dr. Oetker, HSBC, Natura, Norpharma, Petrobras, Qatar Airlines, Sanyo and Scania.
“For our members, the network gives local agencies a unique opportunity to sit down with other agencies that are not competitors and be able to share experiences,” Mr. Ferrari said.
Founded in 1950 as the National Federation of Advertising Agencies, ICOM is the most balanced of the international independent advertising and marketing communications networks. Today, the network has billings of US$2 billion and gross income exceeding US$300 million.
Contacts:
Nancy Giges nancy@icomagencies.com 1-914-683-5108
Gary Burandt burandt@icomagencies.com 1-720-261-4829