Tag: Vice Media Group

New York, USA – Virtue Worldwide, the creative agency under media company VICE, has launched an office inside the metaverse for VICE Media Group (VMG), which will be open to multiple VMG businesses including Virtue and VICE and act as a permanent residence for the group in 3D virtual world browser-based platform Decentraland.

The initiative was created by Virtue Futures – a dedicated innovation division within Virtue that helps brands to innovate in new platforms, technologies and spaces in culturally relevant ways. VMG’s virtual building is designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, the architectural firm behind The Pyramid in Manhattan and Google’s Mountain View North Campus. Built in Decentraland’s open digital world platform, the space will serve as the agency’s virtual innovation lab where teams can experiment with NFTs, DAOs, and Web 3.0, applying insights directly for brands eager to make an impact.

Moreover, the Decentraland HQ serves as the central node in Virtue Futures’ global borderless team setup. Here, clients and collaborators can meet for briefings, presentations and in-situ demonstrations of recent projects. The space showcases a range of digital experiments, and has plenty of hidden extras for curious explorers, including a direct route for young creatives to reach a selection of highly acclaimed global Meta-Mentors. It will also serve as a launchpad for digital field research into the sociology of digital communities.

Morten Grubak, Virtue Futures’ global ECD innovation, said, “The creative opportunities within the metaverse are hugely exciting and as we’re already helping brands navigate this new space it makes sense to have an office there ourselves. Working with the world-renowned architects at BIG, the vision has taken on a new reality.”

Meanwhile, Nancy Dubuc, VICE Media Group’s CEO, said, “Vice has always been about being inside culture, going to places where our audiences are. This is a new frontier filled with potential and once again, we’re proud to be pushing the boundaries.”

Adam De Cata, Decentraland’s head of partnership, shared that they are seeing massive interest from players big and small, but for a lot of the more entrenched actors, it’s more about saying they did it than actually involving themselves with the community. 

“So it brings us great joy to see two such iconic organisations — BIG and Virtue — get their hands dirty with such earnest dedication,” said De Cata.

New Zealand – Pedestrian Group, one of the largest youth-focused publishers in ANZ, has promoted Jaimee Wiggins, its senior advertising and partnerships manager, to the new position of head of partnerships for New Zealand. 

The appointment of Wiggins comes after Pedestrian Group inked a long-term partnership with VICE Media Group to be the exclusive publishing and commercial partner for VICE ANZ and Refinery29 ANZ, which launched on 29 July in the Australian and New Zealand markets. 

The new role will see Wiggins lead commercial endeavors for VICE and Refinery29 in New Zealand effective immediately.

Rachel Tikey, Pedestrian Group’s commercial director, says of Wiggins, “Jaimee is a top-performing commercial leader within our business and the ANZ market. She has been a key part of Pedestrian Group’s growth over the past few years – her ability to marry creativity and client objectives for each of Pedestrian Group’s brands is best in class. Jaimee is absolutely the perfect power woman to steer this new arm of our business to success and we can not wait to see what magic she conjures for Kiwi brands across VICE and Refinery29.”

VICE is an international network of digital content, while Refinery29 is a media and entertainment platform focused on young women. Pedestrian Group is also home to other content destinations PEDESTRIAN.TV, Business Insider Australia, Lifehacker Australia, and Gizmodo Australia. 

Wiggins commented, “I am delighted to be given a new challenge at Pedestrian Group and the opportunity to head up partnerships in New Zealand. Originally a Kiwi, I’m not only excited to work in a market that means so much to me, but also to be able to work with the heritage brands I grew up with and to reconnect with people I know.”

She adds, “New Zealand is consistently a challenger market and I can’t wait to work on campaigns that continue to push boundaries and leave their mark on young Kiwis across VICE and Refinery29.”

New York, United States – Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS), the new global content studio by IPG Mediabrands, and Vice Media Group (VMG), the world’s largest independent youth media agency, have announced their global creative and production partnership, effective immediately.

The innovative partnership will focus on creative solutions without committing to any media spend, ad buy, or content placement on VMG’s media properties. Through this, Mediabrands and its clients will now have a full turnkey global production infrastructure that can develop, facilitate, and create a diverse array of brand-owned and controlled content, which can then be placed on clients’ owned-and-operated (O&O) sites and desired media channels.

Meanwhile, VMG will now have direct access to Mediabrands’ comprehensive portfolio of clients around the globe, as the preferred production partner, through which it can directly develop content, support, and engage on production deals.

Mediabrands emerging film and television development practice will also benefit from the deal, allowing VMG’s Pulse Films to co-develop a slate of original entertainment properties with TRAVERSE32 – Mediabrands’ independent development and entertainment company founded by MBCS’s global head of production Brett Henenberg and Mediabrands Global’s chief content officer Brendan Gaul last December.

According to Gaul, “The VMG partnership will allow us to deliver consistent content capabilities across our top markets at the highest level regardless of media commitment. The unbundling of media and content is a gamechanger in the way we can quickly respond to a client’s content need anywhere, for any use with exceptional creativity.”

Henenberg also shared that the power of this partnership is that it allows them to deliver high quality, low cost, and fast and agile production, which reminds him of the old saying ‘you can only choose two between good, fast, and cheap’ that no longer applies as the global scale of this deal allows them to truly deliver all three anywhere in the world.

Meanwhile, Dan Bowen, the senior vice president of global production at VMG, said, “We are thrilled to kick off this partnership. The IPG Mediabrands team understands the best way to tap into our extensive offering at VMG and will bring VMG a level of first-person brand access media companies rarely get. With production across the full spectrum leading and media supporting, together we are positioned for some exciting work and creative collaboration.”

Pulse Films’ Global President of Commercials and Branded Davud Karbassioun commented, “Brendan & Brett have a unique track record for guiding their diverse portfolio of brands to properly create and own entertainment IP in a truly innovative, meaningful, and rewarding way. There is a big opportunity for brands at the heart of this partnership that we are excited to dive into with TRAVERSE32.”