If you follow us regularly, you will have seen that we have spoken to you on occasion about: a group of digital marketing companies specializing in eCommerce to which it belongs Marketing4eCommerce. Today we will tell you in detail the story behind a brand that represents eight initiatives in the Spanish digital field.
It was the autumnal month of October 2014 when we talked to you, the new mark of the old Group, which arrived to open a new stage in the first network of marketing companies for eCommerce in our country. Since then, the eight banners that are part of (and among which is Marketing4eCommerce) have continued to reap the fruits of their labor.
As in the case of (Elogia client) and its millionaire acquisition by Rocket Internet, or the collaboration agreement signed between
The causes of growth
The truth is that VIKO’s growth continues to highlight the growing needs caused by the hyper-expansion of the digital world. To meet these needs, throughout 2014, it has steadily employed more than 120 people in its various projects and offices in Barcelona, Madrid, Vigo, Mexico City, Miami and London, with top-tier clients such as , Burger King or La Nevera Roja
“The good growth of 2014 has been based on a correct selection of the markets for which we have bet. We have focused on profitable operations, especially with a clear commitment to Mexico, combining them with the consolidation and strong expansion and promotion of new business in the mobile and market intelligence areas in the Spanish market» (Ruben Ferreiro, CEO of )
The birth of VIKO: Virtual Initiatives
Formally, VIKO is the umbrella brand of a group of companies specialized in eCommerce, corporately they are led by Initiatives Virtuals, SA., a company founded in November 1999 thanks to the concerns of a group of workers at the San Cugat HP plant, including , , , , and .
Of all of them, the only one who joined the company full time is Enric Apparici, who, together with his nephew Ruben Aparici and Oriol Chias, started the company, becoming working partners. After testing other initiatives, they launched Consupermiso, the first community of users of permission in Spain, which experienced rapid growth and internationalized very quickly, reaching markets such as Portugal, Italy, and Mexico.
VIKO’s email marketing solution
Later, the VIKO group built the first SaaS mode email marketing solution, a solution that was later coined the name of Mittum and has been used by highly prestigious clients, such as La Caixa, Mapfre, Banco Santander, Gas Natural or FC Barcelona.
This company received a strong one in the year 2000 (just over 600,000 euros), by a group of investors from Mexicoled by Joan Martí, who had been the General Director of Gigante supermarkets, one of the main distribution chains in Mexico with more than 200 hypermarkets, and among whom is also Joaquín Catalán, also a director of Gigante, and Roberto Servitje, belonging to the family that owns Bimbo.
Eslogico, Comlogico and Consupermiso create
In 2003, two Catalan agencies joined the group: It is logical an agency specializing in direct marketing, and Logic his digital leg, companies directed and founded by Manel Gómez, and as a result of this union the brand was created commendas the first digital direct marketing agency in Spain.
Elogia quickly became a benchmark in the Spanish digital industry, being a founding member of the benchmark association in Spain in the field of digital marketing, IAB-Spain. Among other projects, Elogia participated in 2004 in the drafting of the White Book “Practical guide to email marketing” .
In addition, it was one of the first Spanish agencies to organize training courses for Google Adwords approved by Google, in 2007.
In 2008 he participated in the drafting of the first manual on the application of Web 2.0 tools in corporate environments. In 2009 she collaborated in the drafting of the White Book “Communication in social media” and its professionals are regular speakers at different forums and business schools.
Transcend Marketing Channel, the most offline branch of the VIKO group
In 2006 Transcend Marketing Channel became part of the VIKO group. This company, created by Jose Luis Montes and Ramón Reñe, specialized in channel marketing services especially in the IT sectorcompleting the portfolio of services to the group.
Privalia, a great eCommerce client
In 2006 VIKO, through Elogia, began working as an online acquisition partner for , accompanying it in the launch of the four markets in which it is present: Spain, Italy, Mexico and . This collaboration as a digital marketing partner, in the one founded by Lucas Carné and Jose Manuel Villanueva, and which would eventually become the leader and benchmark in its category in all the markets in which it operates, provided the group with expertise in eCommerce of very high value.
Galiciabanner, VIKO’s media buying company
In 2007 GaliciaBanner joined VIKO. GaliciaBanner was a company that had been created in Galicia in the year 2000, as a spin off of a small IT services consultancy led by Javier Represas and directed by Ruben Ferreiro (who would later become President & CEO of the VIKO group). This same year 2007 VIKO opened the office in Italy, coinciding with the internationalization of Privalia.
VIKO’s direct response specialist leg
In 2009, VIKO created a new company specialized in email marketing, taking advantage of one of the group’s main assets, the Consupermiso database. VIKO also reached agreements with third parties for the exclusive marketing of its database.
In 2014 Ibrands launched a network specialized in downloading mobile applications called , the result of all the experience accumulated in performance marketing. In the same way, that same year the segment of data bbdd that has traditionally been used to do field work in numerous market studies since 2003, is marketed under the name of .
Groupalia and the international expansion of VIKO
In 2010 he was born a well-known company daily deals that relied on Elogia to manage its launch and international expansion. Over time, Elogia would accompany in its online marketing strategy, reaching 8 markets and opening three new offices in Colombia, Argentina and Brazil.
It is from this moment, as a result of its extensive experience in eCommerce, when the group radically pivots towards the positioning of “Marketing for eCommerce” that would condition the entire strategy of products, services and investees in the future.
the Business Intelligence tool for a mobile app
In 2012, under the guidance of , who until then had been the director of Elogia’s mobile area, VIKO launched emmathe first tool to manage the life cycle of a user of a mobile applicationincluding tracking, analytics and communication with it.
eMMa positioned itself as the benchmark technology in the Spanish market, with more than 50 clients among which are the most important eCommerces in Spain.
That same year in the VIKO group this publication was launched, Marketing4eCommerce, with the aim of being the reference communication medium in Spanish for marketing and electronic commerce, with its two versions, one for the Spanish market and the other for the Mexican market.
company specialized in mCommerce development
In 2013 VIKO formed a joint venture with Bazinga Systems (a company from Lleida specialized in mobile development) to create moddity, the first mobile development company specialized in mCommerce. The company is currently led by the founder of Bazinga.
Shareholder and management restructuring at VIKO
Also in 2013, Enric Aparici, until then president of the company, left the company, taking over the position , until then CEO for Spain of the VIKO Group.
The VIKO brand is born
Until 2014, VIKO was informally called Praise Group, for being Elogia the most representative brand of the group. In that year the group, coinciding with its 15th anniversary with the registered trademark “We are VIKO”, as the first marketing group specialized in eCommerce. To celebrate that anniversary, Elogia made the following video:
In 2014 he joined the VIKO group, . company founded by Ismael El-qudsi, Internet República is currently one of the great references in the search engine industry in Spain.
In total the group represented four agencies, Praise, Ibrands, Moddity and Internet Republicthree products Moose, Mittum and Emma and a means of communication Marketing4eCommercetotaling a turnover of more than 14 million eurosdivided fundamentally between Spain and Mexico.
2014 the year of recognition
During 2014 VIKO accumulated a notable amount of recognition, receiving the following awards, among others.
- PRAISE: Best Digital Agency 2014 ( 2014, Spain)
- MODDITY: Best Mobile Apps Development Agency (eAwards 2014, Spain)
- PRAISE: Winner Google All-Stars Competition (Google 2014, Spain)
- PRAISE: Special Award (eAwards 2014, Mexico)
- PRAISE: Best eCommerce Agency (eRetailDay 2014, Mexico)
Those successes would materialize in a remarkable growth in its turnover
VIKO: eight companies that move a turnover of 14 million euros
The results corresponding to the 2014 financial year presented data that stood out compared to the other figures. In 2014, VIKO reached a turnover of 14.3 million euros, of which nearly 8 million derived from managed investment in online media. In 2013 this amount had been 10.8 million euros, which means growth of more than 20% in just one year.
4 offices, on two continents
Currently, the VIKO group has offices in Barcelona, Madrid, Vigo and Mexico City. In March 2015, Elogia made a video with some of its most representative clients, among which names such as Privalia, La Nevera Roja or ABA English.
VIKO, winner at the 2015 eAwards
VIKO was the winner in three categories: Elogia won the distinction for the best digital marketing agency for the second consecutive year; Ibrands was distinguished as the best marketing agency of ; and Moddity as the best mobile application development agency.
A European recognition for VIKO
But 2015 also served for a prestigious international entity to certify VIKO’s growth in recent years. Thus, VIKO was chosen to recognize the best practices in the business world at a European level.
2016: a new award for VIKO
2016 began with good news for VIKO, which saw how one of its companies,…
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