The VMLY&R team has been reinforced by the arrival of new figures in key positions in the fields of strategy, creativity, and team leadership. The position of Account Director has been filled by Tomáš Coufal who came over from the RunCzech agency and who is now heading a team focused on sports marketing as of August 1st. From July 1st, the strategy team is led by Tomáš Sýkora, who has until recently worked for VMLY&R as a Strategy Planner. And finally, the creative team has been boosted by the presence of Tereza Janečková, a Creative Lead for a specialized team of designers dedicated to one of the agency’s clients.
Tomáš Coufal will lead a team specialized in sports marketing, and aside from managing ongoing projects, he will dedicate his time to developing the concept of RunTour, one of VMLY&R’s original projects. ‘My priority in this new position is definitely the Autumn series of RunTour races, as well as the successful launch of registrations for 2022. I also aim to rejuvenate the overall concept of RunTour and push it in new directions’, says Tomáš Coufal, who has until recently spent several years organizing similar activities at RunCzech.
Tomáš has had his hand in several international award-winning sports events. He participated in expanding the RunCzech brand beyond the borders of the Czech Republic and collaborated on the All Runners Are Beautiful campaign. He also worked together with European Athletics on creating a new strategy for European road runners, including the creation of The Battle of the Teams concept, which aims to make individual sport more attractive by organising a marathon where racers run in teams. He also played a key role in the birth of the first ever European Running Business Conference.
Tomáš Sýkora’s journey at VMLY&R continues in the post of Head of Strategy starting on July 1st. Apart from his ongoing work on Česká spořitelna’s brand strategy, he will also focus on other clients. He is also taking on the responsibility of deepening the agency’s digital expertise. ‘As head strategist, I will dedicate my time to clients’ strategic development across the agency’s portfolio. I will focus on delivering to our clients efficient omnichannel campaigns with a strong emphasis on employing high-level digital communications. That is why, apart from leading our strategy team, I will also work on strengthening our specialized digital communication team, which will work on adapting new digital marketing tools and trends’, says Tomáš Sýkora. Among others, Tomáš worked on Česká spořitelna’s successful campaign Nechám si which won the 2020 golden Effie award, as well this year’s launch campaign for Česká spořitelna’s new communication platform #stronger. Kofola’s 2018 Foameaters campaign, which won a golden Effie, also bears his signature.
In April, Tereza Janečková joined the creative team as its new Creative Lead. She runs a specialized team of designers working on projects for a client operating in the tobacco industry. In the past she worked as idea maker and designer on the projects of ecologist Petr Kukla and was involved, among others, in developing an alternative ashtray intended to reduce the problem of cigarette butts in cities. ‘In the creative process it is extremely important for me to work with everyone individually and preserve – if possible – the team’s creative freedom. In my opinion, creativity should not be motivated only by the desire to be creative. It should also be functional with regards to business goals. I enjoy finding this balance between business, design and the creative craft within the framework of advertising and communication’, says Tereza Janečková.
Tereza’s experience includes stints at agencies like Havas or Proximity. In the recent years she has worked as a Senior Art Director for Mana or BMW. Apart from design, one of her main interests is ecology, food quality and the ethical aspects of home farming. She founded her own brand named CocoKarl which innovates the traditions of our ancestors to produce healthy and home-grown free-range eggs. Tereza Janečková is also the designer of a unique mobile henhouse, which can be easily assembled and taken apart, and which allows free-range hen breeding also in city environments.