The "كودو.. من ربعك" ("One of Us") campaign embraces an unprecedented phenomenon: the word "Kudu" has moved beyond its trademark status to become part of everyday Saudi vocabulary.

The campaign centerpiece is an intimate documentary-style film directed by Saudi filmmaker Ali Kalthami, capturing genuine moments where Kudu has naturally become part of Saudi daily life. From family gatherings to casual meetups, the film showcases how Kudu has evolved from a restaurant chain into a cultural phenomenon.

The campaign represents a fresh perspective in brand marketing, celebrating how a trademark has become shared cultural property. This approach positions Kudu not just as a food chain, but as a symbol of Saudi identity and community.

The integrated campaign spans outdoor billboards, social media, and in-store activations, all reinforcing Kudu's position as a brand that truly belongs to the people. Please watch the film here.

Aricio Fortes brings with him a wealth of experience in creating award-winning work for some of the world's largest brands and innovative new ventures. With an illustrious career spanning over two decades, Fortes has amassed an impressive collection of accolades, including more than 40 Cannes Lions awards and over 20 One Show and D&AD Pencils, featuring both Yellow and White Pencils. He has also served as a jury member for prestigious awards such as Cannes Lions, One Show, and D&AD.

Commenting on his appointment, Aricio Fortes said, “I am thrilled to embark on this journey with VML Dubai, a renowned agency part of an amazing global creative powerhouse network recognized for its commitment to excellence and innovation. With the exceptional talent at VML Dubai I am confident that we will forge meaningful work and catalyze change that leaves a lasting impact.”

Nassib Boueri, CEO of VML MENA added, "Aricio brings extensive experience that matches our creative vision to drive great work for our clients in the region".

Before joining VML Dubai, Fortes held creative leadership positions at globally acclaimed agencies, including Pereira O'Dell, Africa, Ogilvy Brazil, DM9DDB and BBDO China. With over a decade of experience as a Chief Creative Officer, his journey in the industry has been marked by groundbreaking campaigns, strategic insights, and a passion for pushing creative boundaries.

In his new role, Fortes will lead the creative teams at VML Dubai, spearheading initiatives that elevate brand storytelling, digital experiences, and overall creative output for clients.

The shopping event featured live demonstrations and personalized recommendations from influencers and beauty experts, while customers could interact in real-time and make purchases directly through the Ramadan landing page, with a 10% discount using the special event code.

"We launched the first-ever on-platform live shopping in the MENA region for L'Oréal Paris in collaboration with VML, Amazon Ads ME, and Wavemaker. This innovative approach captivates and entertains shoppers, significantly boosting our online brand presence and market reach. It's a testament to the collaboration across the chain #LikeNeverBefore to create beauty that moves in the Middle East," commented Alyshan Parvez, L'Oréal Paris Online Brand Manager, GCC.

Over the past 2.5 months, multiple stakeholders have worked together to advance the project, ensuring the technology and development necessary for its implementation. VML conducted an in-depth research and social listening exercise to understand consumers' behavior and online chatter during Ramadan. Insights revealed concerns about dehydration due to fasting and dietary changes, with a shift towards appearance and looking good as Eid celebrations approach.

To address these, VML launched two episodes: one for Ramadan (March 15), focusing on hydration for skin and hair, as well as clean makeup looks, and one for Eid (April 1), highlighting glowing skin, lustrous hair, hair coloring routines, and full Eid makeup looks. The episodes, featuring skin and beauty influencers like Marwa Bawaba, Manal El Hage, Safa Srour, and Sereen Abudoush, added authenticity and credibility to the content.

A dedicated landing page within Amazon for L’Oréal Paris offers in-depth routines, tips, and tricks for each concern, along with the opportunity to rewatch the episodes throughout the month. The campaign was amplified across social platforms and advocacy content to reach a wider audience.

“L'Oréal Paris Ramadan Beauty Live Show marks the beginning of a transformative era in live shopping. We are proud to lead the charge in the region, starting with Amazon, which is revolutionizing commerce in multiple countries. It reflects VML’s dedication to utilizing digital technologies for enhancing customer engagement and redefining the online shopping experience through this cutting-edge live event," emphasized Sabine Abdallah, Account Director at VML Dubai.

With the launch of VML’s Tomorrow’s Commerce report, experts have examined their crystal ball to see how the changes of the past year will shape commerce in the coming decade.

Whether it’s the maturing of the metaverse, luxury brands’ foray into digital worlds, or the rise of retail media as marketplaces navigate the deprecation of third-party cookies, the commerce landscape is set to completely revolutionize over the next ten years.

The Rise of Retail Media and Creative Commerce

“Retail media spending globally is expected to reach $128 billion in 2023, and it is poised to overtake linear TV as the third biggest channel by spend. So not only is it ushering in the next era of commerce, but today’s technology-driven age means that the time-honored traditions of shopper marketing for retailers and brands are being upended,” according to Beth Ann Kaminkow, Global Chief Commerce Officer at VML.

“The future will no longer be about retail media as a vehicle, but how it is used to engage shoppers. This is where ‘creative commerce’ comes in: ideas that inspire conversion regardless of the channel. Retail media is powerful because it gets brands closer to the point of purchase and is far more targeted. But to cut through and convert, a creative approach will be imperative.”

The Age of Experimentation and Search

Michelle Baumann, Chief Strategy Officer, Commerce at VML US believes that “shopping channels are proliferating online and consumers are starting to seek out novelty in their shopping journeys as they hop from channel to channel. They will dabble here and there to test the waters, and serendipity will become a more sought-after part of the shopping experience.

“This age of experimentation poses a challenge to retailers and brands, however. Why? Because digital shopping involves navigating a web of connections that throw up new ideas, suggestions, and recommendations. These kinds of non-linear, non-repeating shopping journeys are hard to predict and often take the consumer in a completely new direction. Brands and retailers need to ensure that experimentation in the customer journey doesn’t lead to shoppers clicking off a retailer’s site and onto a competitor.”

The power of ‘Social Conversion’ in the East

“The future, when it comes to social commerce, is here… in China. Social media drives commerce in China, with 90% of Chinese consumers having shopped via social media. So, what can the West learn about this future?

“In China, it’s all about both content and conversion. Mega-powerful influencers livestream highly entertaining sales pitches and invite immediate purchases. The shopping experience is simple, seamless, and, perhaps most importantly, contained within the Alibaba ecosystem.

“On the other hand, social commerce in Western countries is tiny. It’s changing slowly of course – Amazon Live and the imminent launch of Walmart Creator are just two recent examples. And the marketplace or retailer outside of China that can capitalize on this will be set to reap the long-term benefits,” says Debbie Ellison, Chief Commerce Officer, at VML UK Group.

Content Supply Chains of the Future Counting on the Cure of AI

“For modern digital businesses, your brand is your content. With 60% of digital consumers seeking to be entertained by the shopping experience, the quality of content is a key differentiator that drives purchasing decisions. However, supporting this appetite for content puts a massive strain on content supply chains. Every website, every app, every marketplace listing, and every social media account needs their content fix too.

“This is where generative AI can make a difference – it is quickly becoming a go-to tool for brands looking to slash production times for differentiated content across channels. For instance, our Brand Guardian solution uses NLP and computer vision AI to monitor large-scale content output according to predefined flexible ‘rules’ that reflect a unique brand identity; it proposes fixes to content errors too. We call it a ‘curative AI’ approach – ‘curing’ anomalies within the context of high-scale digital content creation. And together with generative AI, it could help foster the content supply chain of the future,” according to Gemma Spence, Chief Digital Commerce Officer at VML EMEA.

The Maturing of the Metaverse

Naji El-Arifi, Head of Innovation, Commerce at VML said, “It’s fair to say that the metaverse – the technological hot take of 2022 – hasn’t yet lived up to the hype. Where are the immersive 3D hangout spaces we were promised to free us from the confines of screen-based social media? Why can we not yet send our digital avatars to do our shopping in giant virtual superstores?

“But from cloud computing to AI, groundbreaking technologies often take time to reach their potential, with a few bumps along the way. All the early buzz around the metaverse focused on how it would revolutionize the consumer experience of technology, creating a VR internet that would allow us to (digitally) go where we want, do what we want, and be who we want. That may still come to pass, but some of the most interesting developments are happening not in the consumer sphere, but in business.

“Whether it’s the use of digitally augmented training methods to boost skills and talent retention, or ‘digital twin’ simulations in product development and process design, we’re seeing more of a ‘big picture’ definition of the metaverse emerging in B2B applications, with AR, XR and mixed reality technologies sitting alongside VR.”

Read the full report here.

This challenges notions that brands need to engage with the group differently, with their preferences suggesting an evolution in the preferences of other age groups surveyed for VML’s ‘Trailblazers of Tomorrow’ report rather than a revolution.*

This means an omnichannel approach will continue to be key, especially with Generation Alpha expecting 28% of their spend to be in-store in 10 years' time – again closely aligned with the expectations of older shoppers and in contrast with years of warnings about the high street’s waning relevance.

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach for Generation Alpha. Often the tendency is to think of this age group as an entirely screen-bound demographic. But in many ways, as with their enjoyment of in-store shopping, they are quite traditional,” says Hugh Fletcher, Global Marketing Director and Thought Leadership Lead – Commerce & Tech at VML.

He continued, “To that end, an omnichannel strategy that effectively marries brick and mortar outlets and in-store experiences with online and emerging channels will be essential if brands hope to meet these customers where they are.”

The research found that social commerce looks poised to be among the biggest winners of the next decade, with all age groups aside from those over 55 predicting they will eventually spend even more via social media than Amazon. Despite often being seen as the most ‘online’ group, the 15% of spend that Generation Alpha expects to be via social platforms, trails the predictions of millennials (17-24: 26%, 25-34: 18%, 35-44: 18%), emphasising the growing opportunity here for brands.

Perhaps this is unsurprising given the 2.39 hours respondents reported spending on social media a day. However, with 31% of all shoppers wishing it was simpler to shop through social channels and just 14% calling the best performing platform – TikTok – easy to shop through, clearly there is still work to be done to meet consumer demands.

As social shopping becomes more popular the role and effectiveness of influencers will increasingly come into focus. Over a third (36%) of consumers have found a new product or brand through an influencer, a figure which leaps to 52% among Generation Alpha, the majority of whom (52%) feel influencers give better product insights than brands and marketplaces.

And, with 41% of shoppers believing that influencer-led brands like PRIME Hydration will grow in prominence, brands will need to reconcile how they partner effectively with these personalities as more launch their own – possibly competitive – businesses. With passionate audiences and extensive reach, brands led by influencers could well pose a threat to traditional retailers who do not factor them into their omnichannel mixes.

* – Full breakdown as follows:

6-16: in-store 69% / online 63%

17-24: in-store 51% / online 53%

25-34: in-store 56% / online 62%

35-44: in-store 58% / online 61%

45-54: in-store 58% / online 56%

55+: in-store 62% / online 54%

Methodology

The research was conducted by Censuswide, with 2,011 Gen Alpha respondents (6-16-year-olds) and 2,004 General Consumers (17-55+) across the UK, between 27.10.2023 – 06.11.2023.

The insight, from VML’s ‘The Future 100: 2024’ lays out 100 trends set to shape consumer spending over the next year. The report finds that consumers are in their 'Slow Living' era, known as 'The Great Deceleration' slowing down their lifestyles and opting for a mindful approach to the year ahead. As humanity undergoes a paradigm shift with identity at its heart, advances in technology are ushering in a new reality and prompting people to question what it means to be human.

In this new paradigm, the most successful and fastest-growing brands are connected brands, as people seek emotional engagement with the brands they buy from. Data collected exclusively for ‘The Future 100: 2024’ reveals 79% of people believe ‘the role of a brand has changed over the past five years’, with the top three roles of brands to ‘make the world a better place’ (40%); ‘improve people’s health and wellbeing’ (38%); and ‘create a more positive and helpful future’ (32%).  

Emma Chiu and Marie Stafford, Co-Authors and Global Intelligence Directors at VML said, “As 2024 unfolds, an intentional slowdown shifts the pace for people and businesses after years of rapid acceleration. Community and connection at scale are essential to 2024, with 67% of people agreeing that community is more important than one individual and 76% believing that technology helps bring people together. With most consumers looking for surprise, mystery, awe, and wonder in their lives, new experiences that engage a wide spectrum of emotions are in demand. A profound and enriching year awaits!”

This year marks the 10^th year of the Future 100. To celebrate this milestone and bring the report to life, VML is set to launch F.L.I.C (Future. Learning. Interactive. Connected.), a fully interactive AI avatar that can answer real-time questions about the report. Using Epic Metahuman, VML created a photo-realistic face for F.L.I.C and chose longstanding technology partner Odyssey to stream this Unreal Engine 5 app to users. The proprietary technology, which is exclusive to Odyssey, creates virtual personifications to give a face to AI and allows clients to access and interact with F.L.I.C directly through their web browser. F.L.I.C will be live on 6 February 2024 to coincide with live Future 100: 2024 launch events in London and New York.

Naomi Troni, Global Chief Marketing Officer at VML commented, “The Future 100 is one of our most anticipated reports, and this year is no exception. With humans craving ‘passion and togetherness’ – particularly as we see AI becoming more and more mainstream – the time is right for brands to tap into this shift, and use technology to connect with humans on a deeper level as they opt for a more mindful approach for the year ahead.”  

The Future 100 covers 10 sectors including Culture, Technology, Travel & Hospitality, Brands & Marketing, Food & Drink, Beauty, Retail, Luxury, Health, and Innovation. Also included for the 10^th anniversary is original consumer data from surveys in nine different countries, and interviews with experts across various fields to give their takes on the past decade and what to look out for in 2024.

VML global chief executive officer Jon Cook will lead the new agency, which will be called by an alphabet soup of letters: VMLY&R. WPP says the shop will be a “contemporary, fully integrated digital and creative offering to clients on a global scale.”

David Sable, former global CEO of Y&R, will continue as non-executive chairman and transition into a new role within WPP.

In a statement, Mark Read, WPP’s new CEO, said the new shop “will be a powerful brand experience offering and a core agency brand for WPP. VML and Y&R have distinct and complementary strengths spanning creative, technology and data services that make them a perfect match.”

He added: “This is an important step as we build a new, simpler WPP that provides clients with a fully integrated offering and easy access to our wealth of talent and resources.”

The combined agency will include more than 7,000 people, WPP says, and should be operating by early 2019.

Cook tells Ad Age that the merger makes sense because the agencies have been related at WPP—the holding company’s structure had VML sitting within a Y&R network—and worked together for years, often sharing clients and geographies. He said the shops had complementary skills, and that leadership saw the combination of brand experience and brand advertising as a powerful one.

VML’s global chief creative, Debbi Vandeven, will take on the role of global chief creative at the combined agency. VML President Eric Campbell will be the combined agency’s global president. Jason Xenopoulos, who ran VML in South Africa, will lead the combined office in New York.

VMLY&R will not have a single headquarters, according to Cook, but major offices in cities like New York, London, Sao Paolo, Sydney and Kansas City. “I love the idea of VMLY&R being a mindset, not a physical building somewhere,” he says.