Alberto Vergani
Opinion Leader
Milan Italy

Opinion Leader joined ICOM in 1999, and our agency receives a lot of benefits from it.  Belonging to an international group means above all, cooperation with agencies from around the world.

During our years with ICOM, Opinion Leader has had the opportunity to explore new markets and work with new clients, exchanging information with other ICOM agencies and putting at ICOM's disposal our own communication know-how.

Belonging to ICOM gives our agency an important value to offer to its clients.  The international focus gives us the skill to operate worldwide and to better serve the needs of our clients.

Belonging to ICOM gives us the opportunity to know people from different cultures and learn from them.

Inigo Muguiro
Veinte Segundos
Madrid, Spain

These are reflections of what we get from being members of ICOM:

1.- A lot of information on markets and everything related to our business.
2.- We do not feel alone (very important).
3.- In times of uncertainty (like the beginning of the internet), we feel the power of the network going ahead at full throttle and responding to the new challenges.
4.- We can provide our clients with information that otherwise we could not get and therefore we serve them better.
5.- Meetings are great. Ideas flow, they are full of life and give us energy to keep going at a brisk pace.
6.- We meet people of high interest.
7.- Last but not least, there is “magic” in the group.

Olivier Kaulek
President
KRBO/NETCO GROUP
Lille, France

Last May was the 10th birthday of our ICOM membership, and I must say that in those 10 years I have never regretted  being a member.   I feel  that the dues we have paid to ICOM in ten years have been largely covered by the income we got from international activity brought by the network.

But to us the real benefit of being in ICOM is by far not in the business you do with the other members but elsewhere. First the image of our agency has changed: we went from being a small local agency to an agency with strong international capabilities, and clients and prospective clients love that even if they don’t use it. It is perhaps still more important for our employees.  They love to feel that their agency is a part of something bigger and stays in touch with what is going on in other countries. Every ICOM meeting, regional or worldwide, is the opportunity to breath fresh air and to come back to the agency with new ideas, new insights and new resolutions and with  more energy to communicate to others. Lastly, as independents in our countries, we lack contacts with other agency bosses with whom to share and exchange information about the various problems we have to cope with on a daily basis, such as new organization, new bonus plans, new compensation systems, new capabilities to integrate, etc.  With ICOM you get that contact and total discretion from among your many friends in the network.  For those who have never worked abroad, ICOM is a fantastic opportunity to experience an international culture.  By visiting countries on the five continents, you meet professionals you would never have had the opportunity to see.  For me, it offers a chance to practice my English as well.  For all these reasons, the ICOM membership would be probably the last expense we would cut if the agency was facing tough times.

Robert Goossens.
CEO
Wondercom
Belgium, Brussels

For Wondercom (ICOM´s agency in Brussels), the benefits of being part of ICOM are tremendous.

The network has given us quite a few new clients and budgets, via international clients, introduced by other partner agencies.

ICOM also enables us to participate in competitions that we couldn't do without the help of the network. We have won the Walloon Tourism budget, for example, which had to be spent in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK.

Moreover ICOM is a great source of information. When we start working on a new local client, we can always count on the help and experience of another agency in a foreign country who has experience in the same sector.

Olivier Jacques
Walker/Zecchetto (WZ)
Santiago, Chile

As an ICOM member, Walker/Zecchetto (WZ) is very proud to present itself as the only global advertising agency in Chile. That means, an independent agency that can think, create and act locally but that is totally integrated in the global communication world.

For our clients and prospects, we offer the best of two worlds: a one-to-one relationship with flexible and executive attention, as well as a huge international database and strategic assistance network.

Kelley W. Haas
President/COO
BKV
Overland Park, Kansas

Being a part of ICOM has benefited BKV in many ways.  We are able to promote the fact that we can truly support a client's global marketing efforts with local resources in any part of the world.  Additionally, those resources will know the culture and nuances in regard to communications elements that may be specific to the region.

We are able to call on the expertise of members all over the world to provide information on a particular industry or marketing practice. We have been members of other advertising/marketing networks in the past but none compare to ICOM especially when it comes to the unselfish sharing of ideas. No one is afraid to discuss their experiences, whether they were good or bad, so that the other agencies are able to learn from them.



Sue Meany
SKM Group
Buffalo, New York

I feel I have enlarged the size of my organization through ICOM.  I have been able to use the experience of the other partner agencies to better position the SKM Group for new business.  The partners are very willing to share and respond to requests for help quickly.  I feel confident that I can offer an effective alternative to my clients to going with a big conglomerate by partnering with fellow ICOM agencies.  I have also been able to position SKM Group as a resource for international marketing.  It has truly helped us with existing and new clients.

Iva Sipkova
Magic Seven Group
Prague, Czech Republic

It is a great honor for Magic Seven Group to be an ICOM member in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Being members has enabled us to receive new ideas, change opinions on various topics from communication and advertising, and make new friends. Probably the main contribution is that we found friendly and agile agencies from our territory - Central Europe - and we started to cooperate very closely. We have prepared a common offer for potential clients that do business in our countries and we are going to start making new business presentations soon.

Yes, we can say now we have colleagues in many countries all around the world.

Dkfm. Peter M. Rock
Rock+Partner
Vienna, Austria

Throughout the years we gained a lot of experience working together with different ICOM agencies. For one of our international clients we work with three ICOM agencies -Smees Advertising-London, FAST-Belgium and the Phelps Group-Los Angeles in a very professional way.

Rino Ferrari F.
RINO COM
Sao Paulo, Brazil

ICOM is a surprise: a network of entrepreneurs that works, and very well. It's amazing for an independent agency to become international overnight and have partners - not competitors - all over the world to share ideas, doubts and sometimes business. Last but not least, you develop strong and long-lasting friendships.

Willie Garcia
Chairman
Adformatix, Inc.
Manila, Philippines

What ICOM is to Adformatix

ICOM is of great value to us. We have gained a lot from the sharing of varied experiences of its members. The insights we have been exposed to during world meetings and regional conferences have greatly contributed to the business direction Adformatix has pursued. For example, we first learned of integrated marketing communications through ICOM more than five years ago, and the resulting structural transformation and altered mindset of Adformatix have allowed us to survive [and thrive] as a strong independent versus the multinationals. Possibly, the greatest thing learned all these years with ICOM is this: Change is constant in our business. And the way to success is dependent on how rapid those critical changes are embraced by us. Through ICOM, we learn how best to work in a business that stubbornly refuses to stay the same.
 


Hernán Campos
Publicidad Causa
Lima, Peru

" We are a local agency.  We have been members of ICOM for four years now, and I am sure it is a valuable tool. We have exchanged materials, shared experiences, met interesting professionals and even gained a client or two. In short, in this time of globalization ICOM is a window to the world."

Samuel Suero
STAFF ICOM
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

We have been a member of ICOM just a little over a year, and in this short time the magnitude of the benefits that we have obtained from this orginization are great. We consider it our eyes in the world. It is a one excellent way to keep us updated and to know so many professional colleagues of the first order. It is also a door for new business.