Munich, 1 July 2009
Virtual Identity is supplementing their range of communication services with the Social Media division. Nils Maier and David Nelles join the full-service online agency to strengthen this new segment.
Munich, 1 July 2009. User-generated media is playing an increasingly important role in popular culture. This is not a fleeting trend, but reflects a discernable and lasting change in how people around the world use media today. For this reason, professional marketers and corporate communications experts can no longer afford to ignore the impact of Facebook, You Tube, Flickr and other similar sites. With these developments in mind, the two social media experts from Hamburg will help to enhance Virtual Identity's expertise in the area of social media communication. The new division is designed to help new and existing customers effectively position their brand and company communication in user-generated media to reach their specific audiences. Founder and CEO of Virtual Identity AG, Ralf Heller, justified this strategic decision as follows:
Social media are an integral part of today’s media. The audiences that companies typically target (customers, press, job seekers, employees, NGOs, etc.) increasingly use social media as part of their day-to-day lives. If companies want to continue to influence how they are viewed by the public, they need to engage in this Web-based dialogue. Virtual Identity has introduced the Social Media division to focus their expertise on helping companies complete this change process with success.
Prior to joining vi, Nils Maier worked in the Business Development and Operations department at ethority, a Hamburg-based social media agency. The marketing expert will focus on the areas of Social Media Monitoring and Marketing in his new role. Nils Maier is excited about his new role:
Virtual Identity has years of experience in dialogue-based online communication. As such, it offers the ideal environment for establishing lasting social media connections for companies. I’m very happy to be part of the vi team and look forward to the upcoming challenges on the job.
David Nelles was responsible for Corporate Communications and Social Media Relations at ethority. The political scientist will cover the area of Social Media Relations as part of the Consulting team. David Nelles sees great potential for vi customers in the development of this new division:
Social media will complement classic corporate communications work, not replace it. It makes sense to integrate social media into the everyday work of corporate communications. By creating this new division, Virtual Identity is bundling all necessary services to help companies establish lasting dialogues with their target audiences.
About Virtual Identity
Virtual Identity connects brands and companies with our networked society. Founded in 1995, the agency develops Web-based solutions for brand management and corporate communication. Virtual Identity has around 80 employees at its offices in Freiburg, Munich and Berlin. Clients include: Allianz, Evonik Industries, Festo, Haufe Mediengruppe, HypoVereinsbank, Infineon, Lexware, MAN, SAP and Siemens.
