What is VML specialised in?

Campaign concepts & big ideas, Campaign execution, CRM & lifecycle strategy, Marketing automation, Dashboards & reporting, Data science & analytics (incl. predictive modelling).

Around 90 full-time equivalents (financial year 2025).

Which sectors does VML work for?

Automotive & mobility, Public sector & non-profit, Retail & e-commerce, Food & beverage, Healthcare & pharma.

Review: VML

Q: Who are the clients of VML?

Among others Avon, Lab Grown Leather Ltd, Pizza Hut, F**k Cancer, Tra Mongkut Fertilizer, 1001 Optometry, TuPharma 365, Nestlé, KitKat, Vaseline, Mondelēz International, The Coca-Cola Company.

VML, opgericht in 2001, is een creatief bureau uit Antwerpen. Het team telt ongeveer 98 medewerkers (VTE). Het aanbod bestrijkt creatie & reclame, data & analytics en crm & marketing automation. Sectorieel richt het bureau zich vooral op non-profit, fmcg, automotive en retail/commerce. Het bureau hoort bij WPP.

Awards

25× IAB MIXX Awards

9× Effie Awards Belgium

6× Creative Belgium Awards

2× Cannes Lions

1× Epica

1× Eurobest

1

How this agency makes money

Revenue, margin and what an hour of work brings in. Everything on the earning side sits together here.

Revenue trendgross margin per financial year

20212022202320242025

Latest year: € 6,78 mln gross margin, growth -0,2% against a sector median of -0,2%.

At or above sector pace

MarginEBITDA / gross margin · value-added coverage

20212022202320242025

VMLSector median

EBITDA margin -6,9%, sector median 21,9%. Value-added coverage 0,94 (median 1,23).

Loss-making

Revenue per headGross margin per FTE, against payroll cost

€ 75.806

Median (2025) € 78.663

Against a payroll cost of € 90.168 per FTE. The ratio between the two is the coverage rate above.

Around the median

Yield levelYield per hour worked, against payroll cost

€ 46

Median (2025) € 49

147.237 hours worked, 1.645 per FTE. Against that sits € 55 of payroll cost per hour worked, leaving € -9 for premises, equipment, depreciation and profit.

Around the median

No hourly rate follows from this. Gross margin is already net of services and sundry goods, which mixes rebilled production with the agency's own overhead, and the accounts do not say how many hours were billable. Deriving a rate from this systematically understates it.

2

Can the agency take a hit

Buffer, cash position and payment behaviour side by side, so you can see where they disagree.

Bufferequity in months of payroll

Buffer: 11,8 months. Equity in the latest year: € 7,94 mln.

Group entity - see note

Cash positionAvailable cash, and whether it covers short-term debt

Cash € 210.285. Liquidity ratio 2,38: current assets cover short-term debt in full. Solvency 58,9%.

Amply covered

Payment behaviourTowards suppliers and towards the NBB

Trade payables correspond to 45 days of supplier credit, sector median 85. The accounts were filed 247 days after closing; the legal deadline is seven months.

Filed late

3

Signals and strengths

Events from the CBE and the Official Gazette over the past 24 months, plus positive markers derived from the figures.

Continuity

2 red flag(s) (24m)

Signals in the last 24 months

Zichtbaarheid verschoven · 1 Nov 2026 · Google Autocomplete
Zichtbaarheid verschoven · 1 Oct 2026 · Google Autocomplete
Late filing · 4 Sep 2026 · NBB
The annual accounts were filed after the statutory deadline. Over a third of the sector does this, usually because of the accountant's calendar. Rarely a story in itself.
Zichtbaarheid verschoven · 1 Sep 2026 · Google Autocomplete
Zichtbaarheid verschoven · 1 Sep 2026 · Google Autocomplete
Zichtbaarheid verschoven · 1 Aug 2026 · Google Autocomplete
+ 9 older signals within 24m

Click a signal for a plain-language explanation. Each signal is a fact from a public source, without the agency's own context. Best to ask them directly.

What this agency does well

Margin per hour worked rose 2 years in a row
Healthy working capital (current ratio 2,38)

Each point is a fact from the filed annual accounts, measured against the same thresholds and sector medians as the signals above.

4

All the figures

Reference material, not a starting point. Expand it if you want to read the series yourself.

5 financial years, 2021 to 2025Result, staff and balance sheet

	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Result
Gross margin	€ 9,57 mln	€ 8,75 mln-8,6%	€ 3,99 mln-54,4%	€ 6,80 mln+70,3%	€ 6,78 mln-0,2%
EBITDA	€ 3,24 mln	€ 1,10 mln	€ -3,66 mln	€ 12.919	€ -465.231
EBITDA margin	33,8%	12,5%	-91,6%	0,2%	-6,9%
Staff
FTE	115,9	132,3+14,2%	121,6-8,1%	98,0-19,4%	89,5-8,7%
Gross margin per FTE	€ 82.553	€ 66.131	€ 32.818	€ 69.348	€ 75.806
Payroll cost per FTE	€ 69.189	€ 76.391	€ 82.803	€ 85.300	€ 90.168
Balance sheet
Equity	€ 8,05 mln	€ 8,54 mln	€ 4,75 mln	€ 4,72 mln	€ 7,94 mln
Cash	€ 24.551	€ 178.133	€ 162.586	€ 4.795	€ 210.285
Liquidity ratio	1,93	1,65	1,37	1,60	2,38

Payroll cost per FTE comes from the social report where available, otherwise from the Remuneration line. Both are gross costs including employer contributions.

Group entity. This agency is a subsidiary of an (international) group. Thin equity at network subsidiaries is often group policy (management fees, dividends to the parent) rather than a distress signal. The buffer dimension is therefore not assessed.

What this factsheet does not know

How good the work is. Figures do not measure creativity, strategy or chemistry.
How the client portfolio is spread. Concentration is not in the accounts.
Freelancers and subcontractors are not in the FTE figures. An agency with 40 staff may in practice run with 70 people.
The figures cover financial year 2025, filed on 04/09/2026. At a fast-moving agency reality today may differ.

Based on publicly filed annual accounts (NBB) and official records (CBE, Belgian Official Gazette). An indication, not financial advice. Sector medians calculated on 2 Nov 2026. Sector medians based on financial year 2025: the last year for which nearly all accounts have been filed.

What the agency actually does 6 services

Advertising & Campaigns

Campaign concepts & big ideas Campaign execution

CRM, Email & Loyalty

CRM & lifecycle strategy Marketing automation

Data, Measurement & Governance

Dashboards & reporting Data science & analytics (incl. predictive modelling)

Sector focus

FMCGFood & beverageHealth & pharmaFashion & lifestyle

Publicly known clients

Avon, Lab Grown Leather Ltd, Pizza Hut, F**k Cancer, Tra Mongkut Fertilizer, 1001 Optometry, TuPharma 365, Nestlé, KitKat, Vaseline, Mondelēz International, The Coca-Cola Company

Based on IKAg research and public sources. Incomplete or outdated? Let us know.

1

People 5 people mapped

Strategy weighs heavily here: 4 of 5 are strategists. Within that core, Marketingstrategie, Merkstrategie and Positionering stand out. A specialist, not a generalist: the expertise is narrow but deep. A small team: short lines, little noise between you and the makers.

KO

Kristýna Ochvatová

Chief Strategy Officer

FT

Filip Truhlář

Brand Strategy Planner

PK

Pavel Kohout

Brand & Customer Experience Strategist

TK

Tereza Košt'álková

Strategic Planner

ZF

Zuzana Foktová

Strategic Planner

Based on public profiles. Something wrong? Let us know.

2

Seniors or juniors?

Payroll cost per FTE is the best public proxy for a team's experience level. Higher is not automatically better, but it says something about who sits at the table.

Payroll cost per FTE

€ 90.168

+40% versus the median

Team composition

89,5 FTE

54% women
46% men

Training per FTE

1,8 h

Many agencies fill this field in incompletely.

€ 90.168

Median Creatief bureau (2025) € 64.418All agencies (2025) € 62.294

Read with care. Directors and partners invoicing through a management company are not in the payroll cost. At small agencies this skews the picture downwards considerably.

3

Will your team stay?

Inflow and outflow from the social report. This series only counts people on the payroll: freelancers who invoice do not appear in it. A low figure therefore means two very different things, a stable permanent team or a small core with heavy outsourcing. A high figure usually points to short contracts. Compare only within the same type of agency.

Exits 2025

34,5%

Median for this type of agency (2025): 34,5%

Inflow 2025

10,8%

9,7 FTE in, 30,9 FTE out

Net team change

-21,2 FTE

20212022202320242025

Source: annual accounts and social reports (NBB), collected by IKAg. Financial year 2025. Calculations by IKAg; an indication, not financial advice. Sector medians based on financial year 2025: the last year for which nearly all accounts have been filed.

Award-winning work 44 award(s)

2024

Cannes Lions SilverHealth & Wellness Lion · “Call Glenn / Child Focus” · source ↗
Effie Awards Belgium Bronze“App My bpost — bpost” · source ↗
Effie Awards Belgium Silver“Appelez Glenn — Child Focus” · source ↗
Epica Grand PrixResponsibility · “Call Glenn / Child Focus” · source ↗
Eurobest WinnerBelgian Agency of the Year · source ↗

2023

Effie Awards Belgium Bronze“Waiting is a thing of the past — bpost” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards SilverMulti-Platform Experience · “Child Focus” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards SilverBest Non-Commercial Campaign · “Child Focus” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards SilverDigital Craft · “Child Focus” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards BronzeDigital Craft · “Iran Democracy Council” · source ↗

2022

Effie Awards Belgium Silver“Première pils belge — Cristal” · source ↗
Effie Awards Belgium Bronze“Bepaal mee de toekomst — Universiteit Antwerpen” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards BronzeBest Media Engagement · “Child Focus” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards BronzeDigital Craft · “Child Focus” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards SilverBest Non-Commercial Campaign · “Child Focus” · source ↗

2021

Effie Awards Belgium Bronze“Don't waste a good crisis — Randstad” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards SilverBest Charity Campaign · “Child Focus” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards BronzeBest Audio Campaign · “Carrefour” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards BronzeBest Commercial · “Antwerp University” · source ↗

2020

Creative Belgium Awards GoldBrand Experience & Activation · “TelenetGO / Telenet” · source ↗
Effie Awards Belgium Silver“Refreshing a brand — MediaMarkt” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards GoldBest User Experience · “Telenet” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards BronzeBest User Experience · “Lunch Garden” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards SilverBest Media Engagement · “Mediamarkt” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards SilverBest Commercial · “Telenet” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards BronzeBest Commercial · “Mediamarkt” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards SilverBest Visual Design · “Telenet” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards GoldBest Media Engagement · “Telenet” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards SilverBest User Experience · “Telenet” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards GoldBest Visual Design · “Telenet” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards SilverBest Charity Campaign · “Child Focus” · source ↗

2019

Effie Awards Belgium Bronze“Woohoo! launch — Loterie Nationale” · source ↗

2018

Creative Belgium Awards Grand PrixGrand Prix for Good · “Closer Than You Think / Child Focus” · source ↗
Creative Belgium Awards GoldInteractive / Social · “Closer Than You Think / Child Focus” · source ↗
Creative Belgium Awards GoldDirect / Integrated · “Closer Than You Think / Child Focus” · source ↗
Effie Awards Belgium Bronze“Closer than you think — Child Focus” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards BronzeBest Single-Channel · “MediaMarktSaturn” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards SilverBest Community Management · “Telenet” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards SilverBest Multi-Channel · “Child Focus” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards GoldBest Awareness · “Child Focus” · source ↗
IAB MIXX Awards WinnerAgency of the Year · source ↗

2017

Cannes Lions GoldPR Lion · “Coins of Hope / Child Focus” · source ↗

2016

Creative Belgium Awards GoldMedia · “Continental Foods Belgium” · source ↗
Creative Belgium Awards GoldRadio · “Re-Born to be Alive” · source ↗

As published by the organising award shows, collected by IKAg.