The Bravo Group Promotions & Retail Marketing Division Bulks Up.

The Promotions and Retail Marketing Division of The Bravo Group announced the promotion of Matt Neidl to Group Manager and the appointments of Danilo Alvarez as Associate Creative Director, Federico Callegari as Senior Art Director and Josefina Duran as Senior Account Executive.

“This is the ‘new and improved’ version of our promotions and retail marketing group,” noted Manuel Wernicky, Managing Director of The Bravo Group’s promotional and retail marketing division. “Not only do we come in a bigger size now, but our group keeps adding depth to its range of strategic expertise, creativity, competencies and specialized offerings. Now we can offer a micro-customized approach for any client in experiential marketing.”

As Group Manager, Neidl will be responsible for providing strategic promotions plans designed to support and build client business objectives. Neidl will work on promotions for clients such as Kraft Foods, Lifetime Television, Dannon, Mazda and Land Rover. He’ll also pursue new business to strategically grow The Bravo Group’s Promotions and Retail Marketing business unit.

Neidl initially joined The Bravo Group as Account Supervisor in April 2005, coming from its sister agency Mendoza Dillon. At Mendoza Dillon, in a senior account executive role, Neidl tapped into the Hispanic and urban teen markets for HSBC Bank, Lucas Mexican candy and Joss Claude products. Prior to Mendoza Dillon, Neidl held the position of Event Operations Manager at Latinsphere Advertising, in Long Beach, CA. Neidl came to the U.S. from Quito, Ecuador, where he founded Estrategias – Promociones y Eventos, a Promotions and Event Marketing agency. There he generated business-building marketing and promotions programs for clients including Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Warner Lambert, Pfizer, Roche and Boehringer Ingelheim, to name a few. Despite much success and recognition in Ecuador, Neidl’s desire to continue pioneering promotions led him to the U.S.

The Bravo Group’s Promotions and Retail Marketing Division also announces the appointment of Danilo Alvarez as Associate Creative Director. He will be responsible for heading the creative development of promotion, interactive and new media, overseeing initiatives to provide clients with advanced strategies for experiential marketing. Alvarez joins The Bravo Group from Disney’s Yellow Shoes Creative Group, where as Senior Creative, he acted as agency and client for all Walt Disney World projects targeting the Hispanic Market. He launched Happiest Celebration on Earth for the Hispanic market with a 360 degree marketing strategy and also developed and produced the first vacation planning video in Spanish. Prior to Disney, he was at AccentMarketing, where he developed creative for Chevy, Dewar’s and the US Navy. Alvarez, who originates from Colombia, started his career in the U.S. at Bates USA South, where he produced award-winning creative for Mercedes-Benz, ESPN, BellSouth and Wendy’s. Before arriving in the U.S., he was Group Creative Director at Jaime Uribe & Asociados in Medellín, Colombia.

Federico Callegari, appointed as Senior Art Director, joins The Bravo Group coming from La Comunidad, a creative powerhouse agency that has distinguished itself in recent years on the awards circuit. He has produced award-winning work for clients that include Rolling Stone, Citibank, Subway, MTV, Aiwa, BestBuy, Volkswagen and Virgin Mobile, with prestigious wins in Cannes, The One Show, FIAP and San Sebastian. Callegari is originally an Argentine native and began his career in Argentina working at agencies like Agulla & Baccetti and Vega Olmos Ponce.

Coinciding with Neidl’s promotion and Alvarez’s and Callegari’s appointments, Josefina Duran is appointed as Senior Account Executive, dedicated to the Kraft Foods account. She will report directly to Manuel Wernicky.

Duran, a native New Yorker of Cuban descent, brings with her over 10 years of experience in promotions and retail marketing. Her past clients include Colgate, Mennen Speed Stick, Knorr, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, Palmolive & Suavitel. In addition to her extensive packaged goods background, Duran has worked at BroadView Networks, marketing over 13 ethnic, in-language television channels aired via DirecTV targeted to eight different ethnic groups. Duran has experience across all forms of media, including radio, television, public relations, print and Internet. Other career highlights, which point to Duran’s breadth of experience in the arena of promotions, public relations and event planning, include positions with MASS Promotions – Miami; SiboneyUSA Integrated Hispanic Communications – NY and Arcos Communications – NY.