The main portico of SoHo’s famous Puck Building, site of our offices for over fifteen years.

PAST AND FUTURE

A full service branding, advertising and media company, Gigante Vaz Partners was founded in 1989 by Paul Gigante and Madeline Vaz.  Together, they recognized an opportunity to combine strategic insight, creative excellence, and a passionate devotion to client service not generally offered by large, mainstream agencies to clients with billings under $50mm.

In contrast to conventional bottom-line thinking, Gigante Vaz has been successful for 20 years by focusing more on current clients’ needs as individuals than on chasing new client opportunities. This has allowed us to remain intentionally small, highly responsive, and creatively agile.  A super-boutique.  Through the most recent tumultuous times in the business, while many agencies our size have disappeared, Gigante Vaz has thrived by never wavering in its commitment to clients.

Staying small has also enabled us to be uniquely responsive to emerging trends and technologies. Today, few traditional agencies can claim the legacy of leadership in digital media that Gigante Vaz offers its clients. Whether it’s database marketing or social networks, widgets or web site usability, our executive DNA in the category is deep. As our digital media division continues to grow, we bring enormous creativity and welcome clarity to a complex and ever-evolving channel. Use us as strategic consultants, digital designers, Internet programming producers, or all of the above.

Branding
Market Research  •  Competitive Analysis  •  Consumer Profiling  •  Brand Frameworks  • Identity & Tonality

Advertising
Concepts & Ideation  •  Creative Development  •  Production  •  Television  •  Radio  •  Print  •  Outdoor  •  Online

Interactive
User Experience •  Information Architecture  •  Interaction Design • Tracking & Analytics •  SEO  •  Social Media Marketing

Media
Strategic Planning  •  Buying / Negotiating  •  Traditional  •  Non-traditional  •  Digital / Mobile

Design
Web Sites • Flash Animation  •  Marketing Collateral •  Sales Support  •  Packaging  •  Display

Promotion
Events •  Sweepstakes  •  Gift with Purchase  •  FSI’s, Coupons  •  On-pack / In-pack  •  P.O.P.  •  Sampling  •  Co-Op

Every one of our principals is distinguished by world-class success in his or her own discipline, and each has had the opportunity to lead entire departments at large firms.  Their common characteristic?  They’ve all come to Gigante Vaz to be closer to clients.   That means you get extraordinary dedication from a team of extremely talented, deeply experienced, and highly sought-after individuals.

Paul Gigante
Founder, Creative Director
Entering the business at the age of 14 with a single-minded obsession to be the best art director on the planet, Paul has since spent the majority of his career successfully running his own agency.  After a brief stint as a fast-rising young star at Ogilvy & Mather Partners in the mid-80s, Paul went to work for a start-up headed by one of O&M’s top Creative Directors.  Those two early experiences taught Paul there was room in the business for an agency that would combine the enthusiasm and creative risk-taking of a start-up with the solid strategic thinking and branding disciplines typically found in larger, full service agencies.

So, in 1989, at the age of 29, Paul opened his own agency with the smartest Client Services person he had ever met, Madeline Vaz.  Within six months, they had taken the $10 million Ricoh account away from the legendary Chiat/Day.  This quickly caught the eye of industry insiders, and has kept them watching him ever since.  Along the way, he’s built Gigante Vaz into a true full service “super boutique” agency, offering personal attention from some of the industry’s best and brightest stars.

As a testament to Paul’s creative leadership, The Clios, One Show, Mobius, New York Festivals, Ad Club of NY, as well as trade publications like ADWEEK, Ad Age and BRANDWEEK have all recognized Paul’s work, and that of his team.  But the real proof of his personal commitment to the success of his clients is the fact that Gigante Vaz has some of the longest client relationships in the business.  Companies like St. Martin’s Press, Time Out New York, Crillon Importers and others have been clients for 5 to 10 years and more.  And that Ricoh account from 1989?  It’s still with the agency to this day.

Madeline Vaz
Founder, Client Services
Maddie has redefined the service side of agency business by mirroring what clients are looking to get, not what agencies are willing to give. Her philosophy of “anticipation, collaboration, implementation” assures that clients’ resources are allocated wisely, and her approach to client management has kept accounts like Ricoh at her agency for 20 years.

Maddie’s marketing savvy, her innovative planning, and her non-stop work ethic have contributed to the success of accounts that include Nabisco, Hoechst, General Foods, P&G, Ricoh, Aiwa, Crillon Importers, Time Out New York Magazine, and  Strawberry Stores. Maddie has been recognized as a leading advertising  woman of New York by AWNY.

Jim McHugh
President, Media Services
Jim is responsible for strategic business development, as well as the agency’s full-service media division, which includes strategy, research, planning, and buying. His broad range of skills include the toughest negotiating instincts our clients have ever seen.

At Scali, McCabe &  Sloves, Jim was responsible for Hertz, Castrol Motor Oil, Mrs. Paul’s Foods, Volvo, and Nikon. As Media Director for Ketchum Advertising, he was responsible for all media activity in the New York office. In 1993 he was promoted to CEO, General Manager, running the overall New York office operation, and effective with the Jerry Inc. merger, Jim was named Executive Vice President, General Manager of Jerry & Ketchum Worldwide. Jim has served on the Spot Broadcast and Local Cable Committees of the 4A’s, the Media Director’s Advisory Board of the Radio Advertising Bureau, the Cable Advertising Bureau, and has authored numerous media guides.

Larry Volpi & Phil Halyard
Creative Directors
With virtually every industry award under their belts, Larry & Phil are one of the most respected creative teams in New York. Their campaigns for AIWA resulted in a 44% increase in awareness, and were included in ABC’s “The Best Commercials You’ve Ever Seen.”

Before joining Gigante Vaz, Larry and Phil were Executive Group Creative Directors at J.Walter Thompson, New York, where their work on Schick/Wilkinson won the agency $50M in global billings, and the highest rating given by Schick to its agencies. Their “boxing bottles” campaign for Cool Mint Listerine was the most successful new product launch in Warner/Lambert history, and along with their work for Bubblicious, is part of a permanent collection at the MOMA. Larry created “True Colors” for Kodak film, and “Sweet Dreams” for Nestle. At Lowe and Partners, Phil created the long-running “Sprite In You” campaign for Coca Cola that took the brand from flat sales to the most-favored category.

Russell Granger
Vice President, Digital Branding
Russell brings to Gigante Vaz over a decade of digital channel leadership and online brand strategy solutions for top-tier companies in entertainment, publishing, consumer products, financial services, and telecommunications. As a Creative Strategy Consultant for IBM Global Services, he headed a global brand redesign for Samsonite, which produced an award-winning web site network. His clients have included Disney, Universal Pictures, Revlon, Lucent Technologies, Newell Rubbermaid, Ricoh, and Dow Jones.

Russell was a co-founder in 1994 of Entertainment Drive, an early category leader in online branding and  marketing, focused on servicing the major motion picture studios and  television networks. Among many accolades, the company was featured on the cover of PC Magazine, and was recognized for significant achievement in new media technology by the Smithsonian Computerworld Awards.

Joe Gagliardi
Director, Interactive Services
Joe brings a wealth of client service and digital channel expertise to GVP, having spearheaded marketing and operations for a variety of corporate and entrepreneurial firms.  Previously, Joe was a senior director at The Delve Group, a strategic marketing firm focused on business-to-business branding. 

As vice president and executive producer for YMS Media Services, an award-winning guide to live Web broadcasts and streaming media, he oversaw an extensive bi-coastal production department, headed client services, and guided the company through its first detailed operating plan cycle.  During his tenure, YMS grew to more than 85 employees and raised over $20 million in funding.

Previously, Joe was vice president operations for a ground-breaking entertainment content provider funded by the William Morris Agency and CompuServe. Joe began his career in media at Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide, where his clients included IBM, AT&T, and American Express.