Who we are

A modular group of independent companies
skilled in cooperation

How did we get started?

Virtuology is a group of agencies that was founded in 2012 by Cedric Donck. At a time when the marketing industry was undergoing radical change, Cedric was developing a vision of bringing leading digital marketing firms together under one roof. As a result, he crafted a unique market offering: experts who speak to the market’s most discerning audience.

Fondation

In 2015, the group’s activity took its first steps in Paris with the creation of Mobilosoft and Smartelia France.

When programmatic marketing revolutionized media purchasing, Programmads was created in 2017.

In 2019, Virtuology gave birth to Maastery. The first marketing-as-a-service company dedicated to medium-size companies. Their mission : helping business owners succeed online thanks to a dedicated marketing team in the cloud.

By 2014, the marketing world was becoming increasingly more complex and advertisers wanted to be better trained to be able to manage the evolution of their services. Virtuology Academy was created to meet this challenge.

With the surge in digital video and rich media, in 2016 the group opted to expand its offer with broadkat.

These days advertisers can no longer disregard Amazon, and Etail Distribution has provided this new expertise to the group’s clients since 2018.
In the same year, Smartelia expanded into Canada with a new office in Montreal.

VirtuoCode was born on 2020 to turn your ideas into reality by developing future-oriented solutions tailored to your business and making your dream come true.

2012

Fondation

2014

Since 2014, the digital marketing industry has grown increasingly complex. Advertisers feel the need to be better trained to cope with the constant transformation of their services. Virtuology Academy was created to address this issue and will be incorporated into each entity in 2021.

2015

In 2015, the group’s activity took its first steps in Paris with the creation of Mobilosoft and Smartelia France.

2016

When faced with the rise of digital video and rich media, the group decides to round out its range of services with broadkat in 2016; the entire team will join blue2purple in 2022.

2017

When programmatic marketing revolutionized media purchasing, Programmads was created in 2017.

2018

Advertisers can no longer overlook Amazon, and that is the new expertise that eTAIL agency provides to the clients of the group in 2018.

2019

In 2019, Virtuology gave birth to Maastery. The first marketing-as-a-service company dedicated to medium-size companies. Their mission : helping business owners succeed online thanks to a dedicated marketing team in the cloud.

2020

VirtuoCode was founded in 2020 to turn your ideas into reality by developing forward-looking solutions tailored to your business.

2023

In 2023, the war for talent rages on. Skeelz joins the group with a talent acquisition and retention strategy that is extremely well suited to the digital industry. Social networks reinvent themselves. MKKM comes aboard and brings its expertise in Social Commerce and Influence Marketing to the group.

The group is constantly attuned to new trends and is always attentive to the most recent innovations in order to best serve its clients. And the story has only just begun…

The group is constantly attuned to new trends and is always attentive to the most recent innovations in order to best serve its clients. And the story has only just begun…

Key figures

Virtuology prioritizes reasoned growth to allow each entity in the group to develop at its own pace and offer optimal customer service.

Virtuology was created in 2012, and is 100% privately owned by its management

In 2022, we have reached a turnover of 37M€

25,4% of compound growth since foundation

220 team members on 6 sites – Brussels, Paris, Montreal, Tanger, Shanghai & Antananarivo

564
Certifications on Google, Facebook Amazon, IBM, Hubspot.

16
Best in class specialized digital agencies

240
Blue chip clients and fast growing scale-ups have trust us

Our Team

“We invest in people,
not business models.”

The talented individuals that make up the backbone of the group are also its primary wealth. They receive full support in their business development as well as in their personal growth.

Their enthusiasm and motivation are the mortar for our vision. If our collaborators are thriving, our clients will be delighted.

Inspiring career opportunities, a work environment with multiple challenges, and trust in the potential of each person are the secrets to our success. This is a winning approach, and we are not about to change it.

Cedric Donck

CEO

Linkedin link

Cedric Donck has a solid background in entrepreneurship. He founded his first start-up when he was a university student and sold it eleven years later to Omnicom.

He then worked for the latter for three years in the field of mergers and acquisitions.

In 1998, when the Internet was still in its early stages, Cedric started one of the first digital agencies. After developing in France and Belgium, it was sold to WPP in 2008. The time had come for Cedric to share his acquired experience. He became a professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at several faculties including the Solvay School of Economics and Management and the Vlerick Business School.

He is the author of The Pimento Map which explores the analysis of business models. Cedric is also the founder of several NGOs supporting entrepreneurship in Africa. He divides his time between the ongoing development of Virtuology International, his university classes, and his passion for off-road motorcycle trips in Africa.

The Virtuology Attitude was launched in 2020. Cedric decided to publish the Founding Act of the group’s corporate culture. This opus brings together philosophy and ambitions as well as innovation and financial policy.

Grégoire de Neve

CFO

Linkedin link

Grégoire started his career as a consultant at PWC, among other firms. He soon found that giving advice was no longer enough and wanted more action.

He has held positions as crises manager and CFO in various digital companies.

His encounter with Virtuology was a turning point, and he became a shareholder and shouldered the group’s financial and administrative responsibilities.

To recharge his batteries, he enjoys sailing with his family.

Annick Vandersmissen

Chief Talent Officer

Linkedin link

Annick is a Serial Entrepreneur. After running and introducing blue2purple within the group and creating synergies with Mobilosoft, Programmads and broadkat, she joins the board of Virtuology International to support the growth potential of its members.

Her experience is put to use when creating or onboarding a new company. 

Annick is active in Brussels, Paris, Montreal, Tanger and Antananarivo.

The Virtuology Foundation

We believe that Virtuology and the companies in the group have a societal role to play that extends beyond their purely economic one.

We are a human organization which handles a great deal of money and which is made up of life forces.

We are morally bound to share some of these resources with people who serve others. This is the purpose of the Virtuology Foundation.

It is backed by the financial contribution of its entities and the human investment of its collaborators.

Testimonials

As I firmly believe that talents are a company’s most valuable assets, my sole mission at Virtuology is to develop the skills of each and every employee. As I strongly believe that Knowledge Economy is the most efficient way to make organizations grow, I devote all my energies to skills transfer. And since there is no age limit for building up skills, I very much enjoy discovering young talents when I welcome students and/or trainees to my training sessions.

Annick Vandersmissen

Before our operational structure with a staff of over 150 people was set up in Madagascar, Cedric wanted to start a business plan competition. Newco Park was based on the principle of an incubator for the most promising talents. Its purpose was to give students and born entrepreneurs the opportunity to validate their ambitions in the digital sector. Every year, 4 companies have been created to consolidate, in Antananarivo, state-of-the-art digital skills that can compete with the most demanding European requirements.

Harittina Randriamanantena

The photographic heritage of our country was doomed to disappear before the project to digitalize the paper, ferrotype and autochrome prints. The primary objective was to create collections that could be classified and accessed through a virtual database, to make it again possible for students to learn about their history through the documented images of the past. Social media was quick to support this initiative and the idea of a Virtual Museum became obvious. Cedric’s strong conviction that offering a genuine showcase to the Madagascar Photography Museum was the way to broaden the scope of our research and indexing work was the culmination of our five-year collaboration. Every month, 3,000 visitors pay to see the Museum and 500 students visit free of charge.

Helihanta Rajaonarison