Brazilian Agency Africa Uses AT&T Telepresence Solution for Global Face to Face Communications

SAO PAULO, May 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Scaling creativity and ensuring ongoing global collaboration across multiple locations are essential for the Brazilian marketing, branding and advertising agency Africa, part of Grupo ABC de Comunicacao, which relies on AT&T* Telepresence Solution® to virtually connect teams, colleagues and clients.

The agency has implemented the managed AT&T Telepresence Solution^® in its four offices: Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; New York and San Francisco, USA; the high-definition videoconferencing solution is an essential tool to advance Africa's unique business model, which includes serving a select group of clients with world-class professionals and the personal involvement of its partners in every account of the agency.

"AT&T Telepresence Solution allows our teams to collaborate more closely and interact more frequently with our clients.  We can arrange face to face meetings almost immediately, without delays and costs related to long distance travel," said Nizan Guanaes, Chairman of Grupo ABC.  "Telepresence facilitates the participation of various team members in the creative process, ensuring proper interaction to provide guidance, insights and exchange feedback, with a clear goal in mind: to create the best solutions for our clients."

AT&T Telepresence Solution allows Africa to achieve:

• On demand face-to-face meetings through video with partners, colleagues and clients.
• Video collaboration virtually anytime and anywhere through guest access enhancements allowing users with single screen endpoints to join scheduled meetings from a corporate VPN or the Internet by dialing into the AT&T Business Exchange.
• Closer, enhanced and improved communications with clients, partners and key team members participating in the telepresence sessions through multiple endpoints and from multiple locations.
• Faster client response time and more efficient service, as campaigns, ideas and concepts are better presented, conveyed and discussed in a live, face-to-face environment.
• "Face to face" meetings for around 400 employees worldwide, as several different team members interact from different venues in real-time.
• Increased productivity and efficiency, as large teams meet instantly and avoid long commuting time and jet lag.
• Shorter time to organize a meeting with participants from different venues within the agency and client sites.

"We are pleased to support Africa, a leading example of a Brazilian company with international scope, with the ease and simplicity of our AT&T Telepresence Solution," said Fabiano Del Soldato, sales center vice president for AT&T Business Solutions in South America. "With our telepresence offering they have the freedom to decide the best time to meet to better serve their clients."

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About Africa
Considered a kind of "relais chateau" in advertising, Africa has positioned itself ever since its foundation not only as an advertising agency, but also as a marketing and branding company whose mission is to serve a few clients through a team of world-class professionals. The selectiveness of customers ensures the personal involvement of the partners in each and every account. Its customers include Ambev, Embraer, Folha de S.Paulo, Grendene, Itau, Mitsubishi, P&G, Suzuki, Vale, Vivo and Walmart.

Africa is the main company of the Grupo ABC de Comunicacao, ranked as 18th among the biggest Marketing Communications groups worldwide by Advertising Age.

About AT&T
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