MUMBAI: After 70 years of creating some of the world’s most iconic marketing campaigns, Ogilvy has revamped itself to adopt a new mantra - ‘Makes Brands Matter’. At the heart of this transformation lies the agency’s desire to introduce a new organisational structure and brand identity. 18 months is what it took Ogilvy to complete the largest transformation in the company’s long and illustrious history.
So why did the world’s biggest digital agency shake things up? “To meet the changing needs of our clients, we’re taking a bold step to redefine our company and build a new model for our industry, which we helped to create over 70 years ago,” says The Ogilvy Group chief executive John Seifert.
The objective of redifing the brand is the agency’s response to constant digital disruptions that are impacting consumer behaviour, media landscape and competition.
The integrated Ogilvy brand brings together three distinct units of OgilvyOne, Ogilvy and Mather Advertising and Ogilvy Public Relations along with various sub-brands and specialty brands under a single, unified group with a common identity, positioning, client service model and P&L.
This unified entity (Ogilvy) will have a new organisational design. The transformation from a matrix-managed holding company of sub-brands to one brand represented by twelve crafts and six core capabilities along with a new operating system. Ogilvy will also offer new consulting options.
Building on the success of OgilvyRED, an enterprise offering called Ogilvy Consulting, focused on the areas of Digital Transformation Consulting, Growth, Business Design and Innovation, will work horizontally across Ogilvy.
The network will also launch a new global digital platform called Connect to train the employees to boost knowledge-sharing, professional development and customised community-networking.
The Ogilvy Group chief creative officer Tham Khai Meng is clear that the agency will not deviate from the values it was founded on, “Our creativity is the foundation of Ogilvy’s global network and the most powerful competitive advantage that we have. We are building on the creative heritage of David Ogilvy to fuel our future.”
Using the common language of ligature, the new Ogilvy logo represents the agility, collaboration and connectedness that the brand is uniquely capable of delivering for its clients.
The iconic Ogilvy red has been reintroduced in a brighter Pantone and a secondary palette of gray, pink, blue and yellow has been added to emphasise the company’s desire to modernise, while maintaining, its strong heritage.
The Ogilvy fonts have also been recut and customised as Ogilvy Serif and Ogilvy Sans. In addition, the company’s website ogilvy.com has been redesigned to be a dynamic destination showcasing the breadth and depth of the agency’s creative work, talent and thought leadership.
Ogilvy collaborated with COLLINS, an award-winning branding and design agency, on the rebrand and launch.
“Today, there are more opportunities than ever before to shape every aspect of a brand’s needs,” adds Seifert.
“The scale and diversity of our global network is the source of our strength. At Ogilvy, we design the components of a brand, create experiences around a brand, and communicate about a brand. Our new organisational design will empower our people to put clients at the centre and create sustained brand value on behalf of our clients for years to come.”
Set up in 1948 by David Ogilvy, the agency has been synonimous with iconic, culture-changing marketing campaigns through the years.
A part of the WPP group, today, Ogilvy has 131 offices in 83 countries. The company creates experiences, design and communications that shape every aspect of a brand’s needs through six core capabilities: brand strategy, advertising, customer engagement and commerce, PR and influence, digital transformation and partnerships.
