Bangkok--Sep 17--Ogilvy Public Relations
Yesterday Ogilvy & Mather celebrates its 50th anniversary in a 24-hour worldwide party involving all its offices, starting in Asia and ending in North America. The theme of the anniversary is “50 Years of Brand Building…and Beyond” - a fitting tribute to O&M founder, David Ogilvy, who established the business in 1948 with a staff of just two. Today, the Ogilvy network has grown into one of the world’s largest and most respected marketing communications agencies with 377 offices in 97 countries worldwide.
Perhaps more than any other agency, Ogilvy & Mather has been built on a set of clearly defined principles reflecting the views of its founder. David Ogilvy developed these principles early in his career and never wavered from them. He believed that the function of advertising was to sell, and he determined techniques by which sales were most likely to be generated.
“For 50 years Ogilvy & Mather has grown based on a fundamental belief in the power of brands; a belief instilled and nurtured by our founder David Ogilvy,” commented Sunandha Tulayadhan, Group Managing Director of Ogilvy & Mather (Thailand). “Today, we celebrate a milestone -- the evolution of David’s idea into a company culture, a way of working, and defining business strategy, all of which helped the agency become the 7th largest network in the world.”
“For our Bangkok office, the event also marks the 25th Anniversary of a strong and successful base in Thailand. We are grateful to clients who allow us to build and nurture their brands, and others who have faith in Ogilvy and have provided continuous support. Today, we have become a total marketing communication agency with services including advertising, direct marketing, public relations, promotion, graphic design, and media planning & buying. Each discipline has adhered to David Ogilvy’s defined principles,” added Sunandha.
O&M offices around the world, including the New York flagship office, takes part in the festivities with activities ranging from a Swing-era gala at the Museum of Modern Art (New York), to agency blood drives (Barcelona, Prague), to a charity art auction to benefit the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (Johannesburg).
The Bangkok celebration includes a Buddhist blessing ceremony joined by 50 monks at Wat Saket and blood donation by O&M staff at the Thai Red Cross Society. Highlight of the celebration is a 24-hour “Cyber Party” Web site at created by OgilvyOne Interactive affiliate in Paris to let O&M staffers and site visitors witness actual ongoing parties via webcams and digital images sent in from all over the network.
To commemorate the occasion, O&M Bangkok office will also distribute David Ogilvy documentary films entitled “Advertising On Ogilvy” to college libraries for students in the advertising field.
Enduring Advertising
Over the past 50 years O&M has helped build some of the most recognizable brands in the world, including American Express, IBM, Jaguar, Ford, and Duracell with some of the most memorable campaigns in advertising. In a recent survey commissioned by
the agency in which consumers were asked to match now classic taglines to the brands they represent, nearly two-thirds of the respondents successfully paired “Good to the last drop” with Maxwell House (71.4%), “The Great American Chocolate Bar” with Hershey (71.2%), “The Fabric of Our Lives” with Cotton Incorporated (70.4%), “Nothing Tops the Copper Top” with Duracell (67.0%), “Made with ผ moisturizing cream” with Dove (63.7%), and “Don’t Leave Home Without It” with American Express (60.9%).
Honoring Brands
The cornerstone of these and all O&M campaigns throughout the years has been a complete dedication to brands, a concept set forth by David Ogilvy, who said in 1955, “Every advertisement is part of the long-term investment in the personality of the brand.” O&M’s ongoing commitment to brands is articulated in a philosophy and practice called Brand Stewardship. Using a proprietary set of tools and techniques, the brand, which the agency defines as the relationship between a product and the consumer, is identified and articulated through all disciplines of communication.
Looking to the Future: A 360 Degree Approach
A marketplace that has become global, dramatically more competitive, and cluttered has made the power of a brand more important than ever before. “We believe the brand is the most valuable asset our clients have and, therefore, stewarding their brands is our most valuable service,” said Shelly Lazarus, Chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide. “While advertising has long been the primary vehicle of brand-building communication, we recognize that branding must impact every point of contact with the consumer. One Brand/One Voice is our goal. This evolution takes Brand Stewardship to the next level, to what we call 360 Degree Branding, which encompasses advertising, as well as every other communication discipline.”
Many of O&M’s clients, such as Perrier, Jaguar, IBM and Ameritrade have already reaped the benefits of this integrated approach.
“Today we are celebrating 50 years of industry-leading work that we are very proud of,” added Lazarus. “While much of our success has centered on advertising and direct marketing, we believe that going forward our real value to clients begins and ends with the brand, not just with the execution. So, as much as the world has changed and our mandate expanded, 50 years after David Ogilvy started the agency, brands are still at the heart of what we do.”
Ogilvy & Mather is the world’s seventh largest agency network with 377 offices in 97 countries and 1997 billings of $8.8 billion. The Ogilvy network offers the full range of marketing communications disciplines including advertising, direct marketing, interactive media, media planning and buying, database management, telemarketing, research, public relations, sales promotion and graphic design. Ogilvy & Mather is a subsidiary of WPP Group plc, one of the world’s leading communications services companies.
In Thailand, Ogilvy & Mather has five subsidiary companies including Ogilvy & Mather (Thailand), OgilvyOne Worldwide, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Artistree, and Results Advertising. For further information : Chutharat Thanapaisarnkit Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide Limited Tel. 632-8300-7 End.