Ogilvy PR

How would you sum up 2009 for your agency?

A surprisingly strong year filled with digital exploration, new business excitement, a move to a funky new Ogilvy office area and the launch of our global sustainability practice Ogilvy Earth.

What was the high point of 2009 for your agency?

Discovering that at the end of the financial year we had exceeded expectations.

What was the low point of 2009 for your agency?

It was the inevitable pressures of remaining profitable and successful in the face of the recession and a fast-changing media landscape.

Please give an overview of your staffing through 2009, including significant hires and internal promotions.

We hired brand reputation heavyweight Ross Carthcart as senior director to head up our corporate practice. Our very talented account directors Alex Clack, Clare Gibbins and Ben Lock were promoted to associate director level.

What was your best client/account win of 2009 and why?

There was not only one great win but several. The tech team loved working on 2ergo, an exciting new mobile media company, which we led to become a global account. On the digital front, we created new social media campaigns for IBM and Nike. The 360 integrated Aga win was also a highlight as was being appointed by the world's first sustainable fast food chain worldwide Otarian.

What were your three best campaigns of 2009?

You just can’t beat the popularity of our global broadcast PR project for Mattel celebrating Barbie’s 50th birthday. We’ve had some phenomenal success with the travel trade road show campaign for the Brazilian Tourist Board. For mobile giant Vodafone, we developed the global digital influence strategy and guidelines.

How did the recession affect your performance in 2009 and what trends did you notice throughout the year – e.g. clients taking longer to sign off budgets etc?

Everybody was subject to the recessionary pressure – a push across the business to ensure highly measureable results for client by input, output and outcomes. A real trend in 2009 was the move towards more project based activity.

Of which achievement in 2009 are you most proud?

It has to be our endurance, creative hunger and financial determination that turned 2009 into a year that was not only a strong one but also a year that laid very good foundations for 2010 via some major wins.

Describe your agency in five words

Creative, dynamic, eclectic, connected, smiling.

How have you embraced social media in 2009?

2009 was the year of social media. Our digital London practice team produced some cutting-edge digital and social media campaigns for the likes of IBM, Nescafe, Aga and Vodafone. All of our employees attended an intensive training course with our global 360 Digital Influence team lead by blogging guru John Bell. Ogilvy PR’s recent appointment of Kevin Fitzsimons as social media director affirms the integral role that we see social media playing in every campaign that we develop and implement.

What are your plans for 2010?

Social media is going to be high up the agenda, with even more training, digital workshops and exciting new client work. We are also starting to experiment with mobile PR.

If your agency were an animal, what animal would it be and why?

We would be a chimera, coloured in Ogilvy-red. A chimera is an animal formed of complimentary but very different parts that function as a successful, awe inspiring being. Our chimera would have the body of a lioness with the wings of an eagle, the big ears of an elephant and the appetite of a hungry hippo.