Avon and Barclays form core of Mather Communications clients

Mather Communications, the agency set up by Ogilvy Group UK to handle
conflict business, is launching with Avon and Barclays Wealth Management
as its founding clients.

Avon is thought to be a new client for the group but Barclays Wealth
Manageme…

Mather Communications, the agency set up by Ogilvy Group UK to handle conflict business, is launching with Avon and Barclays Wealth Management as its founding clients.

Avon is thought to be a new client for the group but Barclays Wealth Management moves from Ogilvy Group agency Dialogue Marketing Group, which picked up the business earlier this year (MW June 1).

It is not clear whether Mather pitched for Avon.

Mather launched last week, as first revealed by marketingweek.co.uk, and will be run by Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) chief operating officer Steve Lepley. O&M has been renamed Ogilvy Advertising as part of the move.

Mather opens its doors with one more as-yet-unnamed client, possibly Yahoo!.

Ogilvy Group’s UK chairman and chief executive, Gary Leih, says of the launch: “It’s in the nature of the business that conflict issues will arise.

“Launching Mather is a pre-emptive move that will allow us to continue to grow our business unimpeded by future client concerns.”

The Barclays Wealth Management business was a potential conflict with longstanding O&M client American Express, while Avon would conflict with Unilever’s Dove account.

The launch of Mather is the latest in a series of changes at Ogilvy since Leih joined last year.

Guy Lambert, previously managing director of OgilvyOne, was appointed managing director of O&M in July. That followed a restructure of the company which saw 11 separate Ogilvy businesses brought together under the Ogilvy Group UK banner.

The launch of Mather Communications re-establishes the Mather name as a standalone brand in the UK for the first time in more than 100 years.

The original Mather agency was founded by Edmund Mather in 1850.

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