Rapp Collins Worldwide rebrands as Rapp

Omnicom has rebranded its direct marketing agency network Rapp Collins Worldwide as Rapp. It will see the loss of the WWAV Rapp Collins name in the UK.

The change, which has been mooted for some time, has been made in a bid to create a more consistent brand image across the network.

The rebrand will see the end of the WWAV brand, which was launched in 1981. The agency was started by Chris Albert, John Watson and Rinalda Ward, who were all previously at Trenear-Harvey Bird & Watson.

Watson Ward Albert Varndell (WWAV) was formed and launched offices in cities including London, Edinburgh and Bristol. During the Eighties, it was considered to be a leading direct marketing agency. It merged with Rapp Collins in 1994.

The founders have since left the agency. Watson started his own DM agency in 2002 called Watson Phillips Norman. Albert passed away in April this year after losing his battle with cancer.

In the UK today, Rapp’s clients include Procter & Gamble, Cancer Research UK, Sony, Air France, Barclays, Somerfield and Legal & General.

Last year the agency won nine pieces of business, including AIG’s £10m direct account, the £8m Viagra account, Strongbow and Apple.

However, it lost British Gas, one of its biggest clients to OgilvyOne, after 13 years.