Ogilvy agencies take brand activation route

Ogilvy-owned branding agencies Dialogue Marketing and 141 Worldwide have merged to create a new “brand activation” agency called Dialogue141.

The new agency is led by former 141 Worldwide managing partner Neil Hamann, who takes the role of managing director, and Andy MacKenzie, former 141 creative director, who becomes Dialogue141’s executive creative director.

The management team also includes Dialogue directors Sarah Green and Jo Bowden, creative director Andy Cowley, 141 director Gideon Maier and Neil Jenkinson, newly appointed new business director.

The new agency, which will have 52 employees, is based at Ogilvy’s offices in Paddington. Clients include HSBC, Gillette, Braun, Duracell, Coral, Racing UK, Weetabix, Fage UK, Mars and Sodexo, and its expertise will be in the digital, sponsorship and experiential fields.

Dialogue Marketing was founded in 1995 and joined the WPP group in 2000. 141 has been part of WPP since 2003. Both were part of the Ogilvy Group.

The new agency will work separately from OgilvyAction, the parent company’s other brand activation company, and it is hoped it will be able to attract non-Ogilvy aligned clients.

Hamann says the merger has been under discussion for a year and stresses that it is not a reaction to the economic downturn, and that the brand activation sector is growing.

“The current climate has worked to our advantage as we have made this move at a time when clients are evaluating the value, and the added value, they are getting from their marketing communications partners,” he says.

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