For OgilvyAction London’s first Retail Lab Day, the mission was to create an immersive experience that would engage a diverse audience with today’s constantly evolving shopping journey – one that has moved beyond marketing’s traditional, linear path to encompass all the new channels that today’s digitally liberated shopper uses to inform purchase choice. The Retail Lab Day took people on a journey from within the home, out of home and in retail, showing how digitally enabled shoppers are interacting with brands, technology, marketing and other consumers.

For OgilvyAction, this journey represents home territory. With shopper, trade, experiential, and promotional as key pillars of expertise, understanding the shopper with a view to activating brand communications is intrinsic to OgilvyAction’s DNA. An early understanding that digital is a pivotal part of exploiting purchase behaviour is reflected by the 8 fold increase in the number of OgilvyAction digital staff in the past 6 years.

Throughout the day OgilvyAction unwrapped its thinking on the new ‘sweet spot’ in retail – the convergent point created by the overlapping of shopper behaviour, their use of technology and their environment.

Retail Lab Day was officially opened by Hugh Boyle, OgilvyAction’s global head of digital, who described an aggressive evolution spearheaded by the advancement of technology as our physical and digital worlds become totally intertwined. Boyle stressed the importance of putting technology into context so that it is relevant both to consumer behaviours, and to their environments, to truly hit the digital shopper sweet spot.

Boyle was followed by Alex Meisl, Chairman of the UK Council at Mobile Marketing Association, who gave insights on the mobile landscape and shared tips on designing a relevant strategy for the mobile audience.

With the context set, the audience were taken on a physical journey that saw Westbourne Terrace’s meeting rooms dressed as the key environments which shape our purchase choice, featuring some key technology that is transforming our shopping experience.

OgilvyAction London’s Head of Social Matt Gierhart brought us into a living room and talked about the rise of multi screens and consumers being in control of content. Gierhart described how brands are, in consequence, required to create content people want to interact with, comment on and share with their peers. In order to be ‘loved’, a brand needs to provide a solution or a great experience people can share. Gierhart was supported by Untap TV, creator of an audio/video embedded signal which can push content directly to viewers’ mobile devices, making the link between the home and retail.

Simon Stebbing, Digital Activation Managing Director, powered the shopping-on-the-go room to reveal how the ability to connect anywhere means our expectations as consumers have increased hugely. He gave insights into mobile search optimisation, and the need to understand the role mobile marketing plays in the customer’s purchase journey, be it a QR code, a digital poster or an experiential campaign.

Stebbing was supported by a lively presentation from Repudo, which creates GPS dropped digital content, as well as case studies from JC Decaux (mobile OOH) and KINETIC (OOH media agency).

Meanwhile, Crispin Haywood, OgilvyAction London’s Shopper Marketing and Analytics Director, and Danijel Novakovic, OgilvyAction London’s Creative Head of Brands Environments, took on the in-store space to highlight the key human behaviours, and how digital technology and environments can influence, but not fundamentally change, these behaviours. This subsequently demonstrated the risk of being seduced by digital and thus using technology in the wrong way by not understanding the environment it plays in. They also stressed the need for the shopping experience in physical stores and online to be seamless.

The duo were supported by augmented reality specialist Holition (where a De Beers diamond could be tried on – virtually, of course), as well as 3D specialist Inition, retail mapping software provider Red Dot Square, digital signage company COMQi and in store digital units from Stratacache.

Behavioural economics champion Rory Sutherland concluded the day, with an absorbing piece on heuristics, urging marketers to go beyond rational and rely more on observations to be increasingly relevant.

Organised by the OgilvyAction London in house experiential team, and supported by the practiced Lab day expert Nicole Yershon and her little black book of technology contacts, the day was a huge success both in terms of client’s feedback and press coverage.

It also enabled OgilvyAction London to showcase its revitalised positioning around relevancy and pervasive creativity. Testament to that is the launch of a new Retail Therapy workshop and a Mobile Site Optimisation offer for clients- which have created interest from several large brands.

Shopping may be dead, but with such an inspiring session, we can be sure it will reinvent itself providing brands are not afraid to embrace the post-digital era and manage to find the ‘sweet spot’ to activate their shoppers. And this is where OgilvyAction can help.

Shoppers are now better informed, smarter and empowered. They can shop on the bus, browse while they’re on the move and compare prices from anywhere in the world. They can buy whatever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want.

And that leads to one big question: how do you convince them to trust in your brands?

Agencies can no longer rely on TV or traditional media. Now, everything is media. And, because of new technologies, everything is an opportunity.

The real challenge is to understand which technologies are relevant for you and your customers.

And that’s where OgilvyAction can help.

LAB DAY SPEAKERS

RORY SUTHERLAND
Executive Creative Director and Vice-Chairman,
OgilvyOne London and Vice-Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather UK

Rory achieved a certain international notoriety in 1996 when his credit card details were stolen during an online purchase of chilli sauce. Perhaps surprisingly, he remains an enthusiastic advocate of new media and new means of advertising and customer engagement (he is a devotee of Howard Luck Gossage). He is committed to helping marketers better understand human behaviour, and provides insights through his blogs, twitter account and column in The Spectator. Recently he has launched #OgilvyChange, a new agency division meant to encourage clients to use cognitive psychology, social psychology to inform their marketing decisions. @rorysutherland

ALEX MEISL
Chairman of the UK Council at MMA, Chairman at Sponge Ltd, Co-founder at skins4things

Having been in the digital industry for 20 years, Alex has a wealth of experience in direct response, communications and mobile services for agencies/brands, media groups and mobile operators. Alex co-founded Sponge in 2002 and, more recently, was re-elected Chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association UK Council. In this role, Alex will lead the establishment of guidelines and best practices on the mobile channel in the UK.

He defines himself as a seasoned entrepreneur, a polyglot and an epicurean.

HUGH BOYLE
Global Head of Digital at OgilvyAction

Hugh has worked in interactive media since its inception in the early 90s. He formed his own digital media production company in 1998, which was named UK digital agency of the year in 2002 and 2003. Hugh joined the Ogilvy Group in 2005 and was central to establishing the digital shopper activation business at Ogilvy Action in London. Throughout his career, Hugh has worked on Coca-Cola, Virgin Atlantic, Kodak, Motorola, HSBC, Toshiba, Panasonic, GSK, Johnson and Johnson, Volvo and Vodafone.

Hugh is excited by the increasing synergy between physical and digital touch-points along the shopper journey. He has also spent the past 2 years working proactively to develop client solutions in the digital retail space. The result is considerable insights into emerging technologies and channels such as mobile, social media and near field communications. He is also a country singer and a father of 2 very cool teenagers. @hughboyle

SIMON STEBBING
Managing Director Digital Activation, OgilvyAction London

Simon has a wealth and range of digital experience across Nestlé, Hasbro, Bacardi, American Express, Cisco, Ford, Jaguar and Mazda not to mention various pharmaceutical clients. Ranging from digital interactive TV, mobile and web Simon brings a unique mix of ideas, technology, marketing and solutions to the table.

Close to his heart is the uptake of new technologies, consumer adoption, usage and behaviours and how they can be effectively applied to everyday marketing, to drive tangible and measurable results. It isn’t about technology for technology’s sake – it’s all about experiences. Simon has worked in the digital space for over 12 years and is jealous of those that have the chance to live and grow-up in this new, digital era (and who are effectively younger and cooler than him!). What he is learning and experiencing now, the generation of today and the future just do.  @simonstebbing

CRISPIN HAYWOOD
Shopper Marketing and Analytics Director, OgilvyAction London

Crispin was P&G’s first ever global shopper-based design manager. He worked across household, hair care and oral care and Pampers in his 12-year career with the brand owner. He joined OgilvyAction in 2010 to head up the Shopper Marketing & Analytics department. Crispin has led strategic shopper marketing projects for Coke, Unilever, Kimberly Clark and Philips and is now leading the EMEA shopper marketing team on the SC Johnson account.

DANIJEL NOVAKOVIC
Creative Head of Brand Environments, OgilvyAction London

Even when space is at a premium, Dan believes passionately that every brand environment must have a powerful and compelling ‘shopper narrative’. It should influence every aspect and detail of the design from materials to lighting and from product information to build. And, when the story is executed with flair (and an impeccable attention to detail) a brand environment can entertain, educate and inspire consumers in a way no other channel can. It’s this creative approach that Dan applies to each and every project that lands on his desk.

MATT GIERHART
Head of Social, OgilvyAction London

Matt joined Ogilvy in 2010 having directed his own digital firm called The New Celebrity and worked in association with the Texas Board of Education to help rethink the way school districts and local communities communicate through digital channels. His ability to use the connections derived from social media to generate fantastic insights has already been instrumental in delivering award winning work for Ford, Duracell and 3M. Matt also heads up Social@Ogilvy – Ogilvy’s integrated approach to delivering social business solutions for clients. @mattgierhart

OgilvyAction London is celebrating after picking up a range of gongs at the prestigious MAA Best Awards that took place on 1^st March at The Brewery, EC1. The agency was awarded the top place in 2 separate categories:

Best Digitally Led Campaign – Wetherspoons Unlocked

Best Development of Agency Talent.

The agency scored another win when it took a Merit in the Digitally Led Campaign Category for its work for 3M.

The MAA praised each OgilvyAction initiative as follows:

• Wetherspoons Unlocked – “It’s very hard to stand out with the student market, who are widely targeted with student-friendly deals. The combination of mobile technology and augmented reality was used extremely well and this campaign created a real buzz that associated well with the Wetherspoon brand. It gave a really clear reason to students to keep returning and to keep using the App: the offers got better and more frequent and there was a really clear social aspect to this  campaign so offers also got better the more the App was shared”. Andrew Reeves, OgilvyAction COO, says: “We are absolutely thrilled that this trail-blazing campaign has been awarded such a prestigious accolade. Wetherspoons has set the benchmark for innovative digital activation activity that truly drives footfall and engages audiences”.
• Best Development of Agency Talent – “OgilvyAction’s identification and use of the ‘8 habits’ which unite highly creative communities was very innovative and it was also clear that they had a strategic approach to talent management. The way they  integrated these ‘habits’ was meaningful for career progression and it was achieved without having a large budget”. Andrew Reeves, OgilvyAction COO, adds: “Quite simply, we pride ourselves on providing the best possible support and a stimulating environment for all OgilvyAction people; it’s wonderful to have our efforts recognised. It’s a great way to forge ahead in 2012.”

The MAA Best Awards champion the very finest in cutting edge integrated and inspiring marketing agency work produced by the UK’s top creative agency talent. Organised by the Marketing Agencies Association (MAA), whose aim is to help agencies of all sizes develop their business, there are various entry categories which reflect break-through innovation, results and creative diversity.

OgilvyAction has created a breathtakingly beautiful immersive ‘Fantasy Experience’ to mark the launch of luxury lingerie collection in Selfridges, Triumph Essence. Helena Christensen is the face of The Luxury Collection and embodies everything it stands for. With her strong personality, creative instincts, professional ambition and feminine allure she represents the essence of modern women today. Three ranges from the collection will be exclusive to Selfridges on 3 from 23rd February for two weeks, supported by a series of high profile initiatives including a guest appearance by Helena Christensen herself.

OgilvyAction takes inspiration for its campaign from the seductive beauty of the Triumph Essence Collection, a world of lace, precious Italian satin, iconic style and exquisite craftsmanship. The agency has created a rich shopper experience where the real and digital worlds seamlessly meet. It entices consumers in and encourages them to “follow the path to their fantasy”, a journey that will take them into a mysterious fairy-tale world with striking images including a forest made from lace and inhabited by delicate butterflies and birds against a rich midnight-blue backdrop.

View the video here:  http://youtu.be/Xq3vKRtfbKk

The campaign begins with a gorgeous invitation for the 23rd February launch event sent to VIPs, press and special guests. Each invitation carries a QR code allowing recipients to download the campaign app and enjoy a sneak video preview of the collection ahead of the official Selfridges unveiling. The invitation also hints at the Fantasy Mirror in place from 23rd February at Selfridges on 3, which uses innovative Holition technology to allow women to experience the collection without removing a single item of clothing. The app will allow consumers to make an appointment at the Fantasy Mirror throughout the fortnight-long event. It will also link to the Selfridges online store.

On the day of the launch, OgilvyAction draws shoppers into a ‘Fantasy Experience’ from the moment they leave the Tube. Underground escalator panels in Bond Street and Oxford Circus build the magic of the ‘Fantasy Forest’ and share a glimpse of the Triumph Essence range itself.

The ‘Fantasy Experience’ comes to life in Selfridges’ gorgeous window displays, a luxurious visual feast featuring a ‘Fantasy Forest’ created by OgilvyAction. At 7am, for one hour only, on the day of the launch, six live models positioned on rotating music-box style plinths will tastefully show the collection. To add to the sense of theatre this scene will include slowly moving lace screens and will be accompanied by a subtle lighting show. After the first hour the live models will be replaced by mannequins.

The windows act as a digital gateway and carry the message ‘Follow the path to your fantasy’ with lace-style QR codes built into the window creative displays and allowing shoppers to download the campaign app that will reveal further secrets behind the Triumph Essence Collection. App content includes an exclusive ‘behind the scenes’ video of Helena Christensen’s shoot for Triumph Essence. Shoppers who have downloaded the campaign app can scan images of the specially commissioned illustrations of lace bird and butterflies found in the window to view further exclusive videos of the range. Triumph Essence logos and product labels also offer up special content when scanned with the app. Illustrations have been created by Nina Kck and a music-box inspired score commissioned especially for the launch, written by composer Frederic Charpagne features within the app.

Selfridges on 3 is home to the OgilvyAction installation which houses the full Triumph Essence Collection as well as the innovative Holition-technology enabled Fantasy Mirror. Triumph fitting experts will guide shoppers who have booked an appointment through a process which involves choosing item(s) from the collection to see it fitted on their silhouette and moves in real time as they move. The dedicated space continues the ‘Fantasy Forest’ theme with sumptuous lace imagery and models wearing key items from the range.

Commenting on the campaign, OgilvyAction COO Andrew Reeves, said:”We are immensely proud of this campaign which effectively brings together each of the core pillars of what we offer as an agency. Our mantra is one of influencing purchase behavior using the relevant mix of our shopper, digital, promotional, experiential and trade expertise. I can think of no better demonstration of our activation proposition than this campaign which communicates with consumers at every significant on and offline touchpoint on the path to purchase.

He continues: “I’m just as proud of the quality of creative which underpins this campaign and covers the entire spectrum. Here we have a campaign that includes everything from the creative use of cutting edge technologies to in-store architecture, to window builds and carefully commissioned campaign music and illustrations.
OgilyAction has developed every aspect of the campaign with supporting technologies from Holition and Aurasma. It has also created all Triumph Essence campaign assets for both the Triumph and Selfridges website. Creative Services, leading suppliers of innovative retail displays have supported the campaign by being responsible for the physical development of the window displays and third floor shopper experience.

The Autumn 2011 IPM Bowling Tournament, sponsored by Opia, was won – for the third time running – by OgilvyAction.

Specialist retail promotions media agency SpaceandPeople came second – for the second time – while Draftfcb took third place.

The tournament was held at the All Star Lanes in Brick Lane, London, and saw nine teams fight it out for the coveted Golden Pin.

Pass the Parcel, a campaign for 3M Scotch Pop Up Tape, by OgilvyAction London’s digital team, has seen a lot of action this awards season. After winning five awards across Europe, the Institute of Promotional Marketing (IPM) nominated the campaign for The Globes Awards, a highly acclaimed program hosted by the Marketing Agencies Association (MAA).

The campaign revitalized the innovative Scotch tape brand establishing an emotional connection between consumers and Scotch tape. How? By bringing Pass the Parcel into the 21st century and online. Tasked with obtaining 20,000 unique email addresses, Pass the Parcel managed to capture nearly 40,000 emails by the end of the campaign. It was unique, engrossing, contagious and effective.

At the 26th MAA Worldwide GLOBES Awards held at The Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Pass the Parcel received the highest honor in the Best Digital Promotion Marketing category.

“I am delighted about the success of the program, and very proud of the team who created it,” said Hugh Boyle, Global Director of Digital. “Initially this piece didn’t jump out as a typical multiple award winner. However, I always had a good feeling about it given its absolute appeal to the target audience and it’s immediate effectiveness – both of which really helped the work really gather momentum.”

The other awards for Pass the Parcel include two Golds and a Silver at the IPM (Institute of Promotional Marketing) Awards, two Bronze Awards at the IMC European Awards, and a Gold at the MAAW Globes Awards.

The see the campaign video, click here.

OgilvyAction’s ‘Pass the Parcel’ work for 3M Scotch Pop-Up Tape won at the IMC European Awards picking up a Bronze in the Brand-building category and another Bronze in the Digital Communication category.

Ogilvy Action has launched a highly engaging and innovative digital initiative to promote national pub chain Wetherspoon to a student audience, in partnership with Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands (BBFB).

The campaign will position Wetherspoon as the perfect destination for students’ weekly “Big Night Out” with its “Unlock Your Night @Wetherspoons” app.

“Wetherspoon Unlocked” is a mobile augmented reality app, available for iPhone and Android that allows consumers to discover or “unlock” unique food and drink offers hidden on POS sited within 280 participating Wetherspoon pubs. POS will also be placed on actual university campuses to drive student awareness of the activity and encourage downloading of the app.

Accessed through a QR code, the iPhone store or Android Market, the app harnesses the latest Aurasma augmented reality technology to deliver real time value-added offers to consumers whilst they are in the pubs.

Food and drink offers are represented by different brightly coloured geometric shapes on stickers and bar mats within bars, encouraging customers to find out more about the promotion. The POS carries intriguing messages such as “look closer”, “be curious”, and “question everything”, aimed at attracting the interest of an audience of early adopters.

The app will also allow consumers to tag videos and pictures of their Wetherspoon “Big Night Out” to objects within the bar which can then be accessed by their Facebook friendship groups on subsequent visits to the pub. Content can also be directly tagged and updated to twitter and Facebook through the app.

To drive awareness of the campaign Ogilvy Action teamed up with student website, Studentbeans.com and Campus Media, delivering a far reaching and highly targeted communication plan incorporating eCRM, online advertising, campus POS and the use of student ambassadors.

Commenting on the campaign, Jason Wall, director at Ogilvy Action said: “Wetherspoon and Bacardi briefed us to increase student footfall to their outlets whilst positioning Wetherspoon as an ideal destination for a big night out. We know that this audience has a wide variety of options for socialising and that the best nights out are full of shared, spontaneous experiences.

“Creating talkability and providing genuine social added value were key elements that we needed to deliver within the campaign. Students tend to be early adopters so we also knew that we needed to harness the latest digital technology and allow for social media sharing.  We believe we have built all of these elements into our Wetherspoon Unlocked campaign.”

Jonathan Fearn at BBFB added: “With current consumption habits increasingly taking people away from drinking in pubs, particularly within the student population, we were keen to develop a campaign that supported Wetherspoon as one of our key trade partners and encouraged people to look to them as a perfect venue for their nights out.

“We know that students are traditionally early adopters of technology and keen to embrace campaigns that add to their nights out with friends and facilitate social sharing. By utilising the latest augmented reality technology, we have been able to develop a mechanic that delivers unique offers, whilst also providing the platform that allows groups to tag and upload digital memories of their nights out to physical items in the pubs, in addition to directly linking through to Facebook and Twitter accounts. We believe our campaign has all the right ingredients to get our target audience talking and visiting their local Wetherspoon to check out our activity for themselves”.

Wetherspoon’s chief executive, John Hutson, said: “Our pubs are extremely popular with students and we are confident that they will embrace the promotion. It is a fun and innovative way for our pubs to interact with students and for students to benefit when they visit their local Wetherspoon.”

Wetherspoon Unlocked will roll out from 12th September targeting 280 of the company’s pubs, which have a student base. Search Wetherspoon Unlocked to locate the app on Apple and Android app stores.

Originally posted on the Field Marketing and Brand Experience website.

Ever had a 1 day music festival in your offices while you were still at work? Ogilvy have!

It’s more than a week since the magic that was ‘Lab Day LIVE’ brought together the music and advertising industries to look at the new opportunities emerging for brands as the music industry business model evolves.

After a morning conference of talks and panels by some of the best industry experts, the afternoon showcased live music on 3 festival stages in the very heart of Ogilvy’s London offices at Canary Wharf. It was epic!

#labdaylive was trending for London on twitter and the live streams got 15,000 hits from a staggering 82 countries.

The site is hosting the conference footage on the ‘Speaker’ tab and the archived stream of the music footage on the #Music’ tab:  http://londonlab.ogilvyeurope.com

Check out the Winkball video wall see to what the exhibitors, delegates, artists and attendees had to say about Lab Day Live – http://www.winkball.com/walls/OPkJqC4irqDM/ogilvy-lab-day

Davey, an Australian national, has worked at OgilvyAction since 2007 as regional business director for Asia-Pacific based in Hong Kong. Here she also worked on Unilever, developing global/regional activation, retail and promotional campaigns for brands including Dove, Lux, Comfort, Pond’s and Rexona.

In 2009 she moved to OgilvyAction in Singapore in the same role, but with added regional responsibilities for Kodak, Kimberley Clark and Coca-Cola. Here she also held the managing director role building local OgilvyAction business.

Before joining OgilvyAction Davey built her career in traditional advertising and integrated roles. She spent much of this time with Nitro (later SapientNitro) based in Australia and then China, working on global brands including Mars Petcare and Snackfoods, Telstra, Unilever brand Walls, Lipton and Skippy, Expedia and Coca-Cola.

Davey says: “Moving from a traditional advertising background to an activation and shopper marketing context and role has really changed my perspective on how critical the retail environment and brand activation are to campaign success. It’s a massively exciting space to be working in and I look forward to bringing my experience to the challenges of working in a completely new market.”

Andrew Reeves, OgilvyAction adds: “Davey is a great new addition to the team. She has worked across some of the biggest, best blue chip FMCG brands in the world and has been the lead suit on D&AD winning work as well as IPA and Effie awarded campaigns.  Determined, driven and hard-working with extensive experience of Unilever internationally, we are extremely fortunate to have her join us in London.

He continues: “She is the latest addition to the senior team that has been put in place over the past 12 months to drive the business forward, and we now have a formidable top team that includes Crispin Haywood as director of shopper marketing and Jason Megson as head of experiential.”