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OgilvyOne UK has created a ground-breaking campaign for Kern & Sohn precision scales by creating the worlds first mass participation gravity experiment. The agency was tasked with increasing brand awareness of Kern and increasing sales of precision scales, especially in the education sector.

The Earth’s gravity varies slightly according to where you are, and OgilvyOne set out to measure these differences by sending a gnome and a set of Kern precision scales to scientists around the world. The gnome’s weight was recorded in each country and his progress charted on a website along with photographic evidence before before travelling to his next destination. Fans followed the gnome’s travels on his personal blog and on twitter.

The campaign broke on Monday 19 March 2012 and to date the gnome has been weighed in more than a dozen countries including Mexico, Japan, South Africa, Snolab in Canada (the world’s deepest laboratory at 2km below the surface of the Earth), CERN (home of the Hadron Collider), and even the South Pole.

Albert Sauter, MD of Kern & Sohn commented: “We’re over the moon that both our little gnome and our scales company are fast becoming world famous”.

“This is the first garden gnome to aid mankind’s understanding of science.” said Graham Jenks and James Nester, the OgilvyOne creative team behind the campaign.

The campaign generated worldwide media attention and coverage in titles including the Metro, New Scientist and even the NASA blog.

OgilvyOne UK has announced the promotions of Managing Director, Sam Williams-Thomas to Chief Executive, and Jo Coombs (currently Managing Partner) to Managing Director, OgilvyOne UK with immediate effect. Former UK CEO, Annette King, was recently appointed CEO, OgilvyOne EAME (Europe, Africa and Middle East).

Sam has been at OgilvyOne for 13 years and was a Client Services Director for two years before being promoted to Managing Director in 2008. Sam has been instrumental in growing the business alongside Annette. Under their leadership, new business billings exceeded £37 million in 2011 alone and the agency’s headcount increased by 10 per cent against a backdrop of limited growth within the industry.

Jo has been with OgilvyOne for the past nine years working as a Managing Partner with responsibility for several major accounts. During this period Jo has also been Joint Client Services Director, and run the American Express Network, Mothercare and Unilever Digital accounts. For the last four years, Jo has been running the Global British Airways Loyalty business, including leading and successfully winning the recent British Airway’s Global Creative Technology pitch.

Paul O’Donnell, Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather EAME commented: “The UK agency has experienced phenomenal growth over the last few years and evolved to be a serious player in the digital space. With evolution comes change and now is a natural time for Sam and Jo to step up and drive the agency forward. As long-standing OgilvyOne people, they know the business inside out and are perfectly poised to take advantage of the opportunities this next era brings.”

Speaking about his new role, Sam said: “With clients increasingly looking to Digital and Direct solutions to meet their communications needs, this is an exciting time in the industry and for OgilvyOne. I am looking forward to working with Jo and leading the agency in this changing landscape and into this next phase of growth.”

Jo commented: “We’ve won some significant new business already in 2012 which gives us real momentum to capitalise and build upon. It’s an exciting time at OgilvyOne and I’m delighted to be part of the management team driving it.”

OgilvyOne has appointed Annette King as CEO of OgilvyOne Europe, Africa and Middle East (EAME) with immediate effect. In this role, Annette will oversee a network of 20 offices in 16 countries, driving growth and evolving the practice across the region. She will continue to be based in London where she will take on the role of Chairman, OgilvyOne UK. She will continue to report to Paul O’Donnell, Chairman, OgilvyOne EAME and Group Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather UK.

Under Annette’s leadership, OgilvyOne UK has seen phenomenal growth in a largely stagnant market, winning record new business including Drinkaware, British Gas Business and Bupa. The agency was the most awarded direct and digital agency in the UK last year winning at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity, taking two Campaign Big Awards and 11 Direct Marketing Association awards. OgilvyOne UK was also crowned Campaign Magazine’s agency of the year in 2010 and 2011, and is widely recognised as UK’s leading direct and digital marketing agency.

Paul O’Donnell commented: “Annette is a formidable character with an enviable track record, and has helped to evolve the agency into a true player in the digital space. It is this success that makes her the perfect person to spearhead growth across the EAME region.”

Speaking about her new role, Annette said: “This is an amazing opportunity and I am incredibly excited and looking forward to working with our teams across the region. This is a fascinating time in the direct and digital industry, and I’m certain OgilvyOne’s combined strength across EAME will enable us to become a significant player in this region. The UK agency is very dear to my heart and I will continue to play a key role in the strategic direction of the agency.”

During Annette’s tenure as CEO, OgilvyOne UK grew by 30 per cent. In 2011 alone, new business billings exceeded £37 million and the agency’s headcount increased by 10 per cent against a backdrop of limited growth within the industry. OgilvyOne’s digital credentials were further underlined when it beat pure digital agencies to pick up BA’s creative technology business earlier this year.

Annette has worked at OgilvyOne UK for the past 12 years, enjoying a rapid rise through the ranks. She was appointed Managing Director at the beginning of 2008, and was promoted again to CEO, OgilvyOne UK, just nine months later.