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OgilvyOne London is delighted to announce the appointment of Ann Higgins (above) to the new position of Head of Customer Strategy, with immediate effect.

Reporting into Ogilvy EMEA Regional Director of Consulting Mark Inskip, Ann will be responsible for helping to unite the complex skill sets and disciplines of modern marketing and CRM – planning, strategy, data analysis, search, creative, engagement, experience planning and so on – to create strategies for OgilvyOne’s major clients including BT and British Airways.

Ann arrives from OgilvyOne Paris, where she has spent the last year as Director of Experience Planning, working on CRM, consulting, e-commerce, mobile and analytics programmes and as Global Strategy Director (Digital & CRM) on the Nestlé account since 2008.

She began her marketing career in 1998 when she was selected for OgilvyOne parent company WPP’s acclaimed Marketing Fellows programme.

After initial spells in London at WPP agencies JWT, Mindshare and The Henley Centre (now The Futures Company), she joined OgilvyOne in New York in 2001 as a senior Relationship Marketing Consultant and was nominated Partner in 2003. She worked on brands such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Cisco, SAP, Unilever and Kimberly Clark and led successful new business pitches for the agency’s consulting group.

Mark Inskip said: “This is another fantastic appointment and a welcome addition to an already very strong consulting and planning team.

“Ann has an excellent record as an innovator and strategist on complex accounts and is an expert on addressing and solving challenges, especially in the digital sphere; and her record in helping to grow clients’ business, as well as our own, is second to none.”

OgilvyOne London unveiled its latest campaign last night at a packed London art gallery private view. The campaign, called “Taste”, is for OgilvyOne client Freggo ice-cream, and kicks off with an exhibition at the Menier Gallery.

Taste uses ground-breaking “data visualisation” technology as part of the Sensational Ice Cream campaign for Freggo.

OgilvyOne creative team, Rae Stones and Fiona Sanday, have been working with Andrew Shoben from Greyworld, an art collective renowned for its work in urban spaces, to create a bespoke computer program that captures six core elements of the ice cream flavour, all of which have been validated by the British Society of Flavourists.

The response data (sweetness, richness, creaminess, juiciness and so on) are fed into the program to define how the visuals look.

Visitors to the exhibition can not only view Greyworld’s visualisations of various Freggo flavours, but also create their own, bespoke “artworks’ by feeding their own perceptions into a computer (below).

OgilvyOne London’s chief executive Annette King said: “Freggo is one of those accounts we love having – it offers the opportunity to really stretch our creative muscles. We thought that a new and unique product deserved marketing that was a break from the norm. Enjoying ice-cream is a sensual, almost immersive experience – which is also different for every single person. So why not have advertising which is itself immersive and tailored to the individual’s personal perceptions?

“In collaboration with Greyworld, our creative team, led by joint ECDs Charlie Wilson and Emma de la Fosse, has come up with what we think is a high-impact campaign which will get the brand talked about and which will delight the target audience.”

Charlie and Emma added: “We buy ice-cream based on what it tastes like, or what we think it will taste like. Given that Freggo’s flavours are unusual and distinctive, we wanted to show people what their taste buds experience when trying them for the first time. It’s never been done before so, we developed a taste test with the Gaucho Head of Wine and asked the Society of Flavourists to validate it. The result is six simple questions which you answer based on how you taste each flavour. Your own personalised art is then generated. As no two people taste things in the same way, each piece of art is unique to the individual.”

Martin Williams, operations director at Gaucho Restaurants (that’s him in the white jacket above) said after the event: “OgilvyOne came up with an amazing idea and made huge efforts turn them into reality. The concept and art look fantastic – I am sure that it will continue to get great publicity and drive traffic to Freggo.”

The public are invited to view Taste at the Menier Gallery, London Bridge (www.meniergallery.co.uk) until 16^th April.

The taste test will also be featured at Freggo’s Swallow Street, London store. Customers will be able to take the test, see their art and receive an email with their own artwork or upload it to their Facebook, Twitter or other social media pages and share with friends and family.

You can view a selection of photos from last night’s event – plus posters and other promotional materials – at the Ogilvy Group UK Flickr pages

British Airways today (April 12, 2011), announces the extension of its relationships with two of its lead agencies -OgilvyOne London and Bartle, Bogle Hegarty (BBH).

The announcement follows an internal review and evaluation undertaken by the airline.

OgilvyOne, the airline’s digital and direct agency, will continue in its capacity as British Airways’ global loyalty and below-the-line marketing communications agency. The team will continue to support British Airways’ Executive Club and OnBusiness programmes – and remain the digital and direct agency within Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific regions.

Ian Romanis, British Airways head of customer engagement, says: “Over the last three years we have developed a strong partnership with OgilvyOne and have continued to be impressed by their strategic capability, creativity and value they have added to our business”

Annette King, OgilvyOne London chief executive says: “British Airways is a fantastic brand – one that the whole team here at OgilvyOne are very proud to work with. We’re all thrilled that our partnership has been extended and look forward to producing more great work together in the coming years.”

BBH, who were appointed in 2005, will continue as British Airways global advertising agency, supporting brand communications across the world.

Earlier this month, Campaign magazine published its prestigious School Reports. These rate the UK’s agencies’ performance over the past year, with a mark given out of 9. As you might expect for a company which won the same magazine’s “Direct Agency of the Year” title a couple of months previously, OgilvyOne London got full marks – 9 out of 9. It was the only agency of its type to score so highly.

You can download the full School Report here: OO School Report

OgilvyOne London will be using ground-breaking “data visualisation” at an art installation next month as part of its “Sensational Ice Cream” campaign for Freggo.

Freggo is a new venture from the owners of the popular Gaucho group of Argentinian restaurants and the first outlet opened in London’s West End on 9th September 2010. The brand is hugely popular in Argentina, where it’s known as “Freddo”

OgilvyOne creative team Rae Stones and Fiona Sanday have been working with Andrew Shoben from Greyworld, an art collective renowned for its work in urban spaces, to create a bespoke computer program that captures six core elements of the ice cream flavour, all of which have been validated by the British Society of Flavourists. The response data (sweetness, richness, creaminess, juiciness and so on) are fed into the program to define how the visuals look.

Freggo’s unusual flavours include Malbec & Berries Dulce De Leche and Temptation and the brand is positioned as an upmarket treat for sophisticated young urban adults, particularly those who enjoy nightlife and clubbing.

OgilvyOne London’s joint executive creative directors, Charlie Wilson and Emma de la Fosse, say: “Freggo is a distinctively different ice-cream that offers jaded palates a new experience. We thought that a new and unique product deserved marketing that was a break from the norm. Enjoying ice-cream is a sensual, almost immersive experience – which is also different for every single person. So why not have advertising which is itself immersive and tailored to the individual’s personal perceptions?

“With our colleagues at Greyworld our creative team has come up with what we think is a high-impact campaign which will get the brand talked about and which will delight the target audience.”

The public are invited to view Taste at the Menier Gallery, London Bridge from 12th to 16th April. Come back to www.ogilvy.co.uk soon for a report on how things went!

To celebrate being named Campaign magazine’s Direct Agency of the Year, OgilvyOne London threw a bash for clients and the media at the Club At The Ivy in London. Among the speakers were Ogilvy Group UK vice-chairman and OgilvyOne legend Rory Sutherland (above); OgilvyOne London’s chief executive Annette King (that’s her below, with OgilvyOne’s global boss, Brian Fetherstonhaugh), and Campaign editor Claire Beale.

Also present neo@ogilvy MD Richard Wheaton and Paul O’Donnell, chairman of Ogilvy Group, senior management from other Group agencies, top creatives, senior account handlers and of course representatives from OgilvyOne’s blue-chip client base (including IBM, British Airways, American Express, BT, British Gas and BUPA).

More pictures of the night can be found here.

OgilvyOne London is today delighted to announce that, following a competitive pitch, it has won its first major piece of new business of 2011 – the prestigious Drinkaware business.

Drinkaware, a UK alcohol awareness charity funded by the drinks industry, aims to change UK drinking habits for the better by highlighting the dangers of alcohol misuse – primarily through the use of behavioural change campaigning, digital communications and media relations. The pitch, which was run through Oystercatchers, ended in a two-way shootout with VCCP.

OgilvyOne has been tasked with creating integrated on-and-offline campaigns which move Drinkaware on from its successful general awareness communications towards an action-orientated and behavioural change marketing approach

The agency will be combining its skills in creativity, strategic thinking, and integrated communications to positively change behaviour among parents of young children, young adults aged 18 to 24 and adults age 30+. OgilvyOne and Drinkaware will encourage parents to speak to their children about alcohol misuse, challenge the social acceptance and desirability of drunken behaviour among young adults, and build awareness of unit equivalents and guidelines among adults.

Work on the account begins immediately and will run until 2013.

Annette King, OgilvyOne London’s chief executive, says: “We are thrilled – what a way to kick off 2011. This is a fantastic piece of business to win. Not only is Drinkaware a great cause, this account will also play to, and test, our strengths – it requires robust strategic insights and thinking, powerful creative execution, high levels of technical skill, great project management skills and the ability to integrate our strategies and creative across a number of channels. A big challenge, and one which we’re looking forward to meeting.”

Chris Sorek, Chief Executive of Drinkaware, adds: “We were very impressed with the OgilvyOne pitch and are looking forward to working with them to achieve real behaviour change among consumers.

“Our challenge is to present messages about alcohol misuse in a way that resonates with the target audience – and a creative, evidence-based approach will be key.”

Late last year, seeking to overturn the misconception that Lotus Notes is just an email program, OgilvyOne London set out to intrigue business decision makers into considering what else Lotus can do by demonstrating the software’s social business capabilities.

Need to know who in your organisation knows about metadata? Want someone with experience of working in China? Ask Lotus and you’ll find the experts you need for your project.

The busy-ness of rush hour travel and the low dwell time of the average commuter meant that the concept had to be succinct and visually arresting to gain sufficient attention and recognition.

By using a literal and visual interpretation of ‘hand-picking’ the perfect project team, OgilvyOne London sought to surprise Lotus’ business audience on their commute; given the scale of the Tranvision screens (48-sheet size LCDs), a giant hand was just the thing to ‘grab’ our audience and help them change their perception of Lotus.

Creative directors were Charlie Wilson and Emma de la Fosse; copywriter, James Hodge; Art Director, Neil Aitken; Helen Birkenshaw was producer, with Dave Packer of Sheep Films as digital animator. Phil White was business director and Kieran Bradshaw was Account Manager.

Australia may not have regained the Ashes, but there is some consolation for its cricket fans: potentially big savings on British Airways flights from Sydney to London.

Thanks to a new online banner campaign (double-click on the pictures to view in higher resolution) by the airline’s digital agency, OgilvyOne London, Australians can visit the home of cricket at prices which may go some way to compensating them for their team’s dismal Ashes performance.

OgilvyOne creative team, Neal Williamson and Rick Sear, have created a banner for Australian websites – including the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Daily Telegraph – that begins with the headline: “Do something you never thought you would do. Cheer on England.”

The banner then informs Australian fans that British Airways will take England’s highest innings score and take it off the price of a ticket to London, before moving on to a scoreboard with a live feed that shows the England score going up – and the flight price coming down.

Andrew Boggs, OgilvyOne business director on the British Airways account, says,” The idea was to offer Australian cricket fans some consolation in defeat – without resorting to triumphalism or condescension.

The campaign continues until 9th January.

This year has been a great one for OgilvyOne London – prestigious new business wins such as BUPA, ActionAid, and IHG; attracting some of the hottest talent in town; and, most importantly of course, some outstanding creative work. To top it all, OgilvyOne was named direct Agency of the year by Campaign magazine.

The four-minute film above outlines some of the agency’s creative aachievements of 2010 – a record we hope to replicate next year!