mobiThinking guide to mobile agencies: Ogilvy & Mather

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Ogilvy & Mather: in brief

Type of agency: full service.
Founded: Ogilvy & Mather has been developing mobile campaigns for clients for over 5 years.
Main offices: mobile centers of excellence in New York, London, Sao Paulo, Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore.
Employees (in mobile): approximately 250 employees working on mobile campaigns globally.
Ownership: wholly-owned subsidiary of WPP.
Recent news: in 2009 and 2010 Ogilvy received 18 Awards for its mobile work, most recently the Award for Overall Excellence at the Mobile Marketing Association Global Awards, a Cannes Silver Lion for IBM Wimbledon Seer and a GSMA Award for IKEA PS Mobile Interior Planning Tool.
Profile submitted by: Scott Seaborn, head of mobile, Ogilvy & Mather UK.
Contact details: scott.seaborn (at) ogilvy.com.
Profile first published: July 2010.

Video case study: IBM Wimbledon Seer application. This award-winning augmented-reality app uses GPS and live data to tell visitors to the 2009 Wimbledon tennis tournament what they are looking at and what is happening right now. Seer delivered UK £26 million (US $39.4 million) in new business for IBM, free PR equivalent in value to £2 million ($3 million) in advertising and more positive brand awareness for IBM than the past 5 years put together; a total return on investment of 1:156.

Ogilvy & Mather: in depth

1) Global annual revenue from mobile: Band D $5m-10m
2) Is the mobile business profitable? Yes.
3) How is the company funded? Ogilvy is owned by WPP, which is a public company.
4) Proportion of business related to mobile: Ogilvy’s revenue from mobile services is approximately 5% of global revenue.
5) Business split: the proportions depend on the region:
• EMEA: strategy 10%; creative 60%, technical 30%.
• North America: strategy 20%, creative 60%, technical 20%.
• APAC: strategy 30%, creative 30%, technical 40%.
• All regions: strategy 20%, creative 50%, technical 30%.
6) Key mobile activities: mobile apps 20%; mobile Web 15%; mobile content provision 15%; user interface design 10%; location-based services/mapping 10%; m-commerce 5%; mobile advertising 5%; mobile games 5%; media buying 5%; mobile messaging 5%; QR codes, short codes or premium numbers 3%; mobile financial services 2%.
7) Specialties/expertise:
• Ogilvy is known for making mobile a key feature of integrated programs, developing industry-leading B2B and B2C campaigns across a wide range of clients.
• Ogilvy’s strategic and creative mobile marketing capabilities drive brand differentiation and business results for our clients.
8) Main competitors: AKQA, BBH, Euro RSCG, R/GA, Saatchi and Saatchi, Sapient Nitro.
9) Client base: mobile clients in 2009 included: IBM, Coca-Cola, Fanta, American Express, SAP, British Telecom, HSBC, Kodak, Unilever, Conde Nast, BP, Motorola, GSK and Guinness.

Video case study: Motorola: Say Goodbye This award-winning campaign in partnership with The HyperFactory enabled travellers to say goodbye in a big way at Hong Kong Airport.

10) Geographical coverage: US 20%; APAC 40%; EMEA 30%; LATAM 10%. Ogilvy has mobile centers of excellence in UK, USA, Singapore, Brazil and China.
11) Works most closely with (apart from clients): over 50 mobile technical partners and many network operators and handset manufacturers.
12) Award-winning campaigns: in 2009 and 2010 Ogilvy received 18 awards for its mobile work, including the Award for Overall Excellence at the Mobile Marketing Association Global Awards.
a) The IKEA PS Mobile Interior Planning Tool
GSMA Awards 2010: Winner (best mobile marketing) in partnership with CLANMO.
b) Wimbledon IBM Seer application
Cannes Cyber Lions 2010: Silver
Direct Marketing Awards 2009: Gold; four Silvers • details.
c) The Fanta Stealth Sound System (Coca-Cola)
London International Awards 2009: two Silver awards.
Direct Marketing Awards 2009: Bronze • details.
d) Motorola: Say Goodbye (several awards including):
Webby Awards 2008 Winner (mobile advertising).

Video case study: Fanta Stealth Sound System. The idea was inspired by the ultra-sonic alarms used to stop teenage groups gathering – these play high-pitch sounds that only young people can hear. The Fanta Stealth Sound System turns this upside down, with a mobile application that allows teenagers to communicate using frequencies adults cannot hear. It is approaching 1 million downloads.

13) How do you sell mobile to your clients?
• We sell mobile as a critical element within an overall communications plan.
• Mobile is the key driver of the Internet globally. The mobile Web is growing extremely quickly, driven particularly by locations where PCs are less popular, such as India, China and Africa.
• One of mobile’s key differentiators is leveraging location-based marketing (such as augmented reality, Foursquare) and integrating smart apps into an overall customer-engagement strategy.
14) What return on investment (ROI) should your clients expect from mobile? Due to low entry costs and mobile being an embryonic market, it is possible for some campaigns to achieve massive ROIs. IBM believes the Wimbledon Seer application (above) delivered an ROI of 1:156 (that’s the client’s numbers), but this kind of success is remarkable and way above average.
15) Membership of industry bodies/associations: Ogilvy participates at board level on the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) (Barney Loehnis is the Vice Chair of MMA Asia and Scott Seaborn is UK co-chairman and on the European board); American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA); and Direct Marketing Association (DMA).
16) What needs to happen to accelerate mobile marketing/Web/services over the next five years?
• Brands need to develop mobile Web sites. Less than 5% of brands have one. The PC Internet didn’t take off until brands launched Websites, mobile Web will be the same.
• More smartphone penetration and 3/4G networks.
17) In 2015, mobile will be… more important than desktop devices in terms of communication and accessing content. It will be infused into all communication and business strategies.

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