In May 2015 global creative network Lowe and Partners merged with IPG agency
network Mullen in the US to form the MullenLowe Group, a creatively led global
agency network with a strong entrepreneurial heritage and challenger mentality.
From January 2016, all Lowe agencies will be renamed MullenLowe across 90 offices
in over 65 markets globally. As a result of this, Lowe and Partners SA is now called
MullenLowe South Africa.
The MullenLowe South Africa offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town have been
restructured to form a single, nimble and streamlined offering. “This benefits our
clients hugely,’ says chief creative officer, Kirk Gainsford, “as it allows them to
enjoy easy access to our best people and the relationship as a whole is a lot more
direct and open. There are no silos. This suits the way we like to work – we want to remain lean, we want to keep punching above our weight and we want to be
creative challengers. That’s why we were the Top Small Agency at last year’s
Loeries.’
Katinka Pretorius, MD of MullenLowe South Africa, adds that with the
reorganisation and several exciting new business wins in place, the group is well
poised for a prosperous year in 2016 and beyond. MullenLowe South Africa retains
the Oil agency name for their lead brand strategy and research consultancy, which
is headed up by Sarah Dexter. “By being part of a global creative boutique, and,
with a strong entrepreneurial heritage and challenger mentality, we can provide
clients with a “hyperbundled’ offering of the best talent across various disciplines,’
says Dexter.
The new brand identity has been created to reflect the positioning of MullenLowe
Group as a global creative boutique, with a challenger approach. Alex Leikikh,
global CEO of MullenLowe Group said, “The creation of MullenLowe Group has given
us the opportunity to create a whole new type of global communications network. A
network not defined by silos. A network with integrated communications planning
built into the model. A network where we bring together the best cross section of
our talent across all disciplines to work on client business challenges and drive
more creativity’.
The MullenLowe Group network will now consist of four main brands: MullenLowe,
delivering integrated marketing communications solutions; MullenLowe Profero, the
digital pure-play network; MullenLowe Mediahub, providing media planning and
buying solutions; and MullenLowe Open offering behavior-driven activation, CRM and
shopper marketing.
To visualise the new brand identity, the network employed its own talent to design
its new logo, with the “Challenger Octopus’ marque being developed out of
MullenLowe Brazil. Jose Miguel Sokoloff, president of the MullenLowe Group Global
Creative Council said, “The new “Challenger Octopus’ brand identity perfectly
embodies the positioning of MullenLowe Group, as a creative company with a
challenger attitude that is willing to take risks, and underscores a key competitive
advantage of our network with our hyperbundled offering.’
