Ogilvy expands to Brisbane; JuniorCru merges with group to create new agency Ogilvy Brisbane

Ogilvy Australia is expanding its footprint into the Queensland market, today announcing fellow STW creative and digital shop JuniorCru will merge into the Ogilvy business to create Ogilvy Brisbane.

The 40-strong agency service a range of Queensland-based clients, providing the opportunity to work closely with the group’s Melbourne and Sydney offices. As a result of the move, the JuniorCru brand will cease to exist.

MD Russ Vine (left) and creative director Jono Drapes (right) will both remain at the helm of the agency, with no other changes to be made to the business.

Says Michael Connaghan, CEO, STW: “Part of the STW strategy is to leverage our scale in the Australian market. A merger of JuniorCru into Ogilvy Australia makes perfect sense. JuniorCru is an outstanding local Brisbane Agency. Combining it with the power of Ogilvy, the number one Agency in the world, is a great story for, JuniorCru, Ogilvy and STW.”

Ogilvy Australia CEO David Fox said JuniorCru was one of Brisbane’s leading agencies, with outstanding creative and digital capabilities that fit perfectly with Ogilvy’s business model.

Says Fox: “JuniorCru is an outstanding business with a range of stellar clients on the roster and some very talented staff on the team. Becoming part of the Ogilvy family will allow the Brisbane office further growth and access to Ogilvy’s proven global tools and specialist skills. It will also allow us to further expand our Australian footprint into the growth market of Brisbane. We’re excited about the move and working closely with Russ and his team.”

Says Vine, MD, Ogilvy Brisbane: “The merge of Junior and Cru two years ago was about creating a creative/digital hybrid to help clients achieve greater ROI. Since then we’ve been delivering innovative, data driven campaigns that help clients span multiple touch points in order to successfully reach and influence consumers in today’s diverse world.

“Becoming Ogilvy Brisbane lets us take this to a whole new level again. With world-class resources like Neo@Ogilvy, OgilvyChange, Etcom, Data@Ogilvy, Social@Ogilvy and OgilvyOne, we’ll be able to offer clients deeper, smarter solutions and we’ll be able tap into some amazing people whilst gaining some innovative new tools.

“We’re very excited. It is a move that is not only good for our agency but for the wider Brisbane/Queensland market. Too many Queensland based brands have moved their business south to Sydney in recent years. We’re hoping that might change now that one of the world’s most famous, most powerful and most highly regarded agency networks has a fully fledged office right here in Brisbane.”

Says Drapes: “Creatively, JuniorCru produces some of Queensland’s most influential integrated work for a diverse range of clients including Echo Entertainment, Virgin Australia, Retail Food Group, Novion Shopping Centres, Surf Life Saving Queensland and recently launching UNIQLO into the Australian market.

“Some of the work we are most proud of includes helping the Queensland Government achieve some of its highest ever digital and social media engagement rates. Over 500,000 Queenslanders have gone online to calculate their ‘Health & Fitness Age’ and our ‘Sun Mum’ sun safety campaign has racked up over 1.4m You Tube views; these are achievements our team is particularly proud of and we look forward to creating equally successful campaigns under the Ogilvy Brisbane banner.”

JuniorCru began as Junior in 2001 and was Queensland’s most awarded agency at the 2014 BADC Awards, taking out 17 awards in total.