Ogilvy & Mather Expands eCommerce Practice for Smarter Commerce with Global IBM Technology Partnership

NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- eCommerce@Ogilvy, Ogilvy & Mather's (O&M) global eCommerce practice, announced the formalization of a partnership with IBM and its portfolio of solutions for Smarter Commerce that will add world-class technology infrastructure options to eCommerce@Ogilvy's growing client engagements.  

O&M has already built a multi-million dollar global eCommerce practice.  The agency plans to build revenues from eCommerce@Ogilvy to exceed $100 million in three to four years and will continue to invest in building its offering.

eCommerce@Ogilvy, brings together the analytics and CRM capabilities of OgilvyOne with the retail and shopper marketing of OgilvyAction, to build enhanced consumer retail and cross industry ecosystems.  Its work for clients over the past several years incorporates the new realities of the interconnected digital and store shopping experiences.  O&M's growing eCommerce practice works on behalf of such blue-chip clients as Louis Vuitton, British Airways, Kimberly-Clark, Nike, Nestle, Ciaro and others. It has offices in New York, London, Paris, Melbourne, Sao Paulo, Taiwan, Singapore, China and Korea with plans to expand. 

"We've already built an extensive network of offices and capabilities that add value to our clients' businesses and has proven to be in keeping with our model to add new offerings  that leverage changes in our industry such as consulting, performance marketing, sustainability and more," explained Miles Young, Worldwide Chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather. "IBM's technology solutions in this space are unequaled and will add to the solutions eCommerce@Ogilvy delivers.  At the same time, we will also provide IBM with an expanded base of potential clients."  

O&M has already brought several IBM solutions into client engagements over the past several years most specifically its Unica interactive software company that is being used globally by such clients as Kimberly-Clark and others. 

The partnership follows IBM's three year and $3 billion investment in its Smarter Commerce initiative that includes a series of acquisitions expanding its software capabilities in customer analytics and focus on helping CMO's and CIO's collaborate in new ways to engage today's increasingly selective and digitally empowered consumer.  In addition to the analytics and cloud technology that IBM offers, the partnership will incorporate the CRM, insight-driven and shopper centric capabilities that eCommerce@Ogilvy provides.  

eCommerce@Ogilvy has already developed and implemented multichannel digital customer experience offerings including online retail and mobile applications for Louis Vuitton, growing CRM user experience platforms for Nestle, and the redesign of one of the leading cable television operators platform and portal to add ecommerce, small business development and channel line-ups.

Carl Hartman, who assumed leadership of eCommerce@Ogilvy in January said, "ecommerce engagements are complex and require multiple types of vertical expertise, to meet that client need.  The IBM/O&M partnership will include joint training and education sessions, new collaborative service options and a one-stop solution for clients to power and simplify their ecommerce engagement." 

"We are optimistic this partnership will help clients on both sides and will benefit from the shared understanding between O&M and IBM based on our 17-year working relationship and the success of that partnership in driving results for IBM," said Mr. Young.

Ogilvy & Mather 
Ogilvy & Mather is one of the largest marketing communications companies in the world. In 2012, O&M was named Cannes Lions Network of the Year and Most Effective Agency Network by the Effies Global Effectiveness Index. The company is comprised of industry leading units in all of the following disciplines: advertising; public relations and public affairs; branding and identity; shopper and retail marketing; healthcare communications; direct, digital, promotion and relationship marketing; consulting, research and analytics capabilities; branded content and entertainment; and specialist communications. O&M services Fortune Global 500 companies as well as local businesses through its network of more than 450 offices in 120 countries. It is a WPP company (NASDAQ: WPPGY). For more information, visit www.ogilvy.com, or follow us on Twitter at @OgilvyWW and on Facebook.com/Ogilvy.

SOURCE Ogilvy & Mather