The London agency, which has been in operation for 28 years, is part of the Ogilvy Group in London and is wholly owned by world-leading advertising and marketing group WPP. CPB SA is a joint venture between Ogilvy SA, which are both WPP companies.

Strategic methodology

Ogilvy has chosen to partner CPB because of its strategic methodology known as V!sual Plann!ng. As the name suggests, V!sual Plann!ng uses imagery to define the essence of a brand rather than using words alone.

“Visual Brand Equities are one of the most powerful ways to create differentiation in a cluttered world,” say Tabatha King, MD of Coley Porter Bell South Africa. “We combine international strategic expertise with exceptional local creative talent to deliver strategy and design that is beautifully thought, beautifully executed and beautifully effective.”

Clients for the London agency includes The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, Nestlé and Tesco in its brand portfolio and the Cape Town office is, in short order, already doing work for DStv, BP, Kauai and @home.

“I believe it's because we make brands beautiful,” says King, “and beautiful brands are brands that sell,” she adds. “Beautiful brands are noticeable, desirable and memorable. They attract attention and loyalty.”

Incoming talent

As South Africans we are all too accustomed to seeing talent leave the country so it makes for a pleasant change to see incoming talent in the form Coley Porter Bell South Africa's new strategy director, Mathew Weiss, who joins the company from the London office.

“I'm here because South Africa is a country brimming with opportunity,” says Weiss, “And the weather's pretty good too,” he adds.

MD Tabatha King brings 14 years experience with Ogilvy, where she headed up accounts such as South African Tourism, Coca-Cola and DStv. Simon Andrew is the creative director. He has worked on many iconic SA brands, including Old Mutual, Volkswagen and SAB, and has won local and international creative awards. He is supported by design director Vicki Peter, who also has numerous local and international awards to her credit. The SA agency employs about 20 staff in total.

Key international projects that have put the agency on the map include Pan European and global identities for Unilever on Hellmann's and Comfort brands and working with Kimberly-Clark on Huggies and Kotex, Nestlé on Nescafé Gold Blend, Cadbury on Trident Gum, Miniature Heroes and Milk Tray, as well Tesco on its Organics and Healthy Living ranges.

“Our agency has ambitions to grow the brand and to spread the geographic reach into emerging economies. We explored several regions as potential new markets in which to set up and felt that the opportunity to launch into South Africa was the most exciting for our brand. We see this as being a real time of opportunity for the country's design market,” says the CPB London CEO, Vicky Bullen.

Relatively young industry

Bullen further points out that the design industry is relatively young in South Africa in comparison to the UK and that Design Indaba has really marked its birth as a commercial industry – a time when CPB can really establish the company as a key player. CPB London is also investing in SA because the country is entering the ninth year of the longest economic upswing that it has ever experienced.

“Very importantly SA is also a hot bed of creative talent and we are very excited about the partnership with Ogilvy South Africa because of their creative excellence and ambition, which we feel absolutely matches our own,” points out Bullen.

“We're ambitious. We believe in our talent and we are really confident about our offer. Creating value and making brands beautiful is what we do. And we love doing it,” concludes King.

[14 Mar 2008 09:49]

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