MullenLowe Group launches new global brand identity; 303Lowe rebrands to 303 Mullen Lowe
From today, Lowe agencies across 90 offices in over 65 markets will be rebranded as MullenLowe. In Australia, the agency will rebrand as 303 MullenLowe to reflect an enhanced local offering.
The global rebranding of MullenLowe Group follows the Group’s formation in May last year through the merger of IPG agencies Mullen in the U.S. with global creative network Lowe and Partners.
“Mullen is an impressive brand in the States and from our first interaction with them – and Alex [Leikikh] – it has been nothing but positive and we are incredibly aligned in our view on the world of communications,” said Al Taylor, Group Managing Director of 303 MullenLowe in Perth. “Both agencies have a proud legacy as independent agencies that have built a fully integrated offering including the provision of media buying services. The timing for the rebrand and associated initiatives couldn’t be better as it marks the start of a big year for us with a lot of things planned that will surprise and delight the local market. And, of course, it’s nice to see the 303 name front-and-centre.”
Mullen has won numerous accolades including AdAge’s Agency A-list, Creativity magazine’s Creative Innovators of the Year as well as scooping the North American Effie Grand Prix 2015 for its American Greetings work.
Alex Leikikh, Global CEO of MullenLowe Group said the creation of MullenLowe Group had given us them the opportunity to create a whole new type of global communications network.
“It’s 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.
Nick Cleaver, CEO of 303 MullenLowe, said Mullen’s hyper-bundled model has evolved from a shared belief that better client solutions emerge from a multidisciplinary agency environment.
“For us, the rebrand comes at a perfect time as our operating model has evolved significantly over the last year or so. It’s appropriate we signal this with a brand identity that better captures what we are as a company. And we love the sense of fun and purpose of the new logo. It captures our creativity, our determination to command our clients an unfair share of attention, and it’s an appropriate metaphor for our bundled offering.”
Over the past 18 months, 303 MullenLowe has significantly expanded its social media and content offering and its digital capabilities under the stewardship of Brad Morris, Managing Partner for Digital and Innovation. Gavin Gibson’s arrival in July 2015 as Managing Partner Media has seen the agency add enormously to its media smarts with a new programmatic trading desk and a new data analytics capability created. Over the last three months, 303 MullenLowe has bolstered its media team with six new hires.
The agency grew significantly in 2015 off the back of its enhanced offering winning clients including Audi, major Federal campaigns for Treasury and Health, NSW Health, P&N Bank, Southern Cross Care, CV Check, State Library and WFI.
“Our integrated offering means clients get better creative solutions with less fuss and without the headaches of trying to coordinate competing agencies,” said Cleaver. “We like to see ourselves as a different kind of beast where you’ll find the different arms of our industry – advertising, data, technical skills and media buying – in one place. No walls. No silos. That’s important because in this noisy world, the only ideas that cut through are the ones that capture people’s imaginations at the right time and the right place. It’s why we believe brand, channel and digital thinking are inseparable.
“We believe our industry is at a watershed moment when the traditional divisions of media and creative agencies are rapidly crumbling as the new media environment makes a mockery of the arbitrary division. What’s particularly exciting about our enhanced offer is its ability to bring media insights into the creative development process and data analytics into tracking campaign performance. It allows us to be creatively responsive to how our campaigns are performing and so deliver a better return on our clients’ advertising investments.
“We don’t believe there’s another agency in Australia with the end to end capabilities we offer,” said Cleaver.
303 MullenLowe is also re-launching its website today to reflect the agency’s new branding and integrated capabilities.