Ogilvy Africa a wholly owned subsidiary of WPP Scangroup Plc, today announced the opening of its new office in Lagos, Nigeria.
Ogilvy Nigeria becomes the integrated communications’ firm 24th office in sub-Saharan Africa. It represents the strategic expansion of the Ogilvy brand across Africa.
Speaking at the newly opened office, Mathieu Plassard, the chief executive officer of Ogilvy, Africa said the office in Nigeria would enable the firm to create a cohesive creative communications solutions team and further strengthen the agency’s ability to offer clients in Nigeria focused attention.
Announcing the changes, Bharat Thakrar, CEO of WPP-Scangroup, said the opening of the Nigeria Branch is confirmation of the group’s commitment to enhancing its communication services offering for clients across the region.
The brand was previously represented in Nigeria under Prima Garnet Communications Limited. An amicable out of court settlement between Ogilvy & Mather Africa BV and Prima Garnet Communications reached in December 2017 paved the way for the opening of its branch in Nigeria.
The office will be headed by Ms Fiona Uwagwu who, until her appointment as managing director, Ogilvy Nigeria, was managing partner for Customer Engagement in the office in Nairobi. Uwagwu previously worked in the United Kingdom office.
“Nigeria is one of the biggest economies in sub-Saharan Africa and creates both challenges and opportunities for an innovative communications firm. We will make use of our global network advantages, coupled with our local professional services experience, to provide strategic communications support to our clients here”, she said.
Ogilvy has offices in 24 countries and 900 employees across Central, East and West Africa.
The agency, which has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, is the most creative, integrated communications network in Africa. Some of the recent awards it has won include 4 Cannes Lions, a Grand Clio award and a Grand Prix at the Dubai Lynx Festival.
Ogilvy handles Pan-African communication for various global brands including Airtel, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Unilever and WWF.