Ogilvy One lifer Clare Lawson rewarded with global role

Ogilvy has appointed a new global president of direct marketing division Ogilvy One, handing the role to Clare Lawson, who first joined the UK agency in 2003 as an account manager.

Over the past 22 years Lawson has risen up the ranks of the business, from director of new business and client service director through to managing director, head of customer engagement and chief customer officer. She has been chief executive of the EMEA region since April 2021.

A key architect of the agency’s proprietary “Relationship Design” approach, Lawson has helped develop customer engagement strategies for clients such as Formula 1, Lloyds, Nestle, and other leading brands.

In her new role, she will collaborate with Ogilvy One global chief executive Kent Wertime and its global leadership team to deliver value to Ogilvy One’s clients worldwide.

Her focus will be on further enhancing the agency’s capabilities and services globally, while nurturing key client partnerships and continuing to lead the team in EMEA.

The Ogilvy One brand was reborn last May, seven years after being shelved in a move designed to bring it back in line with founder David Ogilvy’s status as “one of the true, original direct marketers”.

While most agencies have long ditched the term “direct marketing” to disassociate themselves from its image by pushing data-driven marketing, CRM, customer experience and one-to-one communications, Ogilvy One has gone back to its roots.

The agency has about 4,000 specialists around the world spanning strategy, creative, design, UX/UI, data, media and performance, platform integration, creative technology, innovation, and AI among other areas – all underpinned by a global technology backbone powered by Verticurl with main hubs in India, Brazil, and Australia.

Wertime said: “Clare has made significant contributions to Ogilvy One over the years, driving the business and architecting our approach to Relationship Design.

“At a time when clients are increasingly investing in measurable, data-driven communications but struggling to create truly distinctive customer relationships, Clare’s leadership is more critical than ever. She has enormous passion and belief in Ogilvy One and its potential to use the power of creativity to help our clients’ become leaders in customer engagement.”

Lawson added: “Many brands today underutilise their substantial technology investments, often at the expense of valuable customer relationships.

“I’m thrilled to take on this expanded role at Ogilvy One, where we’re proving that creativity, combined with the scale of our technology and data capabilities, is the key to unlocking that untapped potential. We’re helping our clients realise the full value of their investments and driving significant growth by placing brand back as the creative heart of customer engagement and experience.”