OwenKessel was launched by Vaughan Owen and Felix Kessel. In 2008, the pair began the Agency with a single Client, Amstel; a brand that assisted them in establishing industry credibility early on. The merge has come at a perfect time with OwenKessel reaching the zenith of their achievements this year, scooping numerous international and local awards for Amstel, KOO, Business Day and MultiChoice DSTV campaigns respectively. The Agency also made an appearance on the 2013 AdFocus Agency of the Year shortlist, positioning itself as a newcomer to watch.
Heralded as one of South Africa's best emerging creative offerings, OwenKessel has fast established itself as an agency to watch with the past few years seeing the Company offering a more strategic approach to advertising, positioning itself as the "ballsy" new kid on the block. OwenKessel attributes its 6-year success to constantly challenging the status quo, an uncompromising dedication to the solution process and living by the ethos of doing the right thing, no matter what.
Commenting on the new alignment, OwenKessel Leo Burnett CEO, Felix Kessel says: "Firstly, it's a great coup for us to be part of the international stable that is Leo Burnett as it opens up the playing field for us to identify new growth areas in an exciting and emerging South African marketplace. Additionally, integration of both portfolios means huge opportunity to create award-winning work with a shared vision of unyielding excellence. Leo Burnett himself said it, be the best in the world, bar none".
2014 will see OwenKessel Leo Burnett diversifying its offerings with a creative focus on producing industry disruptive work, the alignment will be looking to grow market share through OwenKessel's implementation integrated with Leo Burnett's global reputation.
OwenKessel Leo Burnett MD, Vaughan Owen says: "OwenKessel Leo Burnett's common goal is to offer marketing services with creative, which is designed to generate a measurable return on investment. Simply put, the climate's right to align the Agencies as our value systems and creative culture are now in unison; we hope to become a world contender as a top full service Agency".
OwenKessel Leo Burnett's single-minded vision will bring obvious benefits to its combined client portfolio, assisting them in gaining a larger share of their respective markets.
