WPP AUNZ has announced that Landor Australia and Designworks Australia have merged to form Australia’s leading brand and customer experience design agency.
The merger brings together two successful businesses with highly complementary offers: Designworks’ regional strength in corporate branding and customer experience design, and Landor’s globally recognised capabilities and proprietary methodologies in consumer branding and innovation.
Operating under Landor’s globally respected brand, the merged agency represents a new breed of omnichannel brand and customer experience practices with a full spectrum offering and unparalleled credentials in the region.
“Landor and Designworks Australia are both outstanding businesses in their own right. Bringing them together creates a unique offering in the Australian marketing landscape; the power and strength of Landor’s global brand with the agility, the local expertise, and knowledge of Designworks. They are both highly innovative and future-focused in their approach to business, and their combined scale and capability will drive even greater value for existing and future clients,” said WPP AUNZ’s CEO Michael Connaghan.
With 27 offices globally and clients that include BP, FedEx, Procter & Gamble, and Singapore Airlines, Landor is one of the world’s leading brand agencies. Designworks is Australasia’s largest strategic design and branding consultancy with Australian offices in Sydney and Melbourne and a client list that includes Officeworks, Stockland, and Westpac.
Sven Baker, Designworks chairman and group CEO, said: “Landor’s agile brands philosophy is remarkably similar to our own. Both firms employ design thinking as a strategic business tool in a rapidly changing world and put customer experience at the heart of designing for the future. We’re delighted to be joining forces. Being part of the Landor global network will deliver significant benefit to our clients and it makes complete sense for the group.”
Dominic Walsh, managing director of Landor Australia, said: “We have long admired Designworks for its strategic prowess and creative excellence. I’m thrilled that we’re now partnering with them, so together we can continue to develop and grow the market opportunity in Australia.”
The combined business will be led by Dominic Walsh, reporting to Sven Baker as executive chairman. Brad Doble, currently managing director of Designworks Australia, has been appointed to the newly formed role of managing partner in Sydney, and Landor’s Nick Davis as managing partner in Melbourne.
The merged business will trade under the Landor brand in Australia as of February, while the Designworks brand and businesses will continue unaffected in the New Zealand market.
