Australia’s largest public relations and communications agency, Ogilvy PR Australia, has rebranded to opr and established itself as a separate entity within WPP AUNZ.

The new opr agency brand signifies a nod to its Ogilvy heritage, a new direction and a new phase in the agency’s history as it leaves the Ogilvy network, reinforcing its mission to lead the Australian marketplace in terms of capability and results.

opr CEO Richard Brett said: “Our new name reflects the power of the letter O in our heritage. Yet as we evolve the agency we have thought hard about our purpose and what we do best for clients. Our new strapline ‘believability is our business’ reflects the importance of truth and factual storytelling in the era of fake news and ‘alternative facts’. Our discipline is uniquely placed to help organisations and brands navigate these new complexities. We are excited about the future and what additional opportunities it will bring for our people and our clients.

“Since its creation in 2001, Ogilvy PR has always been a specialised, unique and highly focused group of people engaged in communications with a fantastic and very special culture. It has become the leader in its field; providing unparalleled expertise across brand marketing, technology, public affairs, government relations, corporate communications, healthcare, B2B and employee engagement.”

Brett will continue to lead the rebranded organisation, with all other team, structure clients, values and vision remaining unchanged.  opr will also remain the preferred public relations partner to Ogilvy in Australia, and continue to work with the Ogilvy PR APAC network on a range of clients.

Kieran Moore, CEO WPP AUNZ PR & PA continued: “The opr brand provides a new position in the marketplace, the business otherwise continues as usual. It will continue to service our outstanding and market-leading clients, our talented team will continue to provide best-practice communications campaigns and programs and our strong relationship with the broader WPP family remains.  Same leadership, same talent, same expertise – and a different name.”

opr’s new moniker will be seen on all its assets including website, social presence and credentials from this week.  “Reworking our own brand and position is a further demonstration of the incredibly diverse and deep expertise opr offers,” Brett continued.  “It has been a fantastic and exciting process for everyone involved and we look forward to continued success as opr.”

opr’s other brands Pulse, Howorth and Parker & Partners continue to operate as specialist divisions whilst Ogilvy PR Health becomes opr health, and Ogilvy Impact becomes opr Employee Experience.

Mike Connaghan, CEO WPP AUNZ said: “opr has grown to be the biggest and most respected communications agency in the country, and we are both excited and supportive of this move as the company heads to its 18^th birthday”.