After a nail biting wait to hear the results of this year’s RAR awards, the winners were finally announced at last week’s ceremony at the Montcalm Hotel in London.

Its fair to say that ODD were taken by surprise when it was revealed that they were rated the best small agency for advertising.

Unlike other industry awards, which recognise a particular campaign or piece of creative work, the RAR selects agency winners based on direct feedback from clients. As such, during the long judging and review process to decide the winners, ODD were deemed to have the highest client ratings for advertising amongst the shortlisted agencies with under 30 staff.

It was a testimonial from a Vodafone Ireland client that particularly caught the judges eye:

“ODD cracked a seemingly insurmountable brief, with single-minded strategy and breath-taking creativity, and delivered it with exceptional class, professionalism, on time and under budget – all the while dealing with a hugely complex, multi-stakeholder, fast-moving client environment.”

Given the stiff competition, ODD are thrilled and humbled to have been recognised for their above the line work and want to say a big, big thank you to all of their clients for taking the time to share their feedback with the RAR, but moreover for putting their trust in ODD.

This award is for you!

Following on from the success of our Christmas retail events for GAP, ODD have delivered a further series of events to promote the SS13 coloured denim collection.

As part of the continuing ‘Be Bright’ campaign, the activity involved a troop of specialist models and actors marching the streets of the West End, choreographed to mirror the current advertising.

The activity generated increased footfall and sales in key flagship stores and continued to build brand awareness by bringing the main campaign to life in new and exciting ways.

After a competitive pitch, British heritage brand Henri Lloyd has announced the appointment of ODD as its new lead creative and strategic agency partner for its lifestyle category.

Following the win, ODD will work with Henri Lloyd to implement a new creative strategy and an integrated campaign that will run across all traditional, digital and retail channels.

Craig Prest, Creative Director at Henri Lloyd said, “This is an important time for Henri Lloyd as it celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year. ODD displayed a real understanding for our brand, along with great creativity. With our shared passion, we look forward to embarking on this journey together.”

Simon Glover, Managing Director at ODD said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be working with Henri Lloyd and are genuinely excited about working with such an iconic British heritage brand.”

Read the original article from Campaign

Integrated creative agency ODD had a fantastic night at last Thursday’s Guardian sponsored MAA Best Awards gala dinner.

After a nailing-biting wait and despite strong competition from the likes of OgilvyAction and LIDA, ODD are thrilled to have picked up the award for ‘Best Integrated Campaign’ for #FIRSTANDFOREVER for Dr. Martens.

Commenting on the campaign, the judges said: “Dr. Martens delivered a wonderfully integrated campaign centred around the thought that everyone remembers their first pair… They created an amazing film and connected brilliantly with the audience across a full range of media. It was really well measured and proved that it worked for the business and the brand.”

And if that wasn’t high praise enough, there was another surprise in store – the campaign was deemed by the judges to be one of the ‘Best of the Best’, and awarded a Merit. Absolutely fantastic result and needless to say that ODD are truly thrilled to have been recognised for such a highly regarded accolade.

Click here to find out more and see the details of all the winners on the night.

First and foremost, ODD want to say a big thank you to their clients. No, this isn’t a premature acceptance speech, but a genuine, heartfelt thank you…

The RAR Awards seek to recognise the agencies who have been positively rated by the client’s that work with them. As such, the finalists and subsequent winners are those that have achieved high scores in the things that really matter – creativity, effectiveness, value for money, strategic thinking, client service, on-time delivery and on-budget record.

ODD are a finalist in no less than three different discipline categories – best advertising, best integrated and best event agency with under 30 people.

The winners will be announced on 18th April, but in the mean time you can view the full list of finalists and categories here.

Its a solid start to 2013, with creative agency ODD proud to announce their election into membership of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.

With over 300 agency members from across the UK’s advertising, media and marketing industries, ODD will be keeping good company while gaining access to all of the IPA’s invaluable advisory services and events.

Says Simon Glover, co-founder and Managing Director of ODD:

“Now entering its tenth year, ODD’s vision is to become one of the most respected creative agencies in the industry. One that our peers, clients and employees admire and hold in the highest regard. IPA membership and the access it provides to expert advice, personnel development and more will no doubt prove invaluable in helping us achieve that goal.”

Click here to learn more about the IPA.

2013 has just begun but integrated creative agency ODD are already excited about the year ahead – not least because they have been shortlisted for a prestigious Best Award for the #FIRSTANDFOREVER campaign for Dr. Martens.

Organised by the Marketing Agencies Association (MAA) and backed by The Guardian, the Best Awards seek to celebrate the most inspiring work produced by some of the UK’s top creative agencies.

Nominated for ‘Best Integrated’ campaign, ODD face some tough competition from some of the industry’s most established agencies and brands, including LIDA with their ‘Snap A Napper’ campaign for IKEA.

In an article published by The Guardian on 14th January, the chairman of the judges was quoted as saying that the shortlisted campaigns “stood head and shoulders above other work” and that they “reflected work that went the extra mile, pushed the idea, execution and relevance [of a campaign]“. Click here to read the full piece.

Needless to say, regardless of the outcome at the awards ceremony on 7th March, ODD are thrilled to have been ranked amongst the best of the best.

Following a competitive pitch, iconic American retailer The Gap have appointed integrated creative agency ODD to their European Retail Events agency roster.

Simon Glover, Managing Director at ODD said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to work with GAP and hope its the start of an ongoing relationship.”

ODD have just delivered their first project to drive footfall and sales pre-Christmas, across a number of key store locations throughout London.

The activity included singing street teams who sought to bring a little GAP Christmas cheer to shoppers, while communicating the special holiday promotion available in-store. Feedback has been unanimously positive and the initial results look very promising.

There have been a lot of reasons to celebrate of late and Dr. Martens picking up the Marketing Initiative of the Year award at the 2012 Drapers Fashion Awards last week, was most definitely one of them.

The panel of Drapers judges felt that the #FIRSTANDFOREVER campaign and brand platform developed by ODD, ‘managed to capture a modern image of the brand, while retaining and using its heritage at the same time’.

Speaking about the awards, Drapers editor Caroline Nodder said: “Winning a Drapers Fashion Award is a real mark of excellence, and our winners this year have been judged by a panel of the fashion trade’s biggest names so they should be especially proud of themselves and their teams for that fantastic achievement.”

Its safe to say that the team both here at ODD and at Dr. Martens are indeed supremely proud, particularly given that  it beat some of the fashion and retail industry’s biggest players, including Topshop, Marks & Spencer and eBay to take home the award.

Will this be the final addition to the trophy cabinet for #FIRSTANDFOREVER? Only time will tell but for now, we’re thrilled with what it has achieved for the Dr. Martens brand to date.

Integrated creative agency ODD are delighted to announce not one, but two awards given to the #FIRSTANDFOREVER Dr. Martens campaign for the 2012 DADI Awards.

The DADI award categories cover the breadth of digital, representing its growth and celebrating innovation within the industry.

ODD is humbled to be awarded in both ‘Use of Visual Design’ and ‘Consumer Products or Services Website or Campaign’ categories.