FM Winter 2025 - Flipbook - Page 27
TRO:
Transformation
& Trends
TRO’s MD, Andrew Orr looks
back on 2024 as the agency
powers into 2025
With 2025 planning is in full swing, I find this
a great time to reflect on the achievements
and challenges of 2024, but also the
invaluable lessons learnt on the way.
Since I took over as the MD of the agency 2
years ago, TRO has been on an incredible
transformation journey. We have made
significant progress, and I genuinely feel the
momentum building around us. But I have
come to realise that change is neither quick,
nor easy. However, having a brilliant and
dynamic team helps us navigate the
occasional speed bumps and pushes us
closer to achieving our goals.
Big brand moments
For me, the biggest moments of the year
have always been about our clients and our
work. What has made it more interesting
this year, is reviewing our work through our
new agency purpose. This focuses on
creating brand experiences that enable
participation in the real world – and in
particular, our role in enabling brands to
participate in the explosion of fan culture
and fandom – from intimate and niche, to
the more macro and established
communities.
In November, TRO played its role at the
BMW PGA Championship. With it being the
20th anniversary, it’s a great example of a
brand immersing itself into a fandom
community over the long term. By playing
an active role in supporting golf fans to
pursue things they are already passionate
about, we elevated their love for the sport
beyond mere branding.
At this year’s Goodwood Revival, we invited
fans to participate in a new chapter of BMW
through a gaming experience. This allowed
them to experience a different side of the
brand in a traditionally serious and
performance-driven category, bringing new
meaning to their established fandom whilst
deepening the emotional connection
between brand and audience.
Away from auto, this summer’s De’Longhi
‘One Touch Café’ campaign allowed us to
break down the exclusivity barriers of coffee
culture. We made it easier for everyone, not
just coffee connoisseurs, to access this
cultural
shift
through
hands-on,
participatory experiences, offering easy
barista style coffee at the touch of button.
Increased integration
Through the increased demand in the
marketplace for integrated solutions, 2024
has seen a rise in opportunities to work with
partner agencies within the Omnicom
network, with TRO’s role focused on
utilising
experiential
strategies
to
supercharge the impact of the wider
channels. Integrated solutions can be at
times complicated, but we are increasingly
identifying the ‘collaboration blueprint’ that
ensures best-in-class solutions time and
again. Whilst this can involve our
end-to-end capabilities, from strategy to
delivery, we are increasingly leaning into
our creative production expertise to
collaborate within cross-agency groups.
This trend reflects a growing demand in the
wider market for more agile activation
solutions.
It’s been fantastic seeing these best-in-class
solutions come to life this summer. Some of
my personal favourites? Working with the
amazing team at Ketchum PR, supporting
on the Liquid I.V. UK launch, and also the
PepsiCo work with our friends at FUSE. The
multiple activations delivered for both
brands had a real energy and creativity, and
crucially delivered a positive impact for
their respective businesses.
In the spirt of increasing collaboration in the
marketplace, we’re not just focusing within
the Omnicom network, but also beyond it
too. Earlier this year, we established a new
partnership with The Bulb (award-winning
sustainability consultancy) to drive forward
and innovate TRO’s sustainability strategy.
We also kicked off a partnership with We Are
Ops (industry leading event safety and
operational management specialists). The
first year has been incredibly enlightening
and successful and we have only scratched
the surface with these partners, and we look
forward to expanding our network further.
Power of people
And last but no means least, I wanted to
touch on TRO’s most important asset – our
amazing people, who continue to amaze
me. Transformation can bring and take
energy, but the wider team have continued
to deliver excellence for our clients and
have driven both significant commercial
and cultural growth for our business.
We continue to develop our people, but
also look to recruit new thinking into the
agency to support our ongoing evolution.
The recruitment market has certainly
improved this year, but as much as we are
interviewing new recruits, they are equally
interviewing us.
So, selling a compelling agency purpose
and vision, and how that permeates into
every part of the agency and individual, is
mission critical to attracting the best talent.
We continue to work hard at this and are
delighted to see our efforts bear fruit. Here’s
to a promising year ahead.
Winter 2025
25
