OLIVER, the world’s only company to exclusively design, build and run bespoke in-house agencies and ecosystems for brands, has launched its first headquarters in France under the direction of Jean Neltner.
Neltner will continue his role as partner of the data company fifty-five in addition to the new role of CEO of OLIVER France in order to foster synergies between the two award-winning marketing companies. OLIVER and fifty-five are both part of You & Mr Jones, the brandtech group founded by David Jones, which is leading the creation of a new tech-driven category. The group, which was valued at US $1.3 billion in December 2019 for a US $260 million fundraising round, delivered organic growth in excess of 27% for the first half of 2020.
OLIVER France aims to continue this strong growth within the group. The new office opens in response to an increasing demand for in-house solutions across Europe, where OLIVER clients already include several multinationals. Neltner looks to repeat the success recently seen in the US and North America, where OLIVER has grown 380% in the last year, ranking #1 in Adweek’s Fastest Growing list.
With many of OLIVER’s clients reporting up to 30% savings in their marketing budgets, in-housing has become a mainstream marketing model today. According to the Association of National Advertisers, 90% of brands have boosted their internal operations and 78% now have some form of in-house operation. The World Federation of Advertisers very recently found that 57% of multinationals have already in-housed parts of their marketing operations across the world, with internal capabilities and projects increasing during the pandemic.
Jones says: “We have seen tremendous growth in our businesses this year as brands have dramatically accelerated their digital transformation. Oliver’s unique model is at the heart of our disruptive and tech-driven approach to content creation. Jean is the perfect person to lead Oliver France with his strong data and tech expertise, and in-depth knowledge of the needs of brands and businesses. In addition, his continuing leadership role within fifty-five, the group’s data pillar, will allow us to drive further synergies between our content and data businesses.”
Sharon Whale, CEO of Global Markets and Operations at OLIVER, added: “There’s high-growth potential for our services in France as marketing professionals look for greater efficiencies and alternative models. We have around ten global clients that we already support in France from the UK, therefore the prospect of opening an office in Paris arose quite naturally. In Jean’s incredibly capable hands, OLIVER will no doubt become an essential partner to many more marketing teams across Europe.”
Neltner said: “At a time when marketers are reviewing their strategies and operations, OLIVER offers a unique model and expertise. I look forward to joining this adventure that will also allow us to work in partnership with fifty-five, ensuring that our clients have the best systems, solutions, creative work as well as leading data capabilities.”
You & Mr Jones holds majority stakes covering five strategic areas of expertise: in-housing (OLIVER), data (fifty-five), consulting (Blood / fifty-five ), content creation and distribution (Mofilm, Collectively, Gravity Road and Mobkoi).
OLIVER was founded by Simon Martin in 2004 and joined You & Mr Jones in 2019. Today, it has grown to 2,500 employees working across 200 international groups and nearly 400 brands in 36 countries. Clients include Unilever, AXA, Microsoft and The Guardian.
Neltner’s role as CEO of OLIVER France starts with immediate effect.
Source: OLIVER
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