Britain’s largest experiential marketing agency has opened offices in China and Australia to meet the demand for live events aimed at corporate and consumer audiences.
TRO China will be based in Shanghai alongside partner agency CPM. TRO chief executive, Keith O’Loughlin, said: “The agency world is well established in China but there is a clear demand for creativity in the creation of experiential events. We have won our first projects and have several initiatives in the pipeline.”
The creation of a new Australian office, based in Melbourne, follows a merger with local agency Retail Engine, which was previously part of TRO’s parent group, CPM. Rob Allen, TRO executive chairman, said: “We have a lot in common with Retail Engine, particularly in the field of brand activation and experiential marketing.”
Allen said Retail Engine and its managing director, Danielle Barclay, have ‘carved a niche of innovative consumer engagement’. “By merging Retail Engine with TRO we can extend our offer to clients; in fact we have already won new business in the technology sector and the agency is expanding,” he said.
The company’s west London headquarters will remain the hub of TRO’s international business, with Allen dividing his time between the UK and Europe, and O’Loughlin extending his UK remit to build business in Asia Pacific and the Americas. “We are seeing greater demand for cross-frontier and regional campaigns, so there’s a clear need for a global presence and creativity,” Allen added.
TRO was acquired by leading field marketing agency CPM in 2008; itself a member of Omnicom, the world’s largest marketing communications group. CPM’s experiential business was merged with TRO, creating what would become the UK’s largest experiential agency, a company spokesman said.
Allen said TRO’s links with CPM enabled expansion. “Establishing these new offices endorses the rationale behind the joining of our two companies, and takes TRO to its next evolutionary phase.”