Partners Form Australian Boutique Consultancy

Open Mind Research Group has teamed up with Hall & Partners to form a new boutique consultancy, which CEO Dr Vicki Arbes says will 'compete at a different level' in the Australian market.

Last year, brand and communications research specialist Hall & Partners established a joint venture with Open Mind in Sydney, Australia, headed by former Research International exec Louise McCann.

The newly launched consultancy, known as 'Hall & Partners | Open Mind', is owned in equal shares by Diversified Marketing Services, Hall & Partners Europe (itself wholly owned by Omnicom) and Arbes. Arbes' senior team consists of Managing Partners McCann, Nicola Hepenstall and Anna Box. With 30 staff in Melbourne and Sydney, the consultancy also has regional offices in Shanghai and Singapore.

'Hall & Partners | Open Mind delivers a powerful framework that reflects the latest psychological and commercial insights about the way consumers engage with communications and brands across multiple touch points,' states Arbes, adding that the firm has 'the flexibility to accommodate a client's unique context and objectives while providing the confidence of a proven and globally-used approach'.

As part of its expansion in Australia, Hall & Partners has also launched its proprietary Engager model in the country. The tool measures how people think and feel - both consciously and unconsciously - about brands, and how they engage with them.

Arbes says the new agency is already talking to a number of clients who want to incorporate Engager into their brand strategies.

Web sites: www.openmind.com.au and www.hall-and-partners.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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