THE OVAL OFFICE IS GROWING AND GOING REGIONAL

Three years after its start-up in Antwerp, ´live communication´ agency The Oval Office is taking an important step in its further development by opening new branches in Brussels and Ghent. In Brussels it is integrating both Cré|action, the well-known Brussels event agency, and digital & brand activation agency WOW Communication. In Ghent The Oval Office is also opening a new branch with a team of its own local employees. With this move, The Oval Office is killing three birds with a single stone:

• It is responding to the demand of an increasing number of Brussels-based customers to be served even more quickly - and with perfect fluency in both of the country´s main languages - from the capital.
• Thanks to the wider mobility, it can link up customers, suppliers and its own staff from the three locations with maximum flexibility and efficiency.
• The digital knowledge that becomes available via the integration of WOW guarantees an extensive mix of all new media in the live communication projects of The Oval Office.

Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent

Since its formation in January 2012, The Oval Office has developed into the leading agency in the field of live communication. For brands like BMW, Nintendo, bpost bank, the City of Antwerp, Jobat, BASF, Kenwood, Red Bull, MINI, Teva and Proximus the agency creates integrated live communication campaigns in which brand experiences play a central role. In order to further support this growth as well as literally get closer to its customers, suppliers and employees, the agency is opening new branches in Brussels and Ghent.

Via the acquisition of the young Brussels wolves of WOW Communication, on the one hand, and of Cré|action, an established value in the Brussels event landscape, on the other, The Oval Office in Brussels is immediately starting with a 14-person team. The Brussels team is led by Dries Heyman (Director Brand Activation), Alexandre Frederick (Director Digital Communication & Experiences), Marc-Antoine Sauvage (Director Events) and Olivier Trop (Director Communication, PR & Content Marketing).

In Ghent, Isabelle De Schryver - who has worked at The Oval Office since 2012, after earlier spending 8 years at Twins Events – is starting with a smaller but equally enthusiastic team in order to offer all the best The Oval Office stands for.

The agency in Antwerp as well as the Antwerp team remain under the leadership of managing partners Wouter Boits and Ken Koeklenberg, who in addition will also continue to direct the entire group.

Live Communication = Letting people experience brands

What remains unchanged is The Oval Office’s mission: ‘Making people experience brands'. And so henceforth the agency will do this from three locations, with a team of 35 specialists in communication, brand activation and events. 

"As a live communication agency, we want to meet the growing demand for creative and effective brand experiences from our customers,” says Ken Koeklenberg, managing partner of The Oval Office. “The integration of WOW Communication gives us the ability to advise brands and organisations even more precisely in the area of digital brand experiences and live activations.”

"In an age in which brand engagement is very important for companies and organisations, we want to offer the target groups of our customers brand experiences at all possible online and offline touchpoints. The integration of our expertise within The Oval Office now makes this possible," note Dries Heyman and Alexandre Frederick, managing partners of WOW Communication.

"With the acquisition of Cré|action we are strengthening our position on the Brussels event marketing market. For over 20 years now the agency has been a valued player in the field of creative corporate and public events”, says Wouter Boits, managing director of The Oval Office.

Marc-Antoine Sauvage, founder of Cré|action: "I am convinced that the expertise and experiences of WOW Communication, Cré|action and The Oval Office are not only complementary, but that their combination will ensure the success of our Brussels team."

Giving successful live experiences an extra dimension via creative communication is what makes live communication unique. As Wouter Boits observes: “We believe very strongly that strategic communication via the traditional media (print, radio, TV, posters, social media and PR) truly strengthen the authentic brand experiences that are created via live experiences ... and vice versa.  Therefore The Oval Office not only has in-house specialists in live (events and brand activation) but also people with a strong communication and content marketing expertise."