Together Group acquires France's OBO experiential agency
Meanwhile Paris and London-based OBO creates 'transformational content, events, exhibitions and brand experiences' across all media for its clients and their customers in fashion, luxury, technology, entertainment and culture, 'leading projects from strategy, conception and design through to execution and amplification'.
Together Group CEO Dr Christian Kurtzke underlined the appeal of OBO for the business, saying it's 'the creative agency and supervising producer trusted by leading brands and destinations for their brand-defining experiential moments. Their exceptional blend of creativity and cultural insight, enhanced by a range of digital tools — including real-time digital rendering technologies — allows them to craft immersive, emotionally resonant storytelling experiences across both live and digital environments'.
He added that the latest acquisition complements earlier ones including digital animation studios Imerza and Visualisation One, and that OBO 'will form an integral part of Together Group's tech-powered immersive experiential platform to transform luxury for the experience economy'.
Under René Celestin, the 25-year-old agency's client portfolio includes Ami, Armani, Bulgari, Celine, Elie Saab, L'Oréal Paris, The Row, Saint Laurent, Toteme, Victoria's Secret and Zimmermann among others.
High-profile projects have included Célestin and team acting as creative director and head producer of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows for 12 years running. More recently, for the past six years, OBO has worked on the L'Oréal Paris shows, 'seamlessly blending fashion and entertainment for live audiences and global broadcasts reaching over 60 countries'.
Part of OBO's appeal for Together also lies in its 'genuine, human-centred approach' with the team having 'a deep understanding of luxury brands, their distinctive codes, and the needs of their audiences. This insight enables them to translate creative visions into flawlessly executed experiences that feel both authentic and sophisticated'.
And of course, in a luxury world that's increasingly experience-focused, that's hugely important.
OBO is clearly characterised by a big vision — as a founding partner of the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremonies organiser, Paname 24, it helped coordinate the execution of two events 'deemed unprecedented in their scale and impact, setting new standards for creative excellence and logistical precision'.
So why join Together Group now? In the release announcing the move, Together said OBO's decision has been 'driven by both operational and strategic opportunities.
And Célestin explained further: 'When it comes to fashion shows as well as to wider brand storytelling across all customer touchpoints and campaigns, luxury brands need to think in ways that overcome segmentation and beyond the past, in order to meaningfully engage next-generation audiences. We are excited by Together Group's strategy, which reimagines luxury by bringing together some of the world's most exceptional creative talent with leading-edge immersive technology, to create the digital and physical experiences of the future.'
Together, which itself has an ambitious vision, is particularly focused on expanding 'the footprint of our French operations, building an innovative Paris-based powerhouse that uniquely blends creativity, culture and cutting-edge immersive technologies to serve fashion, beauty and luxury brands as their trusted partner through the generational change for the next decade of transformation'.
Dr Kurtzke added: 'With OBO, we complement our current experiential capabilities provided by our portfolio agency North Six [that] focuses on experiential retail activation in the beauty and fashion sector.'
Since 2021, the group he leads has acquired as many as 14 agencies, collaborating as a curated group of category leaders across 19 locations globally with over 675 staff.
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