Ogilvy Social.Lab Scales to 20 Specialists

Project Overview

Organization

Ogilvy Social.Lab

Industry

Advertising / Performance Marketing

Location

16 global markets

Specialists

600+

Markets Served

16

Products / Services Used

Dedicated Team
Paid Search
Paid Social
Programmatic
SEO

Ogilvy Social.Lab is Ogilvy's digital-first performance arm. It is built to turn big ideas into business revenue. Since launching in South Africa back in 2018, they’ve exploded into a global team of over 600 specialists across 16 markets.

‍

That kind of growth requires speed, consistency, and senior-level expertise.

‍

But when client demand began moving faster than their internal hiring process, they reached an impasse. They needed a flexible resourcing model that could keep up with massive new wins, without watering down the premium quality clients expect from the Ogilvy name.

Performance Insights

Key results for the client

35%

Cost savings vs in-house

20x

Team growth in 4 months

15

Days to deploy specialists

4

Disciplines fully covered

Client Objectives

The challenges Ogilvy Social.Lab faced

Talk to our team

1.

Severe talent shortage

The performance marketing specialists Ogilvy needed were either scarce in-region or already locked into long-term roles. This made local hiring slow and unpredictable.

2.

High in-house overheads

Hiring internally meant drowning in HR headaches, heavy overhead, and fixed costs - a fixed-cost model that refused to budge when client demands shifted.

3.

Retention risks

Turnover across global hubs was creating mid-project instability. Handovers were eating into delivery timelines and client momentum.

4.

Freelancing unreliability

Short-term freelance fixes patched immediate gaps but carried zero accountability for long-term client outcomes or strategic continuity.

5.

Time zone friction

Onshore teams across 16 markets needed delivery support that aligned with their working hours.

Mavlers Strategy

How we delivered results at global scale

Talk to our team

1.

Rapid deployment from a pre-vetted bench

With a network of 100+ performance marketing pros on standby, we bypassed the usual recruitment loop and slow ramp-up time. The right people were matched, onboarded, and working within 15 days.

2.

Mid-to-senior team composition

The team was built with a deliberate balance - senior specialists owning strategy, mid-level operators driving execution. Ogilvy got both planning depth and hands-on velocity from day one.

3.

Full-discipline coverage under one partner

Specialists came in across the four pillars driving Ogilvy's performance demand: Paid Search, Paid Social, Programmatic, and SEO. One contract replaced what would have taken four vendor relationships.

4.

Always-on attrition buffer

1–2 standby resources stayed on a warm bench, activated within hours when someone went on leave or rotated out. Delivery never paused, even as the team flexed.

5.

Cultural and time zone integration

Specialists worked inside Ogilvy's pods. Same rituals, same channels, same client cadence. So onshore teams treated them as colleagues, not as outsourced support.

Results

What Ogilvy Social.Lab achieved

You guys were great! Thank you! Very professional, very polite, and really helped in a tricky situation.

We move faster, optimize smarter, and help you outpace competitors with AI behind every move.

Sandra Field

Assistant Project Manager

Organization

Ogilvy Social.Lab

Industry

Advertising / Performance Marketing

Services Used

Dedicated Team, Paid Search, Paid Social, Programmatic, SEO

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

This is some text inside of a div block.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

This is some text inside of a div block.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

This is some text inside of a div block.

About

Ogilvy Social.Lab is Ogilvy's digital-first performance arm, grown from a 2018 South Africa launch to 600+ specialists across 16 markets. Client demand began outpacing internal hiring, and Ogilvy needed a flexible resourcing model without diluting service quality.

Challenges

Severe shortage of performance marketing specialists in-region.
High in-house overhead and fixed hiring costs that couldn't flex with demand.
Turnover across global hubs disrupting mid-project delivery.
Freelance fixes carried no accountability for long-term outcomes.
Time zone misalignment between onshore teams and delivery support.

Goals

Deploy vetted specialists fast without a lengthy hiring cycle.
Cover all four performance marketing disciplines under one partner.
Build redundancy against attrition without pausing delivery.
Integrate specialists into Ogilvy's existing team culture.

Solution/Approach

Built flexible resourcing model: Scaled from 1 to 20 specialists in 4 months.
Deployed in 10 days: From request to fully operational specialists.
Covered 5 disciplines: Paid Search, Paid Social, Programmatic, SEO, Assistant Project Management.
Maintained Ogilvy quality standards: Senior-level expertise across all roles.

Results

35% cost savings vs in-house hiring.
20 specialists deployed in 4 months.
10-day deployment time from request to go-live.
5 disciplines fully covered with senior-level talent.
16 markets served without headcount expansion.

Related Case Studies

Results that speak for them selves.

Migrating 9,000+ pages across 12 languages

Successful migration of 9,000+ pages across 12+ languages, with no critical downtime.

9,000

Pages

12+

Languages

1,000+

Extra pages

80% CPR reduction and 3x ROI over 6 years

Multi-channel strategy driving 50%+ monthly registration growth.

80%

CPR drop

3x

ROI

50%+

Registrations

35% cost reduction while scaling SEO delivery globally

Ogilvy needed to scale SEO delivery across multiple markets without expanding headcount. Mavlers Agency stepped in as their invisible production partner.

35%

Cost saved

3x

Delivery capacity

View all case studiesView all case studies

Want results like Ogilvy Social.Lab?

Ready to make social move?

Build a social strategy designed for stronger reach and engagement.

Book a CallBook a Call

Get in touch with us.

We'll get back to you within 4 business hours.

Ogilvy Social.Lab Scales to 20 Specialists

Project Overview

Key results for the client

The challenges Ogilvy Social.Lab faced

How we delivered results at global scale

What Ogilvy Social.Lab achieved

You guys were great! Thank you! Very professional, very polite, and really helped in a tricky situation.

About

Challenges

Goals

Solution/Approach

Results

Results that speak for them selves.

Migrating 9,000+ pages across 12 languages

80% CPR reduction and 3x ROI over 6 years

35% cost reduction while scaling SEO delivery globally

Ready to make social move?

Get in touch with us.

You’re all set!

Results that speak for them selves.