Interview: Andrew Orr at the helm at TRO, 1 year on

It’s been just over a year since FMBE joined in the welcome of Andrew Orr to the helm TRO after 17 years of rising through the ranks with an interview to mark the occasion. It was an interview included his stated wish to bring the agency to agency of the year status as the next landmark on the TRO horizon.

That duly arrived via FMBE with work for Anthropy and Unite Students making gold wins together with more success for a De’Longhi roadshow.  The agency proved its versatility with and its sound management plan witnessed through the Agency of the Year final, and that saw TRO over the line for one of its most garlanded years in the 20 years of its FMBE participation.

It had done so without any showing from its automotive case studies, the sector that remains a core part of TRO’s success and reputation.

Talking to Andrew, it’s clear that he is sharing credit for this initial success: “Mike left such strong foundations”, he says, crediting his predecessor Michael Wyrley-Birch whilst also eulogising the history of TRO that sees the agency structured for success.

That’s not to say that Andrew is shy of stating the changes he is implementing to deliver a “multi-year transformation that be the future-proofing of TRO, looking at many areas of the business.”

“We’re going to set higher and more ambitious targets”, he says, pointing to strategies, such as increased collaboration with other agencies – especially other Omnicom agencies as a way forwards. Andrew believes that TRO’s all-rounder capability has tended to direct the agency away from collaborative work. He says that whilst “events that deliver a business impact”, continue to be the lead objective for all of TRO’s work, there are many ways of doing that. He alludes to Rob O’Siochain’s recent appointment as Head of Growth in order to underline the intent and signpost the way direction.

Alongside Chris Booker, Director of New Business and Marketing and Louisa Daley, another recent appointment as PR and Marketing Manager, Andrew has now got a team together that is fully-focussed on way that TRO presents itself, and how it develops the opportunities pipeline.

That work will see TRO focus on “bringing brands to life in the real world”. If that seems like Andrew might be stating the obvious, he clarifies this point.

“We currently live in a world where doom-scrolling and clickbait culture is rife, making it hard to compete for audience attention. This norm is something we strive to disrupt. We want to give audiences a reason to show up to IRL experiences again. We think the best way to do this is by enabling participation – giving audiences an actual opportunity to get involved in their passions.”

Looking ahead, Andrew expects automotive to continue to be a key sector. “We do have a lot of fame there”, he says.

“We remain committed to our automotive clients, embracing advancements in innovations and navigating obstacles that the industry presents.

“Our focus is on assisting brands in sharing their stories and establishing a fresh legacy. We believe that solidifying these narratives, and fostering brand connections through experiential is more crucial than ever, especially with the upcoming influx of new auto brands entering the UK market in the next few years.”

But future projects include food and beverage work for several key brands including Unilever’s hydration product, Liquid IV and an extension to the agency’s work for Just Eat in collaboration with other agencies.

B2B looks set to play a big role too, as Anthropy continues and Under Armour and BMW both have business focused events on the calendar.

Alongside this, Andrew is excited by the recently announced partnership with The Bulb, building on TRO’s sustainability credentials. “This relationship will bring TRO to the sharp end of the industry”, he says.

If The Bulb is a collaboration that ‘supercharges’ TRO as an eco-friendly business, Andrew feels that TROs core credentials in creativity, production, event ops and staffing are ready to supercharge others’ campaigns.

High on the agenda for TRO is replacing the long-term expertise of ex-Operations Director, Gary Wooton, who has moved on after 35 years at TRO. Andrew is confident that the ops team is well placed to expand and grow.

Meanwhile  TRO’s Staffing provision, headed by Gemma Moore continues to make strides and take on new work.

Certainly, being TRO’s MD requires a careful eye on all the constituent parts as well as keeping the agency as a whole moving forwards. “I’m consistent about keeping momentum on it”, concludes Andrew.

For such an established business, consistent forwards progress seems a valid plan. We can certainly hope to see plenty more from TRO in the months ahead.