Orchard has launched an experimentation practice aimed at giving clients access to a clear, data-driven way to innovate and remove the risk of guesswork with statistically proven insights.
The practice was developed over five years and turns an internal tool into a core service, allowing businesses to test ideas, measure real impact, and make confident, evidence-based decisions.
Anthony Del Rio has been appointed to to lead the new practice. He joins from EssenceMediacom, where he was Experimentation CRO Director, and brings skills in CRO, digital testing, and data strategy.
He was previously a Senior Strategy Consultant and CRO Strategist at Deloitte, and held roles with brands including Samsung, Carnival Australia, and Time Inc.
Del Rio joins Orchard’s Director of Data, Insights and Analytics Dan Taylor, who has played a key role in building the agency’s experimentation approach over the last five years.
The practice is supported by a team across business strategy, behavioural science, and statistics.
“For too long, agencies have pressured clients to be brave without giving them the tools to back it up,” said Mikaela Crimmins, Chief Strategy Officer at Orchard.
“The pace of change right now is downright gnarly, but instead of freezing with ‘what should I do,’ our experimentation practice is helping clients learn fast, fail fast, and adapt faster. It’s all about taking bigger swings, without the fear of failure, because here, failure happens in a controlled environment.”
The new offer builds on Orchard’s experience in experimentation, shown through its recent certification and Gold Solution Partner status with Optimizely, a leading platform for digital experience and testing.
“This practice is about giving our clients permission to be bold, with evidence,” said Taylor. “We’re taking hunches and hypotheses and turning them into clear, testable pathways to growth. It’s innovation with guardrails and we’re seeing incredible results.”
The Practice is already running testing programs for clients like Hyundai, Tourism Tasmania, and Beyond Bank, helping them build a culture of ongoing testing and achieve measurable improvements in performance, brand, and customer experience.
Top image: Anthony Del Rio, Dan Taylor, Ian Golamco