The agency is hoping that distinct branding will make it easier for Fever to distance itself from its parent company.

'If we want to grow, we need to be able to market ourselves as a consumer agency,' said Nelson Bostock chairman Martin Bostock. 'We're trying to make it a more natural choice for clients.'

Fever is led by joint heads Lucy Mayo and Frankie Oliver, who previously headed the consumer practice at Nelson Bostock, supported by deputy head Bruce McLachlan.

The launch follows Nelson Bostock's win of the BBC Worldwide consumer PR account (PRWeek, 2 September 2009). Other consumer clients that Fever will launch with include Amazon.co.uk, Canon, Swatch and Warner Home Video.

Fever is also launching a range of consumer insight tools to support its offering to clients. These include workshops, panels and focus groups, developed in conjunction with sister research firm ICM.

'The typical agency brainstorm is overused and often ineffectual, because it is not based on true insight,' said Oliver.