Australia – Sydney-based digital agency Orchard has unveiled a dedicated Experimentation Practice, designed to give clients a structured, data-driven approach to innovation that reduces risk and delivers statistically robust insights.
Developed over five years, the new offering formalises what was previously an internal methodology into a core service. It aims to help businesses test bold ideas, measure real-world impact, and make confident, evidence-based decisions without relying on guesswork.
Anthony Del Rio has been appointed to help lead the new practice. He joins Orchard from EssenceMediacom, where he was experimentation CRO director. His experience includes roles as senior strategy consultant and CRO strategist at Deloitte, and work with brands such as Samsung, Carnival Australia, and Time Inc. Del Rio brings extensive expertise in conversion rate optimisation (CRO), digital experimentation, and data strategy.
He will work alongside Dan Taylor, Orchard’s director of data, insights and analytics, who has played a key role in developing the agency’s experimentation methodology. The practice is supported by a multidisciplinary team spanning business strategy, behavioural science, and statistical modelling.
Mikaela Crimmins, chief strategy officer at Orchard, said the new practice responds to an industry tendency to demand “bravery” from clients without providing the tools to do so safely.
“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,” she said. “It’s all about taking bigger swings without the fear of failure, because here, failure happens in a controlled environment.”
Orchard’s credentials in experimentation are further reinforced by its recent certification and Gold Solution Partner status with Optimizely, one of the leading platforms for digital experience and experimentation.
Taylor said the practice is designed to turn ideas into clear, testable strategies for growth. “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,” he said.
The Experimentation Practice is already delivering programs for clients including Hyundai, Tourism Tasmania and Beyond Bank, helping embed a culture of continuous testing and delivering measurable improvements in performance, brand strength and customer experience.
