Agency of the Year: Media Agency of the Year - Best of the rest

Manning Gottlieb OMD marked its 21st birthday with a fine year that has earned it the runner-up spot in Marketing's Media Agency of the Year award.

In a tough market, it increased its revenues by 18% and won 21 of the 25 accounts for which it pitched. The rate equates to an 84% new-business conversion rate and contributed to a 42% increase in pre-tax profits for the agency.

The management board was boosted from 10 to 16 people and Manning Gottlieb OMD has stuck to its principles when it comes to keeping its staff happy, not only through well-thought-out training programmes, but also by offering a £1000 bursary to every member of staff to learn a skill of their choosing.

The agency is successfully forging ahead with innovative ways of working, too, reflected in PlayStation's decision to hire OMD and sister agency Drum to deliver its creative solutions, from TV ads to community management.

When it comes to creative thinking and adapting to an ever-changing media environment, Manning Gottlieb OMD has proved to be a top-notch contender.

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MEC was the only media agency awarded a place in The Sunday Times' 'Best 100 companies to work for' list this year, a testament to the emphasis it places on forging a cohesive and down-to-earth environment.

More than 94% of staff agreed that MEC is the best agency to work at in London and staff volunteered more than 3000 hours of community service in the past 12 months.

At a time when marketers' concern is growing that their agencies are out of touch with their consumers, MEC's 'Southwark not Soho' approach seems particularly salient.

The agency also maintained its competitive edge, clocking up more than £73m worth of new-business wins. This included the UK's biggest media win, from T-Mobile, and the integrated account for Bupa.

The agency also held on to all of its existing clients - no mean feat in a highly challenging marketplace.

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The past 12 months marked a solid year for Mindshare, which chalked up £35m of new-business wins. Crucially, in a time of increasing media fragmentation, its non-traditional fee income rose by a quarter. The agency has made good its use of 'open source planning', where a collaborative approach based on shared knowledge and expertise has replaced the traditional land-grab between competing agencies.

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Proving that the size of an agency does not dictate the scale of its creative ambition, the7stars was a solid contender for the Media Agency of the Year award. The strength of the value it delivered is testament to its strong senior management team. The judges praised the agency for excellent style and a job well done. Certainly one to watch.

Also shortlisted was MediaCom.

Manning Gottlieb OMD won 21 of its 25 account pitches

PREVIOUS WINNERS
2010: PHD
2009: Mediaedge:cia
2008: Mediaedge:cia
2007: OMD

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk