Awards ceremony goes off with a bang

MediaCom and Viacom Brand Solutions emerged victorious from the Media Week Awards last week, scooping the two main gongs of the night.

MediaCom was crowned Agency of the Year, beating two-years-in-a-row winner Carat and OMD UK in the final round. Meanwhile, Viacom Brand Solutions was named Sales Team of the Year, beating other finalists Bauer Advertising, CBS Outdoor, Guardian News & Media and JCDecaux.

MediaCom impressed the judges with its growth in the past year - becoming the first agency to pass the £1bn billings landmark - but also through its regional growth in Scotland.

Viacom Brand Solutions impressed the judges by posting growth at a time when the TV ad market increased by just 2%, raising its revenues by 19%.

Carat enjoyed a good night, scooping the prestigious Grand Prix award for Adidas' London Marathon campaign. Carat used Adidas' "Impossible is Nothing" mantra to inspire its campaign to raise awareness of its sponsorship of the Marathon. After quizzing athletes, Carat delivered 5,250 messages of support to the 25,000 runners.

Juliet Kennard, Times Media's head of insight, landed the prestigious Rising Star of the Year award, while UKTV, along with sales house IDS, took the Media Brand of the Year award for Dave, the hugely successful digital TV channel launched last year.

WHAT THEY SAID ...

NEIL JONES, managing director, Carat
"This is the most prestigious award in media and we're delighted to have won it. It is an endorsement of Carat's planning products and the general talent within the agency."

JULIET KENNARD, head of insight, Times Media
"I think I won because I genuinely love media, it's all I ever wanted to do and I think that sincerity came across. I love working for (Times owner) News Corp. At the moment, I work across newspapers, but what I want to do is work across different platforms - and in other countries. I'm genuinely really surprised and thrilled to have won because I was up against some brilliant people."

JANE RATCLIFFE, chief executive, MediaCom UK

"In winning the media idea award and the collaboration award, we've managed to demonstrate the great talent and skills that run throughout the agency. Being named Media Agency of the Year is an absolute testament to everyone who works at MediaCom. I'm totally delighted; it really is the best thing I've ever won."

KESTER FIELDING, chair of judges and global media procurement director, Diageo
"There were many examples of imaginative and effective approaches to building brands, driving media understanding forward and cross-media integration."

NICK BAMPTON, managing director, Viacom Brand Solutions
"We are thrilled to receive this award, especially as it's judged by fellow members of the media industry. It's a tough market at the moment, which is why I am really happy our efforts have gone rewarded and I hope this will continue to encourage the VBS sales team in all their efforts."

THE WINNERS

Grand Prix
Carat
Adidas - London Marathon

Media Agency of the Year
MediaCom

Media Idea Large
Starcom
Honda Accord: Difficult is Worth Doing

Media Idea Medium
MediaCom
GlaxoSmithKline: Aquafresh

Media Idea Niche
Carat
Adidas: London Marathon

Sales Team of the Year
Viacom Brand Solutions

Sales Pitch Large (over £1m)
Classic FM
Ford: Galaxy of Stories

Sales Pitch Medium (£250k-£1m)
Turner Media Innovations
GlaxoSmithKline
Aquafresh: The Nurdles

Sales Pitch Niche (under 250k)
Bauer Radio Events
One Scotland
Rock Against Racism

Media Innovation
ITV
eBay
Bringing eBay's Live Marketplace to Life

International Campaign
Universal McCann
Xbox
Halo 3: Believe

Best Research Initiative
IPC Media
The Origin Panel

Collaboration
News Group Media with TalkSport, MediaCom, ZenithOptimedia, Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, JCPR and Mars
Mars Balls

Media Brand of the Year
Dave
UKTV and IDS

Rising Star
Juliet Kennard
Times Media

This article was first published on Media Week