Aloha from San Francisco!
One of the better parts of this job is not necessarily the jaunts to Cannes, Austin, London and Barcelona (though they are nice) or the myriad funky things and experiences that get put in front of us. Honestly, being able to dig really deep into an agency’s success is just as rewarding.
My first experience with an Adweek Agency of the Year was when we recognized TBWA, Wieden + Kennedy, Giant Spoon and Rosapark back in December. For Adweek’s Media Agency of the Year (MAOY), Patrick Coffee, Lindsay Rittenhouse and Erik Oster prepped us very well for the process—and this year’s winners, OMD for Global MAOY, Initiative for U.S. MAOY and Essence, Breakthrough MAOY, were fascinating looks into turnarounds and growth.
One of the threads that ran through the winners was candor.
OMD clawed back from dead last in to near the top of the heap. “If I have the numbers right, we lost about $1.8 billion in business in 2017,” said OMD global CEO Florian Adamski.
The U.S. honoree, Initiative was, as global CEO Mat Baxter put it, “a basket case [with] a dysfunctional culture, not much of a product, if any, in terms of a defined product or a proposition, no real brand or reputation to speak of” and a “relatively dry new-business pipeline.”
Essence, this year’s breakthrough winner, was all about zero … as in, losing zero clients. Plus, the agency reeled in 23 additional clients and doubled its headcount.
In each case, innovation, creative ideas and flat-out excellent execution provided another argument about the importance of agencies and how they help brands get the most bang (and exposure) for the buck.
We hope you enjoy reading about this year’s winners as much as we enjoyed getting to know their work and successful years.
In other news this week …
A WPP three-fer: The holding company moved Kantar Consulting’s chief to the global CEO role at Geometry and they also poached Walmart’s chief people officer (after the retailer pulled digital ad biz from the agency group). Even as shares soar thanks to improving revenue, CEO Mark Read also said 'work remains to be done.'
These 15 campaigns show how African-Americans helped shape advertising.
Portland's Red & Co. just launched a superb ad and brand platform for Netflix. Agency founder and ecd Mira Kaddoura explained the goals of the campaign.
It was inevitable and now it’s official: Lucky Generals is opening up shop in America.
This Denver agency leaned into conspiracy theories for the city’s airport, and it is glorious.
Worth a watch: GS&P has a very good show called Talk Shop that honestly addresses diversity and inclusion.
Worth a listen: Some real talk about race and advertising.
Have plans for International Women’s Day or Women’s History Month? Let us know. I can be reached at doug dot zanger at adweek dot com.
And why not give AgencySpy, our sister site, a read? It’s chock full of news and tidbits from the agency world. If you’re already a reader, we thank you.
Have a wonderful weekend and, as always, thank you for your support.
Warm Regards,
Doug Zanger
Senior Editor, Creativity + Agencies
