Big In Print
Agency A-List 2010
2010 Agency A-List: Observations on the Industry
January 24, 2011
You've all heard the declarations: The agency business is dead, divorced from reality and has disenfranchised itself from the larger media and marketing community. Well, we're not buying that. Ad Age's Agency A-List shows agencies have adopted a variety of models to successfully serve clients in a new marketing age.
Wieden & Kennedy Is Ad Age's Agency of the Year
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- "My dad was in this business and I thought it was the most whorish thing a man could do," Dan Wieden said, perfectly seriously. "He was working late at night and trying to be nice to people he didn't like and he'd sell people stuff. It felt like one of the lower callings." But sometimes, a man must admit his mistakes. In 2010, Wieden & Kennedy did a bit of that, too.
Creativity Agency of the Year: Wieden & Kennedy
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Dan Wieden was never big on extrinsic forms of validation such as Agency of the Year citations, apparently. So when the agency co-founder and global executive creative director stood before his entire staff in 2007 and issued a plain directive -- he wanted Wieden & Kennedy to be Digital Agency of the Year by 2010 -- all assembled pricked up their ears.
McGarryBowen Is No. 2 on the Ad Age Agency A-List
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Hailed by many for its consumer research capabilities, McGarryBowen has a creative portfolio that lives not on the edge, but in the cozy mainstream where its clients want to be.
Mullen Is No. 3 on the Ad Age Agency A-List
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- For Mullen, its new "Unbound" philosophy has been the underpinning of its recent success, largely because -- unlike some of the trendier taglines adopted by other agencies -- it's not trying too hard.
Resource Interactive Is No. 4 on the Ad Age Agency A-List
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Given the success of early experiments in e-commerce, it's no wonder this 320-person, Columbus, Ohio-based shop -- to some degree flying under the radar of some of its coastal competitors -- has consistently stayed a step ahead in the field of marketing technology.
Droga5 Is No. 5 on the Ad Age Agency A-List
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Not long ago Droga5 fit the definition of a hot shop, that breed of company particular to the ad world that's marked by flashes of brilliance and popularity, yet nagged by a skepticism that it's not quite real. Not until 2010 did Droga5 morph from the kind of agency you had to keep an eye on into one you might want to emulate.
360i Is No. 6 on the Ad Age Agency A-List
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- A weekly Friday bagel breakfast with the staff is symbolic of the passion David Berkowitz, 360i's senior director of emerging media and innovation, exudes for all things digital, but it's also a mandate from management to keep the Dentsu-owned shop on the cutting edge.
Edelman Is No. 7 on the Ad Age Agency A-List
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The frenzy over the social-media sphere has created a debate over who should "own" the space -- digital shops, traditional shops or the marketer itself. Ironically, what tends to get lost in the noise over tools and ownership is the focus on conversation. But it's just that focus that has put PR giant Edelman in the center of the action.
CP&B Is No. 8 on the Ad Age Agency A-List
January 24, 2011
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- For any agency, the departure of a creative leader is a major setback -- let alone a leader who has graced as many magazine covers as Alex Bogusky. But MDC Partners' CP&B in 2010 managed to achieve what a lesser agency might not: Prove it has bench strength and a sound succession plan beyond the luminary for which it was known.
LatinWorks Is No. 9 on the Ad Age Agency A-List
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (Adage.com) -- LatinWorks is known for highly creative work that is meticulously planned and strategically grounded, helping marketers understand and win over increasingly diverse Hispanic consumers while avoiding stereotypes.
Team Detroit Is No. 10 on the Ad Age Agency A-List
January 24, 2011
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- If you ask George Rogers, president-CEO of the WPP-owned agency, he'll say the reason Team Detroit -- formed in late 2006 by melding five WPP shops that worked with Ford -- is successful is because it enjoys an ultra-close relationship with its biggest client while still managing not to alienate others.
Ad Age Agency A-List Standouts
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Proving they're among the best in the business, these 10 hot shops delivered some of the best work of the year to several of America's top brands.
Ad Age Agency A-List 10 to Watch
January 24, 2011
For the 10 shops on Ad Age's Agencies to Watch list, 2010 proved to be a groundbreaking year of innovation, growth and new-business gains, but we expect the best is yet to come from them.
Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi Is Ad Age's International Agency of the Year
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- As Argentina's reputation as a creative hub churning out brilliant work grows, Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi has become the go-to shop to connect brands with consumers anywhere.
International Agency of the Year Runner-up: Colenso BBDO
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Colenso BBDO assigned a young New Zealander to create a chocolate bar that tasted of the color yellow, using only contacts from Yellow's online, mobile and print products. The real goal, of course, was to make New Zealanders aware of Yellow's transition from a print-based directories company to a digital media business, and give them confidence in its products.
International Agency of the Year Runner-up: TBWA Hunt Lascaris
January 24, 2011
LONDON (AdAge.com) -- TBWA Hunt Lascaris' goal is "to be the first world-class agency out of Africa," and when its campaign for The Zimbabwean newspaper won more awards than any other in 2010, it looked like that ambition might finally be realized.
International Agency of the Year Runner-up: Mother, London
January 24, 2011
LONDON (AdAge.com) -- Still setting the benchmark for U.K. advertising, Mother London in 2010 more than delivered on its mission to create "famous and populist ideas that embed brands in culture."
Ad Age China Agency of the Year: DDB Group China
January 24, 2011
HONG KONG (AdAge.com) -- In a remarkable turnaround, DDB Group China, one of the country's smallest and least-respected ad agencies only a few years ago, is now one of the hottest. Revenue at the shop grew 27% in 2010, and pre-tax profit was up 151%, said Dick van Motman, president-CEO for DDB Greater China.
Conill Is Ad Age's Multicultural Agency of the Year
January 24, 2011
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Tim Morrison said he works with four ad agencies at Toyota, but only his Hispanic shop, Conill, was intrigued enough by the company-supplied statistic that 90% of all the Camrys sold since 1994 are still on the road to pose the question, "What happened to the other 10%?"
