THE FAIRFAX ADMEDIA AGENCY OF THE YEAR : Close Encounters

AGENCY OF THE YEAR

DraftFCB

It came down to Colenso BBDO and DraftFCB with our judges (briefly) deadlocked before a final unanimous decision.

There were a record number of entries this year, with nine top agencies (including Campaign Brief's NZ & Australian Agency of the Year, DDB)

Last year's Fairfax/AdMedia winner, Y&R, fell just short this year after suffering the loss of its largest client, Noel Leeming/Bond & Bond. But the judges noted that the agency continued to aggressively pursue new business so effectively that it had replaced the lost revenue by the end of the year.

Colenso had a brilliant year, which saw profit double since 2005, and in which it enjoyed its biggest win (Vodafone) in its 38-year history.

But it was DraftFCB, with 27.2% revenue growth, new business wins (including BMW, Mini, Depression Initiative, and the Families Commission) that won the day. That and the aforementioned Noel Leeming, which saw DraftFCB set up a satellite ringfenced retail agency (Mint), a model pioneered in NZ by Colenso.

Interestingly, the recently appointed CD at Mint, Simon Shattky, was last year's Wildcard Award winner.

DraftFCB also generated serious growth in its interactive and direct offering, hiring 15 specialists during the year. Total staff grew 36% from 85 to 116. Staff retention was 75% - well above the industry average.

The year also saw ceo Bryan Crawford appointed DraftFCB chairman on both sides of the Tasman.

Agency of the Year is essentially a business award, but the judges do consider creative achievements, and in 2007, the image of DraftFCB creativity as safe if somewhat boring took a hit.

The agency scored the third-highest number of awards and finalists at Axis '07, and was the overall second-best performing NZ agency at Cannes. It also won gold at the Effies, the CAANZ Media Awards, and the NZ Marketing Magazine Marketing Awards, and its media division was named Fairfax AdMedia Media Agency of the Year.

CEO OF THE YEAR

Neil Livingstone

Colenso.99

DraftFCB ceo Bryan Crawford went very, very close, with the judges noting he'd come in from the outside and turned the agency from a good, solid but dull shop into an award winner. The judges were also impressed by the entries from G2's Sarah Norrie and DDB's Sandy Moore - both would have been worthy winners.

They chose Neil Livingstone, however, in acknowledgment of his outstanding successes at an outstanding retail agency.

Colenso.99 was established in 2003 with four staff and two clients as a standalone specialist full-service retail agency, reporting direct to Clemenger Australia. At the end of 2007, the agency had 26 clients and nearly 80 staff.

The 2007 calendar year saw the agency move from a promising, growing shop to a major player in the industry, with revenue up 40% year on year.

It scored six substantial account wins in the year, including Vodafone retail, Kathmandu and New World, and enjoyed 100% client retention.

The judges were impressed with .99's organic growth through offering more services to current clients, and a focus on bringing traditional third-party services in-house (an animation suite with five operators, a sound engineering department, a pre-press department, and a new digital offering).

Livingstone, the judges noted, is a very hands-on administrator, a key to the agency's account wins. And Livingstone's financial skills, honed during his 18 years as md at Colenso BBDO, were a major factor in .99's financial health.

The judges were also interested to observe that all the ceo candidates - with the notable exception of TBWA's Dave Walden - scored poorly on contributions to the wider industry.

INDIE AGENCY OF THE YEAR

Sugar

The significance of the independent agencies has never been greater in this market, as more and more senior people move out of the multinational networks to start their own agencies. It all came together this year at the Direct & Interactive Awards, where indies won seven of the 10 golds on offer.

Five of the best lined up for this year's Indie award, where the judges chose Sugar as the best - just - for the second year in a row.

Sugar saw its Indie Agency of the Year win in 2007 as a coming of age after a 10-year "overnight" success story. However, the growth didn't stop there.

Billings were up in '07 while gross revenue rose 6%. Key wins included Estee Lauder, won in a pitch against Y&R, plus Tasman Pacific Foods and illy coffee, and a brand strategy project for TPF brand Hell Pizza (Sugar is also on the shortlist for the full Hell business), as well as special project work with other TPF brands, including Burger King.

Creative credits have proven to be difficult for indies, and this has discouraged many from entering. Of at least 60 indies in NZ, just five entered this year, which led to suggestions that the Indie Agency of the Year creative criteria be relaxed.

The judges, however, were reluctant to accede, pointing out that creativity was a key in any agency, big or small, and that lowering the criteria would create a double standard between the two AoY categories.

Possible solutions, including an annual Indie creative competition, are still being explored by AdMedia.

Sugar, too, this year struggled to achieve national or international creative success, although its Taranaki Savings Bank work made the finals of the New York Festivals (TV & Cinema), and Sugar ads were selected by BestAds.com, and its Honda Jazz campaign won selection in Lurzer's Archive. Sugar also made its first appearance on Campaign Brief's NZ Creativity/Billings Index in the Pink zone (some distance from the Red Hot zone but equally well removed from the chilly Blue zones).

Sugar's greatest creative achievement, however, was enticing award-winning CD Nigel Corbett away from DDB/WRC in May - too early to make much impact on Sugar's award entry this year, but his appointment augurs well for some decent results next year.

MEDIA AGENCY OF THE YEAR

OMD

OMD was the clear winner, impressing the judges with revenue growth of 35% despite the loss of Freedom Air (which went out of business) and Dell Computer (international realignment) during the year.

Billings rose 13% and profit 36%. Revenue from clients and projects won in the previous year grew 80% in 2007, while revenue from existing clients grew 20%.

The judges noted that, in contrast to many entrants, OMD supplied detailed dollar figures (given in confidence, so not published here) and said this influenced their decision.

New clients won in 2007 included Heinz Wattie, Stihl, Mercury Energy, Sky City, Fleet Partners, and RoC.

OMD enjoyed a good awards year that included a Cannes Grand Prix for ASB Pago (for best media campaign in the world), and gold at the Asia Digital Media Awards. Staff retention was also good, with a turnover of just 12.5%.

And the agency did pro-bono work for Child Cancer Foundation, Starship, Look Good Feel Better, Ronald McDonald Children's Charities, and the Deaf Association.

From January this year, of course, OMD has grown far larger with the merger with Media Direction and Clemenger Media - a move that will require OMD to move up another level. Our judges noted that the agency's work in 2007 has laid a strong foundation for future growth.

DIRECT MARKETING AGENCY OF THE YEAR

AIM Proximity

AIM Proximity takes out this award - but the agency very nearly lost it.

AIM had a great year, the judges said, but much of its AoY entry was inappropriate - "I didn't like the surious comments about competitors," said one judge. "Also, they used too many words like 'stupendous' and 'monumental'. We don't want that - we want facts ... like 30% and $30,000!"

The judges also noted the obvious - that AIM is so much bigger than any of its competitors that it's very difficult to judge, and could - maybe should - have been entered in the main AoY category. In all, AIM has 125 staff while the next biggest DM shop (Tequila\) has around 20.

Nevertheless, the competition put up a good fight. Limb Walker had sold itself to a network, and then kicked on. JustONE started from scratch. It had nothing to list in our Awards Wins category, but then picked up two golds at this year's Direct & Interactive Awards. "2009 should be an interesting year for justONE," the judges said.

Tequila\, which won a Cannes Grand Prix but then lost its CDs Wayne & Kim Pick, also rated highly.

Saatchi & Saatchi Direct won points for operating in a very non-DM environment. Saatchi was seen as an integrated agency, with one judge commenting that DM is "not in the Saatchi DNA".

AIM started the year disastrously, losing Bank of NZ and key senior staff. But it turned this around in dramatic fashion, winning Westpac and a succession of high-profile wins, including Pizza Hutt, Yellow, the NZ Herald, Turners Auctions, St Laurence, RNZAF, Meridian Energy, The Warehouse, and - the biggest of them all - Vodafone (for which it fired NZ's largest corporate, Telecom).

Awards achievement was also impressive, with AIM being ranked the No 2 direct agency in the world by The Big Won, which also awarded it for the best direct marketing campaign in the world. AIM also enjoyed success at the Echo Awards in San Francisco, the Caples Awards in New York (where it was the most awarded agency in the world), and won 10 of the 17 golds on offer at the 2007 NZ Direct & Interactive Awards.

The sheer weight of AIM's achievements - in clients won, staff numbers, and award wins - outweighed (just) the dearth of actual performance data in the agency's wordy entry document.

This category is likely to be renamed next year to Direct & Interactive Agency of the Year.

ROOKIE SUIT OF THE YEAR

Rachael McKenzie

Saatchi & Saatchi

The four talented individuals in the running this year were interviewed individually by one judge (recruiter Peter Spencer).

Meeting later, the panel eliminated one from the shortlist because her specialist PR calling left little room for advertising skills. Saatchi's Daniel Phillips filed a strong entry, as did relatively inexperienced Laura Bathurst from Colenso.99, earning a "special mention" from the judges who saw her as a leader of tomorrow.

But Rachael McKenzie, who's had only two years in the agency world, demonstrated a polish, enthusiasm and maturity beyond her time in the industry. She's been identified by her agency as a rising star, is a key member of the Telecom team, and has built strong relationships within the agency and with clients.

She's a confident speaker and has earned the respect of her peers. She's also demonstrated strategic ability in brief writing, presentation writing, and contribution to planning sessions.

WILDCARD

Geoffrey & Derek Handley

The Hyperfactory

Founded in Auckland in 2000 by Geoffrey Handley and his brother Derek, The

Hyperfactory has seven offices across the globe - in LA, Chicago, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, and New York, with its international HQ in Auckland.

Recently, 42 Below's Geof Ross, Grant Baker and Stephen Sinclar have become minority stakeholders, as has Hollywood agency The Firm Entertainment. Despite all this growth, the Handley brothers have retained majority ownership of the business. The link with The Firm led to The Hyperfactory's second office in the USA - an entertainment division based in Beverly Hills.

The company creates, executes and analyses long-term mobile strategies for brands and agencies, and has recently launched Snakk Media, a sister agency which has tied up an exclusive deal with Vodafone to sell advertising on the Live! Portal.

Its global clients include Toyota, Motorola, Vodafone and Coca-Cola. Its work has won a Grand Prix Media Lion at Cannes, a Best in Show at the OMMAs, Best in Show at the Adweek Buzz Awards and Best Use of Mobile at the Asia Pacific Digital Media Awards.

The Hyperfactory is an outstanding Kiwi success story, and Fairfax & AdMedia are very pleased to award their 2008 Wildcard to a company whose best years may well be yet to come.

The Wildcard Award is the one category at the Agency of the Year which cannot be entered. There is no shortlist and no finalists - the judges bring their thoughts to the table, and decide their own winner each year.

THE JUDGES

Cindy Mitchener (Mitchener & Associates)

Peter Spencer (Marsden Inch Recruitment)

Graham Medcalf (editor, Marketing Magazine)

THE WINNERS 2008

Agency of the Year: DraftFCB

Finalists: Colenso BBDO, DDB, Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA\Whybin Tequila

Indie Agency of the Year: Sugar

Finalists: Barnes Advertising, justONE, Mr Smith, Lassoo Media

Media Agency of the Year: OMD

Finalists: DraftFCB Media, Mediaedge:CIA, Starcom

Direct Marketing Agency of the Year: Aim Proximity

Finalists: justONE, Rapp Collins Limb Walker, Saatchi & Saatchi

Agency CEO of the Year: Neil Livingstone

Finalists: Bryan Crawford (DraftFCB), Sarah Norrie (G2), Sandy Moore (DDB)

Rookie Suit of the Year: Rachael McKenzie (Saatchi & Saatchi)

Finalists: Laura Bathurst (Colenso.99), Daniel Phillips (Saatchi & Saatchi)

Wildcard Award: Geoffrey Handley & Derek Handley (The Hyperfactory)

ROLL OF HONOUR

2007

AoY: Y&R

Indie AoY: Sugar

Media AoY: FCB Media

CEO: Andrew Stone (Saatchi & Saatchi)

Rookie Suit: Blake Crosbie (TBWA\Whybin)

Wildcard: Simon Shattky & Steve Adams for their Made From NZ campaign.

2006

AoY: Saatchi & Saatchi

Compact AoY: TequilaCEO: Andrew Stone (Saatchi & Saatchi)

Rising Agency: Colenso.99

Media Agency: Starcom

Rookie Suit: Dave Hewitt (Saatchi & Saatchi)

Wildcard: John Ansell (writer)

2005

AoY (over 25 fulltime staff): Colenso BBDO

AoY (up to 25 fulltime staff): Meares Taine

CEO: Andrew Stone (Saatchi & Saatchi)

Rookie Suit: Kate Orange (Saatchi & Saatchi)

Lifetime service special award: Greg Eichmann

2004

AoY (Over $25m): DDB

AoY (Under $25m): AIM Proximity

CEO: Martin O'Halloran (DDB)

Rookie Suit: Mike Higgins (Clemenger BBDO)

Wildcard: Glenda Wynyard (McCann-Erickson)

2003

AoY (Over $25m): Colenso BBDO

AoY (Under $25m): Redrocks

CEO: Peter Biggs (Clemenger BBDO)

Wildcard: Peter Vegas (Spawn)

2002

AoY (Over $25m): Clemenger BBDO

AoY (Under $25m): AIM Proximity

CEO: Andrew Stone (GeneratorBates)

Wildcard: the bridge

2001

AoY (Over $25m): Young & Rubicam

AoY (Under $25m): No award

CEO: Douglas Faudet (DDB)

Wildcard: Brave New World

2000

AoY (Over $25m): DDB

AoY (Under $25m): Goldsack Harris

CEO: James Hall (Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington)