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Agency groups played a dominant role in this year’s AdReview Awards, providing convincing evidence that Big is Beautiful and local is not quite so lekker anymore. Draftfcb took four awards, while TBWA, KingJames and Aegis each won three. KingJames is the only local independent among them – though, gratifyingly, it took the top award. Throughout all 17 agency and achievement awards, seven were the work of South African shops, and at least one is believed to currently be in discussions with a possible buyer.
Multiple group winners this year are TBWA (Achiever Damon Stapleton, Baobab joint winner TBWA Durban, PR consultancy Magna Carta); Draftfcb (Gauteng award, Baobab joint winner Draftfcb Johannesburg, The Big Idea and newcomer Mesh); KingJames (Agency of the Year, Cape Agency of the Year, Magazine Campaign Award and PR consultancy Atmosphere); and the Aegis Group (Media Agency winner Carat, small media agency Vizeum and Outstanding Performer Trigger/Isobar).
Aegis – a global group that combines the specialities of media-only agencies, digital agencies and research – has made a huge impact on the South African marketing environment since it entered it a few years ago. It has expanded mainly by acquisition, initially acquiring the solid but unexciting Media Co-ordination, or MEC. That was subsequently integrated into the Carat network.
The supreme irony in that is both agencies pioneered media independents in their own countries. Carat started the concept in France and, after some initial media-owner resistance, the idea took off. On the other hand, MEC was set up by the Rembrandt Group to maximise its massive buying power in liquor and tobacco. One of its prime tasks was to ensure brands from the same group didn’t compete against each other through media choices – such as both advertising at the same time in the same magazine. In many respects it was a media independent before media independents were invented.
Aegis is a group that exploits incredibly efficiently the synergies that exist between media specialists (increasingly acting as channel planners), digital specialists and research.
It’s rapidly built a network of agencies throughout Africa, driven by CEO Dawn Rowlands and her predecessor, Andreas Weiss.
Multiple group winners this year are TBWA (Achiever Damon Stapleton, Baobab joint winner TBWA Durban, PR consultancy Magna Carta); Draftfcb (Gauteng award, Baobab joint winner Draftfcb Johannesburg, The Big Idea and newcomer Mesh); KingJames (Agency of the Year, Cape Agency of the Year, Magazine Campaign Award and PR consultancy Atmosphere); and the Aegis Group (Media Agency winner Carat, small media agency Vizeum and Outstanding Performer Trigger/Isobar).
Aegis – a global group that combines the specialities of media-only agencies, digital agencies and research – has made a huge impact on the South African marketing environment since it entered it a few years ago. It has expanded mainly by acquisition, initially acquiring the solid but unexciting Media Co-ordination, or MEC. That was subsequently integrated into the Carat network.
The supreme irony in that is both agencies pioneered media independents in their own countries. Carat started the concept in France and, after some initial media-owner resistance, the idea took off. On the other hand, MEC was set up by the Rembrandt Group to maximise its massive buying power in liquor and tobacco. One of its prime tasks was to ensure brands from the same group didn’t compete against each other through media choices – such as both advertising at the same time in the same magazine. In many respects it was a media independent before media independents were invented.
Aegis is a group that exploits incredibly efficiently the synergies that exist between media specialists (increasingly acting as channel planners), digital specialists and research.
It’s rapidly built a network of agencies throughout Africa, driven by CEO Dawn Rowlands and her predecessor, Andreas Weiss.
