Probably, Marc Taback will never let us forget it. In the last-minute panic that characterised the production of last year's AdFocus, the entry from Initiative Media was lost in our system. By the time we became aware of its absence, the annual was already at the printer's. As it happens, Initiative wouldn't have beaten deserved media category winner Mediaedge:cia. The bigger sin, in CEO Taback's eyes, was Initiative's absence from our agency directory.
So it is with some relief that I am able to report that the Initiative Media entry made it into the judging process this year, and appears in the selfsame directory. But there will be far greater rejoicing at the agency: with Taback taking leave of absence from AdFocus jury duties while this category was judged, it was selected as 2009 Media Agency of the Year.
As always, the challenge in judging media agencies is that they operate in a relatively low-profile business sector.
Then there's also the issue of what constitutes success. Should long-term, steady growth count for less than dramatic year-on-year increase in business? One of the agencies in this category clearly fitted the latter bill, and initially attracted the judges' interest. Digging deeper, they discovered the previous year had been a shocker, with a string of lost accounts. There has to be consistency.
That's certainly what you find at SA's biggest media agency, OMD. As certified by the international Recma media agency evaluation company, OMD boasted R3,2bn in billings last year. Since July 2008, the agency has won R270m in new billings from Standard Bank strategic media planning (R200m), Neotel (R60m) and Southern Sun (R10m).
That's quite a feat, considering MD Josh Dovey had expected the year to be one of consolidation after winning R500m in billings during the previous period. "Our expectation was that new business would take a back seat."
The agency is expanding into other African countries, having opened operations during 2008 in Angola, Ghana and Mozambique. Non-SA Africa billings are expected to top R400m in 2009.
Early this year OMD climbed to level 5 on the broad-based black economic empowerment scale. The agency even joined the awards trail, by coming first and second in Vodacom Mobile Media's incentivised experiential competition.
The Media Shop was also a serious contender. Asked on the questionnaire to list low points during the July 2008-June 2009 review period, group MD Harry Herber responded: "We don't have them," And high points? "Every other day." There were more specific highlights: the creation of a new digital division and success in pitching for the Coca-Cola account.
This was one of a string of new accounts, worth a combined R600m in billings, which more than compensated for the R85m loss of Virgin Active and Santam. Total billings topped R3bn, says Herber.
Mediaedge:cia was always going to find it difficult to repeat last year's stellar performance. The combined R81m loss of Virgin Mobile and the Independent Electoral Commission ( at the end of a fixed-term contract) took a bite out of the agency's R1,5bn-R2bn billings base. New business reclaimed only R15m of that.
According to MD Wikus Swanepoel, not too much should be read into these figures. "In the 12 months under review, our focus was more inward. After two years of huge growth, we focused on bedding down the major wins of the previous year (Pick n Pay and Brandhouse), consolidating and stabilising the business in a tough economic environment."
Consolidation was also a priority at stablemate Nota Bene, says MD Ryan Williams, though there was no question of the agency resting on its laurels. He is particularly proud of winning Vodacom's strategy business in January. Consultancy activity has grown, as has the Nota Bene Access activation division, which now accounts for 10% of revenue.
Nota Bene's reputation for media innovation has made it a prolific award winner in the past, but Williams is conscious of the need for caution. "Innovation for innovation's sake is a meaningless exercise." So he is pleased that the agency last year delivered "solid financial success" and makes a point that will draw nods of agreement from Dovey and Herber. "It is arguably more difficult to keep a business at the top of the game, whereas from the bottom of the pile, there's no way but up."
Of course, there's nothing wrong with up. Two small agencies, Alphabet Soup and Page Three, showed particular promise last year with a number of important new accounts, and one would be surprised if they don't make their way up the media ladder in coming years.
Still, what they wouldn't give for the established size of their elders. Is there really a recession, asks Mindshare CEO Maria Phillips? Billings are up 17% and profits have trebled. MTN came on board in December, and Business Connexion also became a client. Highlights included the Indian Premier League cricket - "brilliant campaign, under extreme pressure" - and the ANC election campaign. The downside was the loss of the SAB account after 25 years.
An agency restructuring is beginning to bear fruit, says Phillips. "The core idea is to move beyond the realm of media solutions, to fully integrate content creation and related areas to realise the optimum value of exchange between brands, consumers and corporations to create competitive advantages for clients."
So what won Initiative the 2009 Media Agency of the Year award? The agency succeeded in five of six pitches entered between July 2008 and June 2009, picking up R300m of new business. Year-on-year billings were up 40% and revenue 35%.
It was a welcome comeback after the loss of Unilever in January 2008. The biggest coup was the SAB account, won in September 2008. Initiative won in a five-way pitch against incumbent MindShare, The Media Shop, MediaCompete and StarCom.
"We were seen as the dark horse," says Taback. "We were the smallest on the short list." The win persuaded the agency to create a separate business division - SAB media studio@initiative media - with its own logo. "You need a substantial team for a business of that size," says Taback.
Other accounts won last year included the SA Dairy Board, Deneys Reitz Attorneys, Canderel, Mentos and Hansgrohe.
The agency also created a new outdoor division in response to a sustained rise in outdoor spending. INM Outdoor is headed by former Clear Channel executive Eric Williams.
Initiative Media is owned by Lowe Bull SA and has offices in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Its latest Empowerdex rating scores the agency as a level 2 black empowerment company.
