PETALING JAYA: Mediabrands Malaysia has become the leading agency network with the highest score based on media research company Recma’s latest qualitative evaluation.
It recently obtained a qualitative score of 50 points and serves as the highest scorer for the network historically in Malaysia, leading 27 points ahead of its closest competitor network.
The qualitative evaluation which is published twice yearly cements Mediabrands agencies Universal McCann (UM) and Initiative including BPN in the top two positions, being the only media agencies with a dominant profile in the country.
Agency rankings are based on 18 criteria, with the qualitative scores tabulated to give a profile ranging across the following levels – dominant, high, very good, good, average and emerging.
This new edition of the qualitative evaluation features 15 agencies in Malaysia and stands as a key tool to assess competition on a local basis.
Mediabrands Malaysia chief executive officer Bala Pomaleh commented that: “Mediabrands as a network has reached our highest score ever as a network in this latest evaluation.
“This is a true marker of the momentum and leadership demonstrated by both UM and Initiative.
“Both agencies were the only ones to attain a dominant score which is a clear indicator of their performance and competitiveness across pitches, new business, expertise, and growth.
“This monumental achievement is a direct result of the advancement of new capabilities and collaborative efforts across our teams, and we are extremely proud to have consistently maintained this position.”
UM attained a dominant profile with a score of 25 points, with a plus three points progression over a three-year period.
The agency ranks No. 1 in the vitality ranking with the highest number of awards won (149 awards), and activity growth (69%) over a three-year period.
UM is ranked No. 2 in the structure ranking, with the highest score on resources staff across each of the three criteria – digital experts, data and analytics, and content and events.
Meanwhile, Universal McCann chief executive officer Audrey Chong said: “The on-going challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic truly showed the mettle of the team.
“At each step of the way, “UM-ers” rallied together to become more resilient, determined, and innovative in pursuit of excellence for our clients.
“The teamwork to futureproof together with our Mediabrands family was extremely critical in bringing together this success, and the results are clearly reflected in this latest Recma report.”
Initiative including BPN maintained a dominant profile with a score of 25 points, a plus one point progression over a three-year period. The agency ranks No. 1 in structure due to its client portfolio with the highest number of big advertisers in the market (threshold of US$4mil or RM17mil).
The agency also holds the second highest number of local clients and the second lowest exposure to top three clients, which contributed to the high structure scores. Initiative is ranked No. 2 in vitality, with an A plus in compitches (competitive pitches) in 2021 and the highest number of pitch participation over a three-year period.
Separately, Darren Yuen, chief executive officer of Initiative said, “Initiative has managed to maintain a dominant position for a second consecutive report, a testament that we are on the right path to success. The strong structure ranking is a direct result of the confidence and trust that has been put in us by our clients, and we are proud to have them believe in our journey together.”
“We’re excited to continue scaling this momentum with innovation, cultural disruption and partnership across the wider Mediabrands network.”
Recma is an independent media research company that publishes a wide range of media agency notation reports on a global scale. Recma further provides strategic intelligence reference tools that help the top 500 global advertisers in their decision-making and agency sourcing, collecting and analysing data from more than 1400 media agencies in 90 countries.
IPG Mediabrands is the media and marketing solutions division of Interpublic Group. Mediabrands manages approximately US$40bil (RM168bil) in marketing investment globally on behalf of its clients and provides strategic services and solutions across its award-winning, full-service agency networks UM and Initiative and through its innovative marketing specialist companies Reprise, Magna, Orion, Rapport, Healix, Mediabrands Content Studio and the IPG Media Lab.
Mediabrands clients include many of the world’s most recognisable and iconic brands from a broad portfolio of industry sectors. The company employs more than 13,000 marketing experts in more than 130 countries.