MEC billings rocket 46% while MediaCom nears £1bn
WPP Group’s Mediaedge:cia (MEC) achieved the highest growth of any UK media agency in 2007, according to data from Nielsen Media Research, with a 45.9 per cent rise in billings.
Six of this year’s top 10 media agencies have seen billings rise in the last year, but none more so than MEC, which has seen its coffers grow from £240 million in 2006 to £350 million by December.
WPP sibling MediaCom retained its position at the top of the rankings after a 6.4 per cent hike to £971 million. Nick Lawson, chief executive of MediaCom, called it a "fantastic achievement which the agency has held for six years running".
Omnicom’s OMD maintains the second spot with a 7.5 per cent rise to £846.7 million. Steve Williams, chief executive of OMD, told mad.co.uk he was “very pleased” after recording the strongest growth of the top five agencies, adding: “The foundation to this success has been great people delivering very strong work; this has manifested itself in a strong client retention performance and a responsible and sustainable approach to winning new business, with a pitch conversion rate of over 60 per cent for the year.”
Third position was held by another WPP agency, MindShare, despite a slight 2.5 per cent drop in billings to £721 million. Publicis Groupe’s steady performing Starcom is fourth with £656.5 million, ahead of Carat at £647 million.
In general, Nielsen’s figures highlight a strong year for those in the business of media planning and buying, but it is the burgeoning growth of MEC that has had the biggest impact.
The agency moves up two places to seventh in the overall agency rankings, leapfrogging Interpublic’s embattled Initiative (down 26.2 per cent to £274.7m) and M&C Saatchi’s majority-owned Walker Media (up 2.6 per cent to £264m). PHD completes the top 10 with a 4.8 per cent rise to £246.8 million.
Toby Jenner (pictured), joint managing director of Mediaedge:cia UK, welcomed today’s figures as confirmation of the ongoing development at 1 Paris Garden.
“These figures highlight our fantastic growth, primarily on the back of some big 2006 wins, notably Danone, Nintendo and Morrisons – all of which are individually worth more than £30 million.
“Importantly, our new business success has not come at the expense of our existing clients. Our commitment to providing all our accounts with the best media service available is reflected in our high retention rates.”
MEC’s growth is set to continue in 2008 when the newly acquired business for Paramount, Freeview, Land Securities and Bauer will help boost billings further.
“All should go some way in helping us achieve our ambitions as set out this time last year, to double in size by the end of 2009,” said Jenner.
“Much to my surprise, the start of this year has been infinitely busier still than 2007. It really has got off to a flier and suggests we [media agencies] are in for another busy year.”
