Billings up 12% to $13.1 billion; revenue up 11% to $608 million. Won Eli Lilly (planning, $250 million), CBS/Showtime ($135 million), Time Warner Cable ($130 million), Intel ($100 million), Levi's and Callaway ($50 million each), VTech ($35 million). Lost Bank of America ($250 million), Schering-Plough ($75 million). Bounty from Q4 TWC, CBS, Levi's wins won't hit until 2009. Largest revenue base of all 14 shops, plus best gain in revenue/staff ratio lifts grade.
Planning A
Introduced new business intelligence dashboard system in March allowing planners to easily manipulate client data and quickly adjust media/marketing plans. Overseen by BI global director Tony LoFrumento, its principal architect, the system helped attract clients (Intel) and defend accounts (Visa). In June digital group director Mike Solomon and team launched a plan to "refresh" the Big Mac. MySpace, MTV, YouTube and others were enlisted for the "Big Mac Chant-Off" contest where consumers were invited to remake the Big Mac "two all-beef patties, special sauce..." jingle. The result: a record-breaking sales spike for Big Mac.
Buying A
In March, N.A. CEO Page Thompson promoted Chris Geraci to managing director, national TV investment after Debbie Richman left. In June, shop unveiled Ignition Factory, the brainchild of U.S. CEO Alan Cohen. Unit develops new applications and executions for emerging and traditional media. One example: a Nissan-focused Xbox 360 game tied to the launch of the Sentra SE-R. Results: 44 million game sessions with average 66 minutes of Nissan-branded engagement that generated a fourfold increase in traffic to Nissan's Web site.
Management A
Thompson hired Cohen from Initiative in April and his team went four for four in new business contests (Time Warner Cable, Callaway, McAfee and Levi's), secured CBS/Showtime without a review and successfully defended Henkel/Dial ($60 million). Thompson was elevated to N.A. CEO, Omnicom Media Group, a new post, in December. To jump-start Ignition Factory, OMD hired Jonathan Haber, Cohen's colleague at Initiative. Shop awarded Adweek's 2008 Global Media Agency of the Year honors for adding critical new capabilities and garnering over $3 billion in new business.
Comments
Can OMD hang on to its momentum? Omnicom shop missed a chance last month when it lost to MPG in the finals of $100 million CBS Films pitch. Now it has another chance in the $200 Activision contest. Stay tuned.
Numbers B