Nearly 300 members of the digital advertising community packed a room at New York’s Yale Club for OMMA Magazine’s Agency of the Year Awards, which honors digital agencies’ media and creative work. AKQA took the gold for its work with Diageo’s Johnnie Walker brand, Coca-Cola, Visa, Microsoft and McDonald’s. The silver went to Digitas. R/GA was cited for its Web design and development work; RPA Interactive for breakthrough creative; and Universal McCann got a nod for excellence in media buying and planning.
Noting that AKQA won the silver last year, a Digitas staffer said “Next year’s looking good, depending on what happens with Publicis,” he said, referring to the French ad holding company’s offer to buy the interactive shop for $1.3 billion. As for AKQA, which is also considered a top acquisition target, the shop plans to add to its 450 staffers this year, said CEO Tom Bedecarre. “Agencies’ roles are changing, just as the creation of content is changing,” he said. “I want people to see us as the most creative agency in the world, not the most creative digital agency. People are looking at us beyond, ‘Let’s create some banner ads’ and saying, ‘Let’s figure out how to engage consumers through the web, on mobile device and through video games.’”
Related:
—After Digitas, Ad Agencies Look To Next Big—Or Even Small—Digital Acquisitions
—Publicis Groupe Tries Shoring Up Interactive Services With Digitas Deal