Clemenger saw its revenue fall by 3.7% to £41.5m, but still beat off rival George Patterson Bates, according to industry title B&T Weekly's top 100 agencies survey. The agency has offices in six Australian cities, along with two in New Zealand, and its clients include DaimlerChrysler, KFC and Pepsi.
George Patterson Bates, which is in the process of being sold by its owner Cordiant Communications, saw revenue decline by 1.16% to £37.7m, while the third largest agency in the country, Singleton Ogilvy & Mather, rose by 17.3% to £29.38m.
Publicis Groupe's Publicis Mojo also had a good year, with revenue rising by 15.9% to £20.9m. However, other big agency names all saw revenues fall, including Young & Rubicam, J Walter Thomson and Leo Burnett.
Direct marketing agencies benefited from advertisers shifting budget across to below-the-line campaigns, with Rapp Collins, iLeo and the Reality Group all recording significant leaps in income.
Cordiant Communications is currently in the process of selling off its Australian interests, including George Patterson Bates, its stake in Zenith Media and the creative shop The ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 Palace. It is hoping to shore up its accounts with the proceeds of the sale, which should generate around £36m.
Clemenger was founded in 1946 in Melbourne by Jack Clemenger, a salesman and Davis Cup Tennis Player. Its partnership with BBDO began in 1972, and the Omnicom-owned agency holds a 46.67% stake in Clemenger. The rest of the company is owned by staff shareholders.
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