Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific also won the above-the-line prize for Agency of the Year, making it the third time in six years Ogilvy has won the top award at the region's main annual awards show honouring advertising and media agency achievements.
Ogilvy also had three finalist awards -- one each for its India and Singapore operations in the category of office of the year. Ogilvy Activation, its rural marketing unit in India, was also a runner-up in the below-the-line agency of the year category. Ogilvy had more finalists than any other competitor at the awards.
In its commentary on the OgilvyOne Asia Pacific's win, Media Magazine said that "in a year when below-the-line agencies struggled at OgilvyOne both revenues and profitability grew".
Media congratulated OgilvyOne on its strong awards performance this year -- 22 of the 30 awards at the Asian Direct Marketing Awards, the only Asian win at the US Echos, and its high score at the Media Asian Brand Marketing Effectiveness awards.
Media concluded: "OgilvyOne is Media's below-the-line agency award-winner not simply for the strength of its below-the-line services -- online and offline -- and regional coverage, but also for the development of CRM in Asia and its education of the industry through its OgilvyOne ambassadors and its award-winning creative services".
On the O&M above-the-line win, Media said that: "Powerhouse O&M proves truly unstoppable in 2003. Few networks in the region can match the sheer breadth and scope of operations of Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific."
The magazine, which is owned by Haymarket Publishing, also said that in a tight budget environment, O&M's structure and approach, under the guidance of Asia Pacific chairman, Miles Young, helped the agency thrive in, not simply ride out, the current slump, and how its two-pronged approach -- its focus on people and quality-- "propelled the network ahead of the game".
Media commended the strong new-business performance across almost all of Ogilvy's 14 markets. It attributed much of this to Ogilvy's people and product investment including new-hire induction and a strong training programme that trained nearly 50% of all staff this year.
Finally, Media acknowledged Ogilvy's regional lead in industry, community and thought leadership -- campaigns to boost community morale pre and post-SARS, plus a number of book contributions helping to put marketing communications and the network at the top of business agendas.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .