Score: 7
Last year: 5
How the agency rates itself: 7
UM London has a low profile considering its substantial client list, which includes Aldi and Johnson & Johnson, and the fact that it is larger than sister Interpublic agency Initiative in the UK.
Russell Place, the managing director, had a decent 2016, in which the agency won 17 accounts, including GoPro and Fitbit. These are the kind of hip, tech brands that can attract young, bright staff who want to do innovative work and they gave the agency a fillip. But there were two significant account losses – H&M and Viacom’s Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.
There is a sense that more is going on within the UK arm of IPG Mediabrands, Interpublic’s media division, than meets the eye. UM London says the acquisitions of mobile consultancy and app developer Mubaloo in February 2016 and search and content agency Stickyeyes in September 2016 show that it is "super-charging digital". It is certainly evidence that the group is investing in the UK operation, even if it hasn’t been making a lot of noise about it.
We watch to see if the arrival of Caroline Foster Kenny, the new chief executive of IPG Mediabrands EMEA, changes that. UM London has also been active in traditional media, with Aldi leapfrogging its more established rivals to become one of the biggest supermarket adspenders.
Other signs that the agency has, in its words, got some momentum include a gold in Creative Effectiveness at Cannes Lions for The Economist’s "Raising eyebrows and subscriptions" campaign and recognition from research company Recma for being a market leader in diversity.
How the agency describes its year in a tweet
Successful pitches, exciting new clients, winning the big awards and a happy loyal team. An agency on the up!
Score key: 9 Outstanding 8 Excellent 7 Good 6 Satisfactory 5 Adequate 4 Below average 3 Poor 2 A year to forget 1 Survival in question