OMD named MENA media agency

Thanks to a strong showing at this year’s MENA Cristals’ media awards, OMD has been named Media Agency of the Year for the second time in a row. It even improved on last year’s result with the Media Grand Cristal and five category awards for five different clients, out of 11 awards given in the 12 categories of the media competition.

The Media Grand Cristal was awarded for the innovative use of TV for Hewlett-Packard. Also awarded in the media/culture/leisure category, the unique operation featured a finger navigating the ads in TV commercial breaks as if they were running on an HP Touchsmart touchscreen PC. This brought the product benefit to life in a compelling manner and proved there is still plenty of life in traditional media.

The launch campaign for Blom Bank’s credit card that supports the demining cause in Lebanon won in the Banking/Finance category, while Quaker Oats’ campaign to create the world’s largest oat recipe book, inviting consumers to share recipes online, won in the Women’s category. The campaign for Nivea’s Angelstar, where girls competed to become the face of the brand, won in both the media competition and the promo/direct one, in the Beauty/Hygiene/Health category, while the ‘Mixers vs Jammers’ campaign for Doritos Collisions, which also used social media heavily, won a Cristal in both the cyber and media competitions in the Food/Drink/Mass consumption product and Youth categories respectively.

“While social media has energized brands in fresh and exciting ways, it is interesting to see that the jury has chosen a campaign based on the innovative use of TV for the Media Grand Cristal,” commented Shadi Kandil, managing director of OMD UAE. “Ultimately, creativity must be more than an exercise in style. Its role is to create the attention and cut through to get the message across to the most relevant audience so creativity needs to be designed to produce tangible results. This we do with a consistent and integrated approach to planning and getting the Grand Media Cristal and the title of Media Agency of the Year once again proves that this works, for both our clients and our peers.”

“Creativity is a culture, not a silo,” added Nick Tapley, director of OMD’s Ignition unit. “Innovative media solutions must be rooted in a deep understanding of the consumer and the brand’s objectives to be truly effective. It’s very exciting to see so many of our brands embrace this creative spirit, something that’s much easier to do when it delivers results, and receive accolades like these for it.”

The 6th MENA Cristal Festival was held in the mountain resort of Mzaar in Lebanon with Cristals awarded to media strategies based on their originality, target relevance, creativity and performance. Winners are selected from entries by a panel of senior executives from international and regional agencies and marketers. There were more than 1,150 entries in this year’s Festival across all categories and competitions.