AdweekMedia Announces Agencies of the Year: Wieden + Kennedy and Horizon Media

NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- AdweekMedia today released its 25th annual agency honors, naming Wieden + Kennedy as Agency of the Year and Horizon Media as Media Agency of the Year for having such significant impact on the industry that they are influencing how their peers will do business going forward. Six "insurgents" are also recognized: Anomaly, Buddy Media, Breakfast, The Outcast Agency, Electus and Great Works.

"These companies have shown remarkable performance during a feeble economic recovery," said Adweek Editor Mike Chapman. "Some took risks by investing in new platforms and identifying uncommon practice areas, and others just nailed an idea from concept to execution."

Here is a look at the enterprising activity that grabbed AdweekMedia's attention this year:

Agency of the Year – Wieden + Kennedy

Wieden's campaign for Old Spice set a new standard for how agencies combine the mass appeal of traditional television work with social media outreach.  That an agency that was predominantly known for TV work did so is an even more stunning act of reinvention.

Media Agency of the Year – Horizon Media

The independent shop has achieved one of the best client retention rates in the industry, beating most holding company agencies. Led by CEO Bill Koenigsburg, the shop has diversified aggressively and profitably and evolved far beyond being simply a buyer of media.

Insurgents

Anomaly, for winning lead roles on global brands like Budweiser, Motorola and Sony at the expense of much larger networks, vindicating its strategic business approach.

Buddy Media, for creating a technology platform for clients and their agencies to manage brands' social media audiences. The company saw the need and moved quickly to become the dominant supplier of such software.

Breakfast, for illustrating the importance of clever execution.  A small, Brooklyn, N.Y.-based tech shop, Breakfast is responsible for the Foursquare "check in" to Conan's Orange Blimp, the most creative use of location-aware services this year.

Electus, for re-creating the branded entertainment space and, within a year of its existence, securing several major media deals. By founder and CEO Ben Silverman's own admission, branded entertainment still has five to ten years to mature, but he is on the ground floor.

The Outcast Agency, for becoming the gatekeeper of access to the brands that defined the year in media and marketing. Outcast has become the PR agency to speak with to get in front of brands that matter: Facebook, Cisco, Amazon, Yahoo! and Netflix.

Great Works, for being the latest wave in the Swedish invasion of talent and the only one to bring in creative talent from outside other disciplines, forging deep connections with the entertainment industry by doing so.

For more from this issue and Agency of the Year, go to www.adweek.com.

SOURCE AdweekMedia