IPG Leads Industry in Ad Age A-List Honors

Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG) announced today that three of its agencies placed among the top four spots on the Advertising Age A-List, the prestigious annual ranking of the industry’s best and most forward-thinking marketing and communications agencies.

R/GA received the top spot and was named Agency of the Year; Deutsch and Weber Shandwick were ranked in the top four as well. Harris Diamond, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, McCann Worldgroup, was named Executive of the Year by the publication. Additionally, IPG agencies Huge, The Martin Agency and Mullen were identified as “standouts” in the awards issue, and India's Lowe Lintas was named the Runner-Up International Agency of the Year. Agencies and executives are selected based on account wins, quality of work and business results delivered on behalf of their clients. IPG agencies made up a larger percentage of the A-List than any other holding company.

“We are very proud of our strong showing on the A-List. We saw representation from across our network, which is a reflection of the breadth and depth of talent that exists within our organization,” said Michael I. Roth, Chairman and CEO of Interpublic. “It is also gratifying to see our long-standing strategy of embedding digital capabilities within all of our offerings recognized in these awards, which Ad Age confers on those agencies leading the way in the transformation of our rapidly-changing industry. This is the best showing that IPG has seen on the A-List for some time. Coupled with the many other honors our agencies and executives have received during the past year, these results speak to the strength, competitiveness and innovativeness of our offerings and what we continue to bring to the table for our clients,” Roth added.

A-List

Advertising Age named R/GA its Agency of the Year, ranked as the #1 agency on the A-List. The agency’s breakthrough work for Samsung, Nike, Beats by Dre and the R/GA Accelerator, led to more than 130 awards during 2014 including ten Cannes Lions, five One Show Pencils and a record-breaking sixteen Clios. In 2014, the agency won inclusion on Fast Company's list of the World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in the Internet of Things. Adweek named R/GA Digital Agency of the Year, R/GA London was named Campaign Magazine's Digital Innovation Agency of the Year and one of Creativity's Innovators of the Year, and R/GA Buenos Aires was named Interactive Agency of 2014 at the El Diente awards.

Deutsch ranked second on the A-List thanks to its award-winning creative, new business wins, full-service digital capabilities as well the success of its year-old multicultural offering. Key work from the past year includes the successful launch of Taco Bell’s breakfast; continued work as global AOR on Johnson & Johnson’s Acuvue; plus the Sprint, Pizza Hut and Sherwin-Williams wins and the return of the HTC business. The agency won nine Lions at Cannes and additional recognition from AICP, One Show, The Shorty Awards and the Webby’s. At the start of 2015, Deutsch announced its management succession plan, naming Linda Sawyer chairman of the organization, Mike Sheldon CEO of Deutsch North America, with Val DiFebo continuing as CEO of Deutsch NY, and Kim Getty elevated to President of its Los Angeles office.

Weber Shandwick ranked #4 on the list as the firm has continued to define the role of the public relations agency in the digital age, broadening its remit across the marketing services industry. In 2014, the firm was named digital and social agency of record as well as advertising agency of record for major clients, in addition to launching its full-service advertising firm, Sawmill, to bring fully-integrated solutions to clients from planning through activation. The A-List recognition follows several industry honors including being named The Holmes Report’s 2014 Global Agency of the Year, as well as being named a Best Place to Work by Ad Age in 2014 and PRWeek in 2013 and 2014.

Executive of the Year

Since moving over from Weber Shandwick/CMG and becoming McCann Worldgroup’s Chairman & CEO in November 2012, Harris Diamond has focused the agency on integrating its array of multiplatform communications capabilities to grow the business and service clients. In delivering on this, he has assembled a leadership team across the Worldgroup companies who share his passion for creativity and collaboration, as well as innovation in how the network deploys talent and resources on behalf of clients. Since his arrival McCann has produced the industry’s most-awarded digital and creative work and Worldgroup companies were recognized for creative excellence at an unprecedented level, across disciplines and geographies.

Additional Honors

Huge was identified as a "standout agency" by Advertising Age for their creative work for clients like Audi, Fox network, and Nike. Additionally, Huge saw significant growth through expanded business with core clients like Google, Lowe's and American Express. Mullen was also identified by the publication as a “standout agency” for their native digital capabilities and social media expertise, as well as the agency’s strong growth in 2014, notably the global Patrón account win, and Mediahub’s TV Land and L.L. Bean account wins. The Martin Agency was named a “standout agency” by Creativity for bringing “innovation to the ad world” through the agency’s cross-channel integrated work for Benjamin Moore, Geico and Oreo. India's Lowe Lintas was named the Runner-Up International Agency of the Year by Ad Age for its work with Unilever to tackle some of the country's toughest challenges, as well as the agency’s native digital capabilities housed within LinTeractive.

About Interpublic

Interpublic is one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies. Major global brands include BPN, FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding), FutureBrand, Golin, Huge, Initiative, Jack Morton Worldwide, Lowe and Partners, MAGNA GLOBAL, McCann, Momentum, MRM//McCann, Octagon, R/GA, UM and Weber Shandwick. Leading domestic brands include Avrett Free Ginsberg, Mithun, Carmichael Lynch, Deutsch, Hill Holliday, ID Media, Mullen and The Martin Agency. For more information, please visit www.interpublic.com.