Michael will report to Stephen Li, CEO for Asia Pacific and Keith Tiley Global Head of Trading. He’ll be based in Hong Kong. Michael was previously Global Head of Digital Trading, based in London. He replaces David Primmer who moves into a key regional role on Colgate Palmolive.

In his new role, Michael will be responsible for managing and delivering MEC’s world-class trading service and product to clients. Michael will work closely with Keith’s global trading team, local market trading heads and the GroupM trading community to develop and enhance the agency’s trading performance across all markets in Asia Pacific.

Stephen Li, commented on the appointment: “Asia Pacific remains a critical growth region for many of our international clients and trading is a fundamental cornerstone of our business. Michael’s appointment enables us to develop a strong, integrated trading competency within Asia Pacific. Michael is an accomplished professional with a unique background. His deep expertise in digital, trading and business development will be invaluable for our teams and we look forward to his innovative solutions for our clients and agency partners.”

About Michael Beecroft

Michael has been with MEC for 11 years. He started his early career at Mediapolis and then Mediavest as a TV buyer, but he found his true home when he joined the newly formed MEC UK in 2002 to manage the agency's then biggest account United International Pictures.

As MEC UK's growth accelerated of over the following decade, Mike established himself as a highly adaptable part of the team and advanced to take on senior trading as well as client leadership responsibilities. He was invited join MEC UK's management board in 2007 and at the same time he became MEC's first Head of Digital trading, working closely with GroupM to create market leadership partnerships and applications of technology and data.

In 2009 Mike moved to MEC's Global Team as Global Head of Digital Trading, a first within GroupM.

The latest chapter in Mike's MEC adventure now brings him to Asia where he takes responsibility for all MEC's trading across the APAC region.

Launched in September 2012, the course has already show concrete signs of enhancing employee development, both on a personal and professional level.

“We are thrilled to be recognized by Adweek for the launch of our happiness curriculum,” said Marla Kaplowitz, CEO, MEC North America. “This acknowledgment not only highlights our commitment to nurturing and inspiring our talent in new and creative ways, but showcases our drive to bring innovative thinking and techniques to market, strengthening our ability to deliver maximum results across the agency as well as our clients’ businesses. A special thanks to those participants of the pilot course who are already reaping the benefits of a happier mindset.”

The Adweek Project Isaac Awards were conceived in 2013 to cast a celebratory light on the smartest inventions across the media, marketing and technology sectors. As the industry continues to transform at a rapid pace, genuine invention, rather than innovation, has become crucial to advancing brands and businesses past the inertia of traditional models and modes. Project Isaac recognizes these outstanding achievements.

MEC launched its second round of the “Inspire Happiness” training course in April 2013.

In this newly created role, Tino will be responsible for the operations of MEC across their offices and will oversee client leadership to drive new business.

Matthias Brüll commented, “We are very happy to have Tino join our team, he is an experienced communications professional and his mix of skills will help MEC continue to develop and grow our business as well as deliver excellence in client service. Tino is another great example of our commitment to investing in our people to delight our clients.”

Tino Krause joins from Telefónica Germany, where he was Head of Brand Management. Prior to this he was Head of Media, CRM & Direct Communication at Audi AG. Previously, he was Group Head at GroupM Munich office working for clients such as Audi, HypoVereinsbank and Escada.

“Every day, more and more marketers are struggling to understand the true impact digital channels have on their sales,” commented Theresa LaMontage,Head of Analytics and Insight, MEC. “The digital ecosystem is immensely complex, and last click methods have proven insufficient in maximizing the ROI of digital marketing campaigns. CookieCutter™ is game changing in its ability to distill cookies into meaningful, results-driven insights and information.”

For several years, marketers have addressed digital attribution by using third party vendors, with limited involvement from media agencies to ensure quality data output. With no standard attribution methodology, a “one-size-fits-all” approach is employed by vendors, leaving no room for flexibility or customization based on marketers’ unique needs.

The launch of CookieCutter™brings digital attribution modeling into a media agency environment, effectively centralizing data management and laying the foundation for a more holistic media planning process.

CookieCutter^TM is designed to process millions of cookie-level records sourced from marketers’ various digital data sources in a matter of seconds. The data is then synthesized in MEC’s statistical modeling environment. The results from these models reveal which consumer touchpoints are most important through the digital media mix journey.

The methodology for this proprietary platform is grounded in sophisticated modeling techniques which quantify digital ad exposure while controlling the interaction between online and offline channels.

LaMontagne added, “With an increasing number of clients expressing the need to quantify digital media’s ROI, there’s been an explosion of digital attribution vendors. We recognized this as an opportunity to provide a new, scalable and adaptive solution that takes the nuances of a marketer’s business into account. At MEC, we believe in a consultative approach to supporting a business’ budgeting decisions; CookieCutter™ is a manifestation of this approach. We have invested in expert digital data specialists and statisticians who work hand-in-hand with our planners and clients to provide more streamlined reporting and faster recommendations to improve the actionability of results.”

“What makes CookieCutter™ different from competitive platforms is that our technology is designed to support our approach,” said Marla Kaplowitz, CEO of MEC North America. “It is fast, yet flexible. It’s not simply producing canned results;the platform is designed to produce analytics datasets which allow our integrated teams to build truly tailored solutions to answer our clients’ evolving objectives. We are thrilled to officially offer this best-in-class attribution to clients across MEC’s portfolio to ensure we are maximizing the ROI of their media investments.”

The launch of CookieCutter™ represents MEC’s continued comittment to providing clients a clear competitive advantage with consumer data-centric media planning and thought-leadership.

In this new position, Jude will be responsible for overseeing the Business Sciences team, playing a key role in advancing the quantitative skills across the agency’s A&I discipline. He will also be focused on applying his extensive programming acumen to the development of new modelling and planning tools. Jude will report directly to Theresa LaMontagne, Managing Partner, Analytics & Insight, North America.

Jude brings to MEC over twenty years of experience in marketing and data analytics honing his skills through positions at Ipsos/MMA, Marketshare, UBS, and Digitas, among others. Prior to joining MEC, Jude served as VP, Innovation at Ipsos/MMA, and Director of Analytics at MarketShare, where he developed statistical modeling, simulation and optimization tools that helped to advance its offering in the market.

Speaking on his appointment, Theresa said: “CMOs everywhere are trying to navigate today’s highly fragmented and ROI-driven media landscape. At MEC, we are at the forefront of analytics, continuing to deliver best in class insights and tools to help answer clients’ business questions. Jude’s breadth of experience across categories such as Finance, Retail, and CPG combined with his extensive knowledge of analytical techniques will help drive innovation for our agency and clients.”

Jude has been integral to the implementation of cutting edge methodologies in statistics, econometrics, and machine learning, as well as the development of statistical modeling tools, systems and platforms; tools for simulation and optimization; and reporting systems.

“MEC is a world renowned media agency that provides superior and innovative analytics solutions to its clients. I look forward to joining its growing A&I team, as well as working across the agency’s various disciplines to ensure we continue to provide clients with superior and innovative analytical solutions,” commented Jude.

Jude has a Ph.D. (ABD) in Finance and Applied Economics from Rutgers University; an MS in Information Systems Management from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and an MBA, Finance and Applied Statistics, from Rutgers.

The RECMA Competitiveness in pitches 2012 report analysed key pitches and moves across 46 countries in 2012.

Globally, MEC ranked third in Competitiveness in Pitches, up from number 11 in 2011 – the largest jump of any network.

This is the 9^th time MEC has placed in the top 3 in the RECMA rankings, since records began.

Alastair Aird, Global Chief Operating officer & Chairman of EMEA said, “This is a fantastic accolade and recognition of our focus on new business growth across 2012 which remains a key priority for MEC. Our teams right around the network work tirelessly to deliver for clients and prospects and their efforts truly paid off in 2012.”

MEC had an outstanding 2012 with significant international wins including the global account for Mulberry; SABMiller, Lavazza, and Beiersdorf in Europe; Johnson&Johnson led by GroupM PRIMUS across EMEA; Nestlé in the Middle East; Kingfisher in the United Kingdom and Mercedes Benz and Cell C in South Africa.

MEC has worked with the STB since 2009.

MEC will work with the Singapore Tourism Board and its other agency partners to drive strategic brand leadership and paid owned earned channel planning across key markets globally.

The scope of work includes integrated planning, content, digital display, search, social and analytics and insights. Markets covered include: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, UK, Germany, USA, Australia and India.

Commenting on the win, Connie Chan, Managing Director of MEC Global Solutions Asia Pacific said, “ We are incredibly proud to have been re-appointed as Singapore Tourism Board's global media agency of record. We are thrilled to continue working with STB to drive Singapore’s image as one of the world’s greatest destinations and to champion Singapore across our network. At MEC, we believe in building long term client partnerships to allow us to support our clients as they grow their business, in a constantly changing communication environment. We’re delighted that STB has joined us on this journey.”

He’ll work with MEC’s digital leadership and others around the world to form a team that develops, grows and drives the agency’s digital business globally, fully integrated within MEC.

“Hiring Carl is an essential step in the continued growth of MEC globally”, said Charles Courtier, global chief executive officer. “Carl’s mix of skills has made him one of the leading digital specialists in the industry; he is uniquely qualified to help us navigate and develop the future of our business.”

This is a new position and the appointment is effective in May. Carl will be based in New York and will report to Charles Courtier, global chief executive officer. He will also serve on the agency’s Global Exco.

About Carl Fremont

During his career, Carl has worked on a myriad of consumer and business-to-business brands. As a media specialist, Carl has played a leading role in the industry. As a frequent industry speaker and consultant, Carl is often quoted in the press on his views on the future of marketing and media. At Digitas since 2000, Carl has led the Global Media practice comprised of over 500 professionals in seven domestic and international offices, working with clients including America Express, Whirlpool, Delta, Sprint, Mars, Meade Johnson, Taco Bell and eBay. In his time there, Carl has driven the use of research, data, technology, analytics and advanced targeting practices to ensure all marketing initiatives deliver measurable business impact.

Prior to joining Digitas, Carl was a Senior Vice President of Media Services at Wunderman, part of the Y&R Network. During Carl’s 16 year tenure at Wunderman, he managed all direct marketing activities for the company including Ford, Citibank, American Express and AT&T. At Wunderman, Carl led one of the industry’s first digital marketing campaigns for American Express. Carl began his career at Ted Bates advertising in 1981 as a Media Planner.

For six years, Carl was an Adjunct Professor at NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Masters Program. He has also guest lectured at numerous universities and international conferences and continues to teach in the industry. Carl serves on the advisory boards of a select number of digital venture groups and is a consultant for GLG, Guidepoint and Pacific Crest. These roles afford Carl with the evaluation of and insights into a multitude of emerging media companies and technology platforms. Carl is also a board member of NextMark, a technology company that has automated many facets of the media planning and buying ecosystem. Carl was elected to the Ad Club of New York Board of Directors in 2009 and now serves on the

Executive Board and also serves as its lead for Media Action, which since its inception has raised over $10MM (US) in scholarship funds for diversity students entering the Marketing and Communications fields.

Carl is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickenson University. He resides in New Jersey with his wife and two daughters.

The pitch process took three months and included a costing exercise and two pitch presentations. MEC has handled the media services for Mitsubishi Motors Australia for more than 20 years. MEC’s strong digital capabilities played an important role in the outcome of the pitch.

Topping the good news for MEC, the South Australian Government has extended the media agency’s contract for a further period of two years. MEC has held the media account for three years.

The retentions continue a successful start to 2013 by MEC, adding to its wins earlier this year of the Tiger Airways media account in a pitch against incumbent Starcom and the Seven Network media account.

“We have had a long and successful relationship with Mitsubishi, but a full-blown pitch is always a good opportunity to demonstrate to a client that we are the best agency in the market to help them tackle the growing challenges in a changing and volatile landscape,” said MEC Adelaide Managing Director Peter Bucklow.

“The vote of confidence from both Mitsubishi and the South Australian Government caps off an incredible first quarter of growth, during which we welcomed Tiger and the Seven Network as clients, added more talent and boosted our digital capabilities,” said Peter Vogel, CEO of MEC Australia.

Along with some of the world’s most successful companies including Google, Zappos and most recently, Pfizer, MEC is at the forefront of a proven secret to business success: happy employees are more ‘inspired’ employees.

This past fall, MEC piloted a six-week training program, led by Helen Mumford Sole, an experienced executive coach and happiness expert, to teach employees skills and techniques to increase their levels of happiness. Born out of the staff’s receptivity to an introduction of the ‘happiness’ concept, MEC partnered with Sole to create and test a curriculum allowing employees to develop, both personally and professionally. The course explored various facets of happiness from positive psychology, medical research, quantum physics and Eastern mysticism to the extensive world of the self-help movement, with the goal of cultivating employees’ happiest selves. Some participants witnessed increased levels by as much as 32 percent by the end of the course. Follow-up courses are already being scheduled.

“In my experience, happier people have the ability to achieve extraordinary things in both work and in their personal lives. Our objective at MEC is to help our talent reap the benefits of a happier, more positive mindset, so that all our employees are equipped and empowered to achieve their goals,” said Marla Kaplowitz, CEO of MEC North America. “This is a people business. And we feel strongly that MEC’s talent and culture is very distinct and very powerful. We call it MECness. I am thrilled to extend this training as part of the agency’s ongoing commitment to talent development and training, both personal and professional. The launch of this program has already shown concrete signs of driving success for the agency, and across our clients’ businesses.”

All MEC employees were encouraged to complete the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire – considered the ”gold” standard for measuring happiness—prior to the start of the course to help determine who would benefit most from the course. Enrolled participants took the questionnaire again at the end of the course. Every single attendee was happier at the end of the course than they were at the beginning; one participant’s happiness level revealed a massive 32 percent increase, with another three showing above 20 percent. The average happiness uplift for the entire class was 12 percent. Additional insights include:

• 100% of participants found it useful or very useful
• 100% of participants enjoyed it very much or a lot
• 100% of participants would recommend this to their friends

Helen Mumford Sole commented, “Happiness is not something we’re born with and can’t change: it’s something we can manage, cultivate and develop just like any other skill. Working with the team at MEC was highly successful, and I noticed significant changes in moods and stress management during our six weeks together. I look forward to continuing this journey with MEC.”

Happiness has been highly researched over the last decade, showing strong evidence of the causality between employee happiness and successful business outcomes. In a meta-analysis of 225 academic studies, researchers Sonja Lyubomirsky, Laura King, and Ed Diener found strong evidence of directional causality between life satisfaction and successful business and personal outcomes, and that happy employees have, on average, 31 percent higher productivity, 37 percent higher sales and their creativity is three times higher. Furthermore, Gallup reported that lost productivity due to employee disengagement costs more than $300 billion in the U.S. annually. Actively focusing on employees’ overall happiness can effectively improve an individual’s confidence as well as productivity both in and out of the office.

The “Happiness” course is part of MEC’s overall philosophy to inspire and support its talent by offering unique cultural and wellness programs. Other agency initiatives under this umbrella include: Vision Boarding , a class that encourages individuals to visualize their personal and professional dreams; People’s Choice Awards, an internal awards competition celebrating outstanding work from across North America; Inspiration Lab, a monthly review of inspiring work from across the agency ; MEC Spirit Week, a weeklong themed event that actively engages and excites employees; as well as events such as the City Harvest Food Drive and Red Cross Blood Drive that motivate employees to make a difference in socially responsible ways.

MEC and Seven teamed up to conduct the study with Neuro-Insight in the quest to discover the impact of social media interaction on viewers’ engagement levels on the 1^st and 2^nd screens.

Viewers recruited for the study were typical social TV participants; monitored though hidden cameras as they watched a live broadcast of the Seven Network’s reality show X-Factor late last year. Any interaction with social media occurred naturally.

The results disprove the theory that second-screen usage during TV viewing negatively impacts audience engagement, and substantiate the value of TV sponsorships and social media extensions.

Chief Strategy Officer for MEC, James Hier said, “Engagement is impossible for people to articulate through crude measures of recall, attitudinal research or even eye-tracking. The only way to measure engagement is neurologically.”

“Never before has a study been done that measures neurological responses to live TV viewing, at such a granular level, with such a robust number of interactions”. Peter Pynta Director of Marketing Neuro Insight added.

The study revealed:

• Interacting with social media while watching TV drives a 9% increase in program engagement
• Average social media interaction during a TV program: 4 times
• These interactions serve as “reset moments” after which viewers return to an engagement level higher than before
• Throughout the program, cumulative increase in engagement is 26%
• Second-screen interaction positively impacts Detailed Memory Encoding – the ability to remember specific elements of the broadcast.

“Seven Network can use these insights to improve our clients’ communications effectiveness. Sponsors that are fully integrated in a TV show can capitalise on the higher intensity of engagement and enjoy better results,” said Kurt Burnette Chief Sales & Digital Officer.

“This study teaches us that advertising messages should capitalise on viewers’ heightened receptivity to details, and that we should optimise the type and timing of advertising messages within a TV program,” James Hier added.

MEC, Seven Network and Neuro Insight unveiled the study results at the 2013 Australian Broadcasting Summit.

Visit our YouTube channel MEC InAction for the video The re-socialisation of TV

Paul Yan joined as National Head of Search, and James Graver and Ivy Au joined as Digital Strategists.

All three will report to Karen Ho, Head of Interaction, MEC China. “MEC’s strategic approach, its focus on digital and its access to analytics and data are what makes us stand out from the competition," said Karen Ho. “I am thrilled to have these three highly experienced specialists join the team. We will work together to strengthen the existing strategy and direction for MEC Interaction, and to build on our current success to create even better results for our clients in the future.”

Paul Yan, as National Head of Search, MEC China, will be responsible for the development and improvement of MEC’s search business in China. Paul has 14 years’ experience in China’s Internet industry with focus on e-commerce in the last four years. Focusing on leading the integrated planning process across paid, owned and earned channels, James and Ivy will be responsible for activating and accelerating MEC’s digital offering across key clients, with a particular focus on improving strategic thinking and creative processes.

James joins MEC China after one year with MEC UK, serving as Digital Strategy Director. Prior to that, he had been with UM UK for five years focusing on digital and creative.

Ivy has nine years of experience in digital planning and buying in Sydney, Shanghai and Hong Kong for OMD and PHD.

Christian Guinot, President, MEC China commented, “At MEC, we have evolved our approach to ensure that digital is fully integrated throughout all areas of our business and runs through the veins of the work we deliver our clients. These appointments reflect the critical importance of digital expertise to our business. We are extremely pleased that Paul, James and Ivy have joined us at this exciting time of change for MEC across China.”

Paul and Ivy are based in Shanghai and James is based in Beijing.

The company markets premium innerwear under the brand names Dixcy and Dixcy Scott. Bollywood A-lister Salman Khan endorses Dixcy Scott.

MEC won the business after a closely contested multi-agency pitch and will handle the account from their Bangalore office.

Speaking on the development, Raghul Sikka, Director of Dixcy Scott said, “We have very aggressive plans for the coming year and we wanted a like-minded partner on board. It was a tough fight between equally competent agencies. We believe we have found that partner in MEC. We look forward to working with MEC.”

Ganesh Sharma, who heads the advertising and promotion at Dixcy Scott added, “Being a low involvement category, our media product needs depth coupled with an innovative approach to reach our target audience, which will eventually deliver the desired results for us.”

Commenting on the win, T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC India said, “Dixcy Scott is a key player in the Indian innerwear market and we are delighted to have them on board. We look forward to a mutually rewarding association.”

MEC is a leading global network and a founding partner of Group M, and operates in 84 countries. In India, MEC has a wide repertoire of blue-chip clients that includes Colgate Palmolive, Britannia, Reliance Industries, LG, Honda, FlipKart, Citibank, NIVEA, Zee Network, CavinKare, DHL, Jaypee Group and Accenture.

Now in its fifth edition, the study has come to be the definitive barometer to gauge expectations around the blockbuster event. A combination of primary research and high-end analytics, the study has achieved 100% accuracy in the past, including last year. The research was conducted in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Pune, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad. As in previous years, the study has been carried out in association with Meritus, WPP’s analytics company.

Key findings of the study were:

• Average TV rating for the league stage is expected to go up from 3.8 last year to 3.9 – an increase of 2.6% (15+ years, Male/Female, SEC ABC

• MI (4.5), KKR (4.2) and CSK (4.1) games to have the highest ratings
• Home team (84%), favorite team (79%) and Indian stars (64%) continue to be deciding factors to watch a match. Time of the match (49%) is also gaining importance.
• MI (23%), Chennai (19%) and KKR (14%) are the most popular teams. Support for Hyderabad has gone up by 200% (2% to 6%), Bangalore has dropped by 50% (12% to 8%)
• Sachin Tendulkar (80), MS Dhoni (79), Yuvraj Singh (76), Virat Kohli (74) and Virender Sehwag (73) are the most popular Indian players in the League; Chris Gayle (60), Ricky Ponting (55), Brett Lee (51) and Kevin Pietersen (50) are most popular foreign players

Said T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC India, “Our study suggests that the IPL has matured as a property. The study clearly establishes that ratings in the first phase (first 18 games) impacts the fate of the entire league. With Pepsi activating their title sponsorship in a big way, the BCCI launching the IPL Fantasy League and India’s strong performance against Australia, the first stage of the league could get further momentum.

We expect the IPL Fantasy League to become a key part of the live broadcast experience and as a result, social chatter around IPL could grow significantly”, Gangadhar added.

Sunder Muthuraman, Managing Partner, Meritus Analytics, also believes that the IPL brand is reflecting the behaviour of a typical mature consumer product. “Our proprietary survey, that is integral to the forecast, shows that there is a segment of audience who will watch more than last year (say, the loyalists) and another segment who will watch lesser (say, the rejecters). Given that the former segment is larger than the latter, the ratings are likely to be marginally higher than in 2012. Given our past successes, we hope our pioneering rating forecast methodology will be adopted by all broadcasters and advertisers”, Sunder concluded.

In addition, the agency won a further nine awards including:

Gold

Best Use of QR Codes for Mercedes-Benz 125! Race

Best Original Content for Mercedes-Benz 125! Race

Most Innovative use of Mobile for Mercedes-Benz 125! Race

Silver

Most Creative App for Mercedes-Benz 125! Race

Best Viral Marketing for Mercedes-Benz 125! Race

Best App/Content for a Consumer Brand for Mercedes-Benz 125! Race

Bronze

Best Direct Response Campaign for Modern Family - SingTel mioTV

Best Mobile Advertising Solution for Modern Family - SingTel mioTV

Best Use of Multiple Mobile Channels for Modern Family - SingTel mioTV

The Mob-Ex Awards recognises Singapore’s leading contributors of mobile excellence and honours organisations that have pushed the limits in the mobile marketing ecosystem.

Matt will be responsible for leading and developing MEC’s international clients based from Hong Kong. His role also will also include strategic planning leadership and business development aspects for the region. He will report to Stephen Li, CEO Asia Pacific.

Stephen Li commented: “We’re committed to investing in our talent and Matt is an excellent example of the strategic firepower that we’re attracting to MEC. Matt’s extensive experience in client management and business development both in Asia and internationally will be of tremendous benefit to our clients and our teams. With him on board I’m confident that we will continue to delight our clients and drive growth for them.”

“Asia Pacific is a diverse and exciting region and one that I love. I am delighted to be joining MEC, one of the most creative and inspiring agencies in the business, with a great roster of international and regional clients. I’m looking forward to applying my skills and knowledge, exploring innovative communication solutions for them.” said Matt Semple.

Matt has more than 12 years’ experience working with some of the world’s most recognizable brands including, L’Oreal, Aviva, Activision, Southern Comfort Hewlett Packard, Iberia and COI. He brings a sharp focus on building deeper and meaningful relationship with clients, to drive thought leadership, creativity and strategic development. Matt joins from ZenithOptimedia in Paris where he was International ROI Director responsible for the business leadership on Sanofi Healthcare. Prior to this Matt was based in Singapore where he spent six years as Regional Development Director, Before joining ZenithOptimedia, Matt was an Associate Director for Starcom MediaVest.

The Gyllene Hjulet (Golden Wheel) is the Swedish Sponsorship and Event Association’s award which recognises and honours the best creative solutions in the industry. MEC Access was cited for elevating the Swedish fashion scene in Northern Europe, with insightful packaging and outstanding impact beyond the catwalk.

“It’s a fantastic achievement to be named Rightsholder of the Year. At MEC, we are continually focused on exploring new industry-leading opportunities that drive growth for our clients. And as a fully integrated agency it proves that we have an outstanding offer in the sponsorship arena, competing on equal footing with pure-play sponsorship agencies. We’re delighted to share this accolade with our partners at Mercedes-Benz and very proud to be honoured with this prestigious award.” said Daniel Collin, CEO of MEC Sweden.

Christin Ericsson, Project Manager for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, said, “We’re thrilled that Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, under the management of MEC Access, has evolved to become Sweden's best rightsholder event. The Gyllene Hjulet Award proves that this partnership is of the highest standard, and we hope to take Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week to an even higher level!”

Themed around the idea of the BBC’s reporters covering the news in a more dynamic way, the refreshed brand identity entitled ‘Live the Story’ will highlight the unique depth and insight offered by the channel.

The immersive and innovative campaign will be heavily focused on digital and will include homepage takeovers of their own channels as well as online ads outside of the UK. The aim is to ensure that the BBC is the first port of call for news across Europe by making the brand feel more dynamic and modern in its new news studio enabled with state of the art technology. QR codes will also be used on print executions inviting users to hear first-hand accounts of the events being reported by those journalists actively living the full story.

The international campaign, focused on Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong and the US, will run across television, press, radio, out-of-home and experiential media with the media buying also handled by MEC. There will also be pan-regional media partnerships with titles including The Financial Times and Eurosport.

Precision™ combines Kantar Media Audience’s Return Path Data (RPD) services, which provide second-by-second analysis of TV viewing behavior, with consumer shopping data from Kantar Shopcom. Together, these capabilities allow MEC Bravo to create accurate effectiveness and engagement models determining the impact Hispanic advertising has on CPG sales.

The tool assesses the influence that exposure to a branded media message has on Hispanic viewers - as determined by viewing habits - through a variety of metrics, including penetration, dollar buying rate, purchase frequency, dollars spent per trip and units per trip. For example, an initial study found that Hispanics exposed to a specific media campaign spent 18% more on the product compared to non-Hispanics exposed to the same campaign.

Gonzalo del Fa, Managing Director of MEC Bravo commented, “This is a revolutionary tool for the Hispanic market. It’s been a challenge for all of us in the industry to accurately identify Hispanic consumers and understand their purchase activity. With this new tool, that won’t be a problem anymore. By offering valuable and comprehensive insights on the role that media plays in the purchase pathway, this tool will allow us to target Hispanic audiences in a more impactful and addressable way. And this will be invaluable to our clients.”

Precision™ is the first product to emerge from an ongoing effort between Kantar Media and GroupM, the leading global media investment management operation of which MEC is a founding partner. The initiative looks to integrate second-by-second audience viewing data from Kantar Media with other data sets to better define consumer behavior from media consumption through to product usage.

“Kantar Media’s Return Path Data service offers incredibly rich insights into television viewing behavior by hundreds of thousands of households,” states Bud Breheney, Chief Commercial Officer at Kantar Media Audiences North America. “The combination of our RPD data with MEC Bravo’s Hispanic expertise and Kantar Shopcom’s shopping behavior analysis provides marketers with unprecedented levels of information on their campaigns.”

“Personally, I was very impressed with the level of detail you were able to achieve with Precision™,” adds Don Wood, Brand Manager at Campbell’s Beverages. “And by that I mean not only the metrics themselves, but also the confidence around whether consumers were exposed to the advertising and their acculturation levels. In an area that is hard to measure, Precision™ offers a tool that can bolster confidence in the business impact of Hispanic communications.”

These promotions are further proof of MEC’s commitment to fostering an inclusive and prosperous working environment.

Six individuals were promoted to managing partner level, and ten were named Senior Partner:

Managing Partners

Christina Dagnello – Christina joined MEC in 1999. She leads the agency’s global Xerox and Chevron client relationships.

Andrea Hartman – Andrea joined MEC in 2000 and has led many businesses from the agency’s Irvine office. Andrea was instrumental in securing the Legal Zoom and Invisalign businesses which she leads today.

Mark Miller – Mark has been with MEC eight years and during this time has developed the Paramount planning team into one of the best and brightest in the entertainment business. He is based in Los Angeles.

Cathy Salazar – Cathy joined MEC in 2009 to lead MEC’s Search practice. She currently plays a senior digital leadership role on the AT&T team.

Sharona Sankar-King – Sharona leads the Digital Analytics Practice across all MEC clients. She is an 18-year veteran who has led analytics teams at Experian, FCB and Digitas. Sharona has developed MEC’s Quantum Attribution platform which synthesizes the best-in-class-techniques of digital attribution and combines it with the most robust cookie level data sources.

Andy Wasef – Andy started his career at MEC UK in 2003 and joined the New York office in 2010. In his newly created position as Head of Innovation and Technology, Andy is responsible for furthering MEC’s commitment to bringing innovative solutions to all our clients, overseeing an agency-wide development program as well as building key partnerships with vendors and the start-up community.

Senior Partners

Joseph Cowan

Alice Dure

Tousanna Durgan

Wilson Hoffnagle

Melissa Jee

Tess Kander

Kate Kohlmann

Charlotte Lim

Chris Senio

Thomas Spilker

Commented Marla Kaplowitz: “Attracting and retaining top talent is critical in my role as CEO. At MEC, we pride ourselves on building a people-centric culture, and nurturing and grooming future leaders of the agency. This group of managing partners and senior partners is comprised of diverse skill sets and personalities, yet singular in their approach to creative problem solving and delivering innovative solutions to clients. I look forward to continuing to watch their growth and helping them achieve their personal and professional goals every step of the way.”

MEC North America today announced that it has been selected as media agency of record for Simmons Bedding Company (http://www.simmons.com), a 140-year old company and one of the world's largest mattress producers and maker of BEAUTYREST^®. Effective immediately, MEC will be responsible for media planning and buying.

MEC will support the Beautyrest^® and COMFORPEDIC FROM BEAUTYRESTÔ brands with targeted and strategic media efforts, promoting the company’s commitment to help its consumers attain a higher quality of sleep with superior mattresses that provide recharging sleep. Building on Simmons’ successful brand promise, “Living Life Fully Charged®,” MEC will focus much of its efforts around the company’s revolutionary Beautyrest® Recharge technology.

Jeff Willard, EVP of Marketing at Simmons, commented, “We’re thrilled to bring MEC on board to handle media duties. We have undergone a complete brand transformation at Simmons and with this we are are reaching consumers at a level that is unprecedented in Simmons' history. As we set a goal of delivering 2 billion target impressions to our consumers in 2013, MEC’s proven record of using analytics and insights to reach audiences at all touch points, is the perfect fit for our needs. We believe this partnership will help to quickly reestablish Simmons as the leader in the premium bedding market, and can’t wait to start working together.”

“Simmons is the type of client we love to work with- strong leadership, with an agile marketing team who embrace their media agency as partners.” said Eamonn Store, President of MEC Global Solutions. “We’ve moved from contract discussions to media planning in a very short space of time and we’ll be activating our first campaign very soon. This urgency and energy with the client motivates our team to deliver exciting work across paid, owned and earned media chanels.”

The search was conducted internally from the Simmons headquarters in Atlanta, Ga. Simmons manufactures and markets a broad range of products including Beautyrest®, Beautyrest TruEnergy™, Beautyrest Black®, ComforPedic® from Beautyrest®, and BeautySleep®, and operates 19 conventional bedding manufacturing facilities across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Simmons also serves as a key supplier of beds to many of the world's leading hotel groups and resort properties. The new relationship begins immediately.

Heading up both MEC Swiss offices in Zurich and Lausanne, Michael will draw on his extensive marketing experience to help MEC expand the scope of its services for international and national customers.

He will also develop and introduce supplementary services to optimise the range of cross-media services offered by MEC in Switzerland. Michael will report into Alastair Aird, Chairman for MEC, EMEA and COO, Global.

Alastair Aird, said: “We’re delighted that Michael is joining us. His remit is to develop our offer in Switzerland with a revitalised focus on business development and strategic leadership for our clients and people. Michael brings strong experience to MEC having worked for a variety of print and online media owners in management positions. His background in vocational training and human resource management also fits nicely with the MEC tradition of fostering an inclusive and prosperous working environment.”

Before joining MEC, Michael headed up a number of divisions as a Sales Manager at Standard Service in Vienna. An honorary board member of Vienna’s ‘Economic Forum of Executives’, Michael studied political science and industrial engineering at the University of Vienna and the Vienna University of Technology.

Eric will report to Marla Kaplowitz, CEO of MEC, North America. Eric will lead a team of over twenty people at MEC Access in North America.  He will continue to serve as the lead on the Citi account, overseeing its sponsorship strategy and marketing activation efforts on such properties as Citi Field, Citi Open, Citi Pond and the President’s Cup.

Eric will lead the agency's  business development, property management and activation services, across both MEC and MEC Access’ portfolio of clients which include Chevron, Citi, Harman, IKEA, Marriott, Scotts, Texaco, Xerox and others.  He’ll be responsible for the integration of MEC Access’ skills and resources within MEC and providing genuinely integrated partnership acquisition, activation and measurement solutions for clients.  He’ll also work closely with the MEC Access network globally.

Eric has twenty years of experience in the field of sport, entertainment and cause marketing.  He served 5 years in the US Air Force, achieving the rank of Captain, and was awarded the National Defense Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal and the Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon.

Following his graduate studies, Eric worked for NFL Properties where he managed the NFL on-field and sidelines business with partners such as Adidas, Champion, Nike, Puma and Reebok; and led the NFL 75^th Anniversary ‘Throwback’ program.   In 2003, he founded Five Star Sports working with clients such as MasterCard, Bank of America, Expedia, Dunkin Donuts, Subway and McDonald’s.

Speaking on his appointment, Marla Kaplowitz said: “More and more clients focus on using integrated partnerships to achieve differentiation and deliver against their business objectives. Eric's experience and expertise speaks for itself; he’s a real talent and we're certain that he will help MEC Access continue to deliver outstanding work.”

Eric Petrosinelli said: “MEC Access is a leading agency, really creative and with such a depth of data and insight at its disposal. It’s a fantastic combination of resources to develop the best possible solutions for our clients’ business needs.” 

The contributions, written by some of MEC’s most senior staff from across its international network, offer a truly global perspective on the industry and provide a collection of articles to stimulate industry discussion and give direction to the trends of 2013 and beyond.

Some of the key trends include:

1. Content and Technology – the new normal in brand communications: Content as a foundation of marketing communications has been growing in influence over the past few years. MEC talked last year about the era of ‘Content-ricity’, and what we see now is the growth in the use of technology at the heart of brands’ content ideas. Whether that is creating technology solutions that provide utility to consumers and then fuel content stories; or using the digital infrastructure to amplify a content idea, the lines between technology, product and communications are blurring like never before.

2. A rumble in the retail jungle: The world of retail is changing, and fast. Disrupted initially by online e-commerce, physical retail environments of all kinds are now being infiltrated by digital technologies. Digital storefronts, mobile payments, data driving personalized shopping experiences are just a few ways that our retail world is now being shaken up and the rules of shopper marketing being rewritten

3. Social Media – From Fun to Fundamental: Social media marketing is maturing and growing up, and as it does - and especially as measurement on business impact has got rapidly more sophisticated - strategies and tactics have moved from focusing on volume of fans and engagement, to now become increasingly fundamental to the core parts of a business’ operation.

Commenting on Review Preview, Jeff Hyams, Chief Strategy Officer, EMEA said, “The essays have come from our incredible global network and really provide an international flavor to what’s happening in marketing. The reality of the connected consumer is here and looking forward we expect to see further marketing benefits derived from reaching these consumers across multiple platforms and through a variety of channels. While technology continues to develop at speed it’s not technology itself that creates change but how consumers choose to interact and use it.

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Founded by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, BlueStone.com is funded by blue-chip investors, Accel Partners.

Speaking on the development, Kushwaha said, “We are excited about taking BlueStone across a much wider canvas and are delighted to partner with MEC in this regard. MEC’s sound understanding of the digital space and their track record on e-commerce brands made our choice of agency easy. We look forward to a mutually rewarding partnership”.

Commenting on the win, T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC India said, “There is no better way to begin 2013 than this. We are excited about partnering BlueStone on their ambitious vision – a vision that could completely transform the jewellery retail landscape in India”.

(In India, MEC has had a prolific run on the 2012 awards circuit. Besides winning at Festival of Media Global, the agency won most Golds at Goafest 2012 and converted eight out of nine shortlists at EMVIES 2012. Britannia, FlipKart, Accenture and HARMAN International are the other accounts handled by MEC in Bangalore.)

He will report to Susan Schiekofer, President of Digital for MEC, North America and Ari Bluman, Chief Digital Investment Officer, GroupM, North America.

In this new role, Joe will be responsible for working with client teams to leverage MEC digital spend to deliver plans with the greatest net benefit and results for MEC clients.

“Joe is an accomplished professional with a unique background, having expertise in leveraging digital spend on behalf of clients, best use of advertising technology to deliver results as well as agency operations for ease of delivery of product. His varied expertise in digital will prove to be invaluable for our team and we look forward to his innovative solutions for our clients and agency partners,” commented Susan Schiekofer.

“I’m very excited to join the team at MEC, especially at a time when digital media is evolving at such a rapid pace. I look forward to implementing new strategies that will expand our offering,” added Joe Kowan.

Prior to joining MEC, Joe served as VP, Business Development at Legolas Media, Inc. During his tenure, Joe helped set the strategic direction of a cutting edge advertising technology startup, experiencing year over year growth. Prior to Legolas, he worked at GroupM’s MediaCom, where  he was Director, Media Systems & Technology, where he established and communicated the overall media technology vision and roadmap for the US market. 

He will be responsible for the agency’s strategic product offer and will report to Matthias Brüll, CEO.

In his new role, Arvid will drive the growth of the agency’s three key 3 pillars: innovation and technology; branded entertainment via MEC Access and market research.

Matthias Brüll, commented on the appointment, “Our clients demand more and more integration of our offer.  We needed one person who would have oversight of the entire piece and therefore it was a logical step for Arvid to step into this role.” 

Arvid joined MEC in 2009 and has worked in various positions for the agency group. Most recently, he was Managing Partner in the client service team.

The 34-years old business economist began his career at GroupM sister agency Mediacom, where he worked from 2005 to 2009.

Radikal is one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of premium basmati rice and has a massive presence across Asia, Middle East, Europe, America, Australia and Africa. Radikal has over 10 varieties of basmati rice and is widely available across India.

Ritesh Singh, Head of MEC Interaction said, “We are delighted to be appointed the digital AOR for Radikal Rice and have some exciting things planned for the brand. This win reiterates MEC’s street creds when it comes to full-service, cutting-edge digital capabilities.”

Commenting on the win, Siddharth Chaudhary , MD, Radikal said  “Keeping in view with the  way the  digital  wave is embracing  all walks of life for our consumers, we  needed to  lay  emphasis on  engagement and   activation. That is the reason we have a full-fledged Digital AOR arrangement with MEC Interaction. What appealed to us about them was the innovative and inventive approach to reaching out to digital audiences across different platforms”

This win comes close on the heels of MEC winning the Britannia business in Bangalore.

Both executives will work in Red Fuse Communications , an integrated WPP unit created to service Colgate globally.

John Baker will oversee strategic and innovative media solutions and teams for Colgate-Palmolive across Latin America. Jill Brady will have responsibility for Colgate channel strategy in North America. Both Baker and Brady will be based in New York and will report to James Atherton, Global Managing Partner, MEC and Head of Media Global, Red Fuse Communications.

James Atherton commented, “We are thrilled to bring John and Jill to our team. They are highly experienced media professionals who will be key members of both MEC and the Red Fuse Management Teams, working to develop our strategic vision and communications planning approach in both regions.”

John brings over two decades of experience in media , having developed award-winning marketing campaigns for world-class brands including P&G, Kraft, Visa, Nestle, AT&T, Sprint and IBM.  Previously Baker worked at Mindshare as Executive Director, Client Lead for Sprint, where he partnered with Sprint’s CMO and managed agency teams to elevate the brand’s work, build the Sprint brand and grow customer acquisition. Before that, he served as Senior VP, Group Account Director at Publicis USA, leading strategy and creative development for Procter & Gamble’s Vicks Global and ThermaCare brands. He has also held strategic leadership roles for brands such as Nestle, Kraft, and Visa.  

Jill spent 12 years at Mindshare New York, most recently as Managing Partner, Managing Director  on LG and Audible.com. Throughout her career, she has held worked across local, national and global markets for brands including American Express, Kimberly-Clark, Dial, USPS, Conoco Phillips and Unilever. Under her leadership, her team successfully integrated Minshare’s digital planning into the agency’s overall strategic planning offering to align with the evolution of the media landscape.

With a heritage of 120 years, Britannia is one of India’s leading food companies and has an extensive presence in biscuits, dairy and bakery products. In a leading survey recently, Britannia was voted India’s second most trusted brand. 

Susan replaces Jack Bamberger who joins AOL. Andy’s role is a new position at the agency.

Marla Kaplowitz commented, “We are extremely fortunate to have a very focused and innovative team ready to take our digital integration to the next level. While we are disappointed to see Jack leave, we respect his decision and wish him the very best. Susan’s digital client leadership experience, coupled with Andy’s deep knowledge of mobile and emerging platforms means that we already have a home grown partnership ready and hungry to elevate our digital offering. I’m genuinely excited about the future.”

Susan joined MEC in 2010 to lead the AT&T digital team after serving as Managing Director at Neo@Ogilvy. There she was responsible for clients including Time-Warner Cable, Medco and Sara Lee. Previously Susan was based at mOne leading digital and DRTV activities for their Novartis, BMS, Allstate and Ameritrade accounts. Susan began her career at Ogilvy One, where she worked on the AT&T and IBM businesses.

Andy joined MEC in 2003 in the UK as a digital strategist, developing campaigns for clients such as Colgate Palmolive and Paramount Pictures International. Covering the UK, then Europe and then moving to the US in 2010, Andy is dedicated to driving understanding and application of emerging media and technology across a broad cross section of the agency’s clients.

MEC China won the Gold in the “Media Agency / Best digital campaign” campaign for its work on Mercedes’ smart Pearl campaign (e-commerce). The campaign had previously won Silver at China’s 4As Advertising Festival in October.

The smart Pearl campaign leveraged the power of social herding, putting the smart car on 360buy.com, one of China’s largest e-commerce platforms. 300 limited edition smart Pearl grey were available to purchase through 360buy only. This was the first time a car has created a bespoke version for online sales only. 300 smart cars sold out in 89 minutes, that’s approximately 1 car every 30 seconds.  An amazing result and double the rate of MEC’s award winning smart Taobao campaign in 2010.  In addition, over 1,000 leads were generated for dealers, resulting in a record breaking ROI at more than 1:89.

Organized by Disanzhongren Media, the ROI Festival Awards recognizes the most budget-savvy companies in the field of communication and marketing.

MEC China won the Gold in the “Media Agency / Best digital campaign” campaign for its work on Mercedes’ smart Pearl campaign (e-commerce). The campaign had previously won Silver at China’s 4As Advertising Festival in October.

The smart Pearl campaign leveraged the power of social herding, putting the smart car on 360buy.com, one of China’s largest e-commerce platforms. 300 limited edition smart Pearl grey were available to purchase through 360buy only. This was the first time a car has created a bespoke version for online sales only. 300 smart cars sold out in 89 minutes, that’s approximately 1 car every 30 seconds.  An amazing result and double the rate of MEC’s award winning smart Taobao campaign in 2010.  In addition, over 1,000 leads were generated for dealers, resulting in a record breaking ROI at more than 1:89.

Organized by Disanzhongren Media, the ROI Festival Awards recognizes the most budget-savvy companies in the field of communication and marketing.

“It’s a fantastic achievement to be named Media Agency of the Year. At MEC we are continually focussed on engaging in the development of the interaction industry, and exploring new opportunities to deliver best-in-class digital solutions for our clients.  So we are very proud to be honoured with this prestigious award.” said Pawel Gala, Managing Partner, MEC Poland.

In its sixth year, the IAB Mixx Award ceremony recognises creativity and effectiveness in the interactive arena.  It consists of an independent judging panel of highly acclaimed thought leaders in the advertising ecosystem; and is widely regarded as the premium digital marketing ceremony.  Focused on creativity and impact, it’s the only competition that evaluates all key facets of interactive marketing, including: strategy, creative development and execution, media placement and integration, effectiveness and ROI.

Called “Tweet a cloud, Dil Se” it’s aimed at gauging peoples’ sentiments on how they would like to splurge this festive season. To ensure engagement and participation  a new advertising technique called ‘skyvertising’ which releases differently shaped clouds into the sky has been used. Needless to say the activation “Tweet a cloud, Dil Se” will be powered by tweets from consumers to the #DilVsBill hashtag .

Sanjeev Kapur, CMO, Citibank said “Consumers like to make personal purchases as well as gift family and friends during festivals, but are conscious of budgets and costs. Citibank understands these needs and have provided an opportunity to amortize such expenses over a period of time, through EMI Privileges at No extra cost. This allows them to manage their finances better, while enjoying the festivities with family and friends”.

This activity is culmination of the marketing campaign “DilVsBill” that Citi has been  unning this festival season . The campaign is aimed at promoting Citibank’s EMI offering on credit cards across 1700 merchant partners, which is a great enabler for consumers to follow their heart’s wishes whenever they are stuck in the Dill Vs Bill dilemma.

Commenting on this innovative campaign, T.Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC said “At MEC we have always believed in setting the benchmark for the industry when it comes to innovating strategically. “Tweet a cloud, Dil se” is a stellar example of the same. It is an activity that interconnects online and offline spaces mirroring the path that consumer journeys have evolved to”

“Tweet a cloud, Dil Se” campaign will be LIVE at DLF promenade (New Delhi) and High street Phoenix (Mumbai) on Saturday, 10th November from 12:00pm onwards.

To watch live web streaming:

http://24framesdigital.com/dilvsbill/webcast/101112/

“It’s a fantastic achievement to be named Media Agency of the Year. At MEC we are continually focussed on engaging in the development of the interaction industry, and exploring new opportunities to deliver best-in-class digital solutions for our clients.  So we are very proud to be honoured with this prestigious award.” said Pawel Gala, Managing Partner, MEC Poland.

In its sixth year, the IAB Mixx Award ceremony recognises creativity and effectiveness in the interactive arena.  It consists of an independent judging panel of highly acclaimed thought leaders in the advertising ecosystem; and is widely regarded as the premium digital marketing ceremony.  Focused on creativity and impact, it’s the only competition that evaluates all key facets of interactive marketing, including: strategy, creative development and execution, media placement and integration, effectiveness and ROI.

This prestigious list recognises the industry’s top talent, voted by their peers for being leaders of multinational strategy, adept at innovative communications, thinks about advertising in new ways and is an advocate of responsible brand-building.

Jitka has nearly two decades of working with marketing strategy and technology in a number of cities around the world. Her extensive background in integrated digital solutions and client leadership across the world has culminated in making the significant Innovators list

Arvid ensures successful client-orientated media and communications consulting at MEC; analysing emerging innovative trends and their potential benefits and value for clients. His progressive way of thinking and inspirational work at MEC has earned him his place on the Innovators list.