PHD Canada led all Canadian agencies—and ranked seventh among more than 700 agencies worldwide—in RECMA’s new “Compitches 2018” report, which ranks individual agencies across 45 countries based on their performance in more than 2,000 media pitches and reviews.
The latest report is based on RECMA’s analysis of formal pitches, RFPs and reviews over the past seven years, said Vladimir Chetochine, research director for the Paris-based firm. The scores are a barometer of the quality of an individual agency’s offering, reflecting factors such as strategy, team chemistry and rates.
RECMA’s analysis prioritizes local pitches—awarding bonus points for the largest pieces of business—with global or regional moves only considered if an individual agency “participated actively” at its final stage. It awards a letter grade ranging from A+ to C for each year, which are then converted into points—with an A+ equalling five points, an A four points, a B+ three points, etc.
PHD Canada was the network’s leading office worldwide, earning a total of 27 points over the seven-year span between 2012 and 2018, with new business wins during the time period including Tangerine, the Ontario Government, Google and Intact, as well as expanded roles with SC Johnson, Purplebricks and Taylormade.
The network achieved an A+ ranking in three of the seven years tracked by RECMA (the score is a blended average of PHD and Touché, says Chetochine, although the company has been evaluating the latter as a standalone agency since 2016).
“We believe there’s a direct correlation between doing great innovative work and winning new business,” said PHD Canada president Caroline Moul in an e-mail to The Message. “We’re really happy to top this RECMA Compitches ranking, and it’s probably no coincidence that we’ve [earned] similar recognition in WARC’s global awards ranking.”
Matt Devlin, PHD’s managing director, marketing science, said the period of success coincides with the launch of the network’s global media planning system, Source. “It helped us make leaps forward in our ability to plan strategically and creatively at scale,” he said.
The next evolution in the agency’s capabilities, is the upcoming introduction of a tool called OMNI Studio, which will supplement Source’s capabilities with some “really powerful” big data applications.
MediaCom U.K. led all agencies over the seven-year span with a score of 30, while Initiative-UM Denmark, Mindshare China and Vizeum Spain all earned 29 points. PHD’s fellow Omnicom Media Group agency OMD Canada earned 23 points, including A+ grades in 2018 and 2015.
Looking at the study’s most recent year, 2018, OMD was one of just two Canadian agencies to receive an A+ grade—based on 10 account wins that included retaining Rogers, Daimler and McDonald’s Canada, and winning the Mitsubishi Canada assignment.
Interpublic’s UM Canada also earned an A+ grade last year, with nine accounts won—including Home Depot, Re/Max, BMO, Amex and Expedia—versus just two losses. UM’s sister Interpublic agency Initiative earned an A grade, as did Dentsu X and Cossette Media.
While the Compitches report does not include independent agencies, RECMA also singled out Cossette as one of the leading independents globally. The agency earned a total of 23 points over the study’s seven years, including A grades in 2018, 2017 and 2015.
On a network basis, MediaCom was the global leader with a total of 797 points over the seven-year span. It was followed by Carat (791 points) and UM (778 points).
