Special Group ranked #1 independent agency in Asia-Pacific in Global Effie Effectiveness Index

Special Group is continuing its world-beating form. The agency has just been ranked the Most Effective Independent Agency in all Asia-Pacific, and #6 Most Effective Independent Agency in the world (six places above Droga5 NYC, and 48 places above Mother London) in the Effie Effectiveness Index (which ranks the marketing communications industry’s most effective agencies, marketers and brands by analysing finalist and winner data from 40+ worldwide Effie Award competitions).

This comes just four months after being crowned ‘New Zealand Agency of the Year’ by Campaign Brief, the first time an independent agency has ever won this prestigious accolade.

And just weeks after Special’s innovative mobile Data Hunt campaign for 2degrees Mobile was awarded a Gold APAC Effie, making it the most effective telco campaign in Asia-Pacific.

Says Tony Bradbourne, ECD and co-founder, Special Group: “This is further recognition for the truly talented and passionate team at Special Group, working hard for an amazing group of ambitious clients. We’re in our tenth year and it feels like we now have the perfect mix of culture, clients and creativity.”

Says Rory Gallery, head of strategy, Special Group: “It’s a tremendous case of an Australasian company punching seriously above its weight on the world stage. We’re super-stoked for our clients and our team, and have got so much more exciting work in the pipeline.”

Says Traci Alford, president and CEO, Effie Worldwide: “The Global Effie Index has become the gold standard for measuring marketing effectiveness throughout the world. Despite a rapidly changing landscape, Effie winners continue to create exceptional work, deliver results in all forms and drive growth for their businesses.  The top ranked teams represent the very best of our industry, and we offer them our sincerest congratulations.”

Colenso BBDO has ranked #6 in the Most Effective Agency Offices list as well as FCB New Zealand in at #7.

Most Effective Marketers: 

Unilever, PepsiCo, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, Mars

Unilever retained its title as the most effective marketer, the fifth time since 2011 that it has held the top spot.  PepsiCo, fueled by a strong showing in Latin America, moved up three spots as the second most effective marketer. Nestlé moved to third, while The Coca-Cola Company retained its fourth-place ranking. Mars broke into the top five for the first time, based on successes in North America and Asia Pacific.  Global FMCG companies continue to dominate the most effective marketer ranking. Procter & Gamble ranked sixth – falling out of the top five for the first time since 2011. Global brewers AB InBev and Heineken, along with McDonald’s and mobile phone leader Vodafone round out the top 10.

Most Effective Brands

Pepsi, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Vodafone, Movistar

Pepsi moved up three spots, replacing Vodafone as the most effective brand. Consistently ranked in the top five since 2011, this is the first time that Pepsi holds first place. McDonald’s jumped up to number two, while Coca-Cola slid to third. Vodafone ranks fourth, with Spanish telecommunications company, Movistar, completing the top five.  A diverse range of industry sectors continue to populate the top 10, including technology giant IBM, along with Chevrolet, MasterCard and fast food leaders KFC and Burger King. Burger King shares the 10th spot with two Colombian beverage brands – Poker from Bavaria Brewery and Sr. Toronjo from Postobón.

Most Effective Agency Holding Groups

WPP Group, Omnicom, IPG, Publicis Groupe, Dentsu

The top five most effective holding groups remain unchanged from 2017. WPP Group has remained the most effective holding company for the seventh consecutive year, followed by Omnicom, IPG, Publicis Groupe and Dentsu, respectively.

Most Effective Agency Networks

McCann Worldgroup, BBDO Worldwide, Ogilvy, DDB Worldwide, OMD

McCann Worldgroup unseated BBDO as the most effective agency network. Consistently ranked in the top five since 2011, this the first time that McCann has topped the ranking.  BBDO dropped to second, followed by Ogilvy, DDB and OMD (the first time a media network has appeared in the top five globally).

Most Effective Agency Offices

Sancho BBDO, FP7/DXB, MullenLowe Lintas, OMD, Ogilvy & Mather

Sancho BBDO (Bogotá) retained its title as the most effective individual agency office, given its success with brands like Visa, Sr. Toronjo and Winny, among other regional and global brands. McCann Worldgroup’s FP7/DXB (Dubai) moved up one spot to number two followed by MullenLowe Lintas (Mumbai). OMD (Bogotá) returned to the top five for the first time since 2013, ranking fourth, while Ogilvy & Mather (Mumbai) rounded out the top five.  The top 20 effective agency offices feature a globally diverse mix of agencies from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Hungary, India, Israel, New Zealand, Peru, Turkey, UAE, and the United States.

Most Effective Independent Agencies

ACG Advertising Agency, Madre Buenos Aires, Kinograf, MINT MENA, Banda Agency

For the third year in a row, Budapest-based ACG Advertising Agency retained its title as the most effective independent agency. Madre Buenos Aires moved up three spots to rank second, followed by Kiev-based Kinograf and MINT MENA from Dubai. A second independent agency from Ukraine, Banda Agency (Kiev), rounds out the top five.

Now in its eighth year, the Effie Index recognizes the companies that create the most effective marketing communications ideas from around the world, determined by their cumulative success in more than forty-five national, regional and multi-national Effie Awards competitions.  The 2018 Effie Index is compiled from 3,476 finalists and winning entries from worldwide Effie Awards competitions between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017.

Information about how the rankings are compiled can be found here.  Every brand and company ranked in the Effie Index has undergone rigorous evaluations of their case studies and work by expert industry judges to prove that their marketing achieved compelling results.

Charts and graphics for the 2018 Global Effie Index are available for download.