Eight years. That’s how long DDB Canada has ruled first place in the agency rankings. But just how important is this honour to Frank Palmer?
Very. So much so that after a dismal 49th ranking in 1992, Palmer hired EVP creative strategist Ron Woodall to turn the agency around, creatively speaking. Which he did.
However, when it comes right down to it awards are simply a ‘bonus for having created magnificent campaigns for our clients,’ says Palmer. And magnificent they are. The quirky BC SPCA spot that depicts a guy scratching a pal’s belly. The Super Seven superheroes. (Don’t you wish you could be Relaxo, shown left?) Groundbreaking work for Richmond Centre (for more on this effort, see Who to Watch, p. 17).
Some of you are likely thinking: ‘Whatever. What really matters is results.’ But there’s no denying that DDB, which experienced double-digit growth in revenue in 2004, is on to something. Notes Palmer: ‘If you really go into depth on the clients that won creative awards, you will see that their products or services have done much better than those that didn’t get recognized for great creative.’
So now that that’s out of the way- where will the native Vancouver shop, which has a knack for hanging on to talent (CD Alan Russell has been there for 17 years), go from here? With new clients Midas, Sierra Wireless and Dell onboard, you can bet DDB will shoot for a ninth straight year. Ranking
DDB 687
Taxi 334
Downtown Partners 258
Rethink 250
TBWA 152
BBDO 133
MacLaren McCann 97
Bos 90
Cossette 77
Diesel 70
Extreme Group 65
FCB 61
Zig 52
Target Marketing 50
Axmith McIntyre Wicht 33
J. Walter Thompson 33
Grey Worldwide 30
John St. 30
Marketel 28
Arnold Worldwide 26
Publicis 26
Saatchi & Saatchi 26
PALM Publicite 24
GJP 23
Highwood Communications 23
Leo Burnett 22
Holmes & Lee 21
Flavour 19
Lg2 18
Lowe Roche 17
Pirate Radio & TV 16
Allard Johnson 15
Bensimon Byrne 15
Ogilvy & Mather 15
ACLC 12
Enterprise Advertising 10
Hot Tomali 7
Amen 6
Doug 6
Trigger Communications 6
Young & Rubicam 6
Cundari Integrated 5
DeWitt Somers 5
Note:This article has been updated to include Arnold Worldwide, which was accidentally omitted in the original version.
