Universal McCann Australia Wins Cannes Media Grand Prix and Cannes Media Agency of the Year
CANNES, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 20, 2006--Universal McCann Australia has swept the Media awards at this year's Cannes International Advertising Festival by winning the Grand Prix and Agency of the Year awards, proudly accepted at today's awards ceremony by Universal McCann's worldwide president and CEO, Nick Brien.
It is the second time since the Cannes Media Awards were launched in 1999 that Universal McCann Australia has been awarded the Cannes Media Grand Prix and in both cases the agency has won for its breakthrough strategy and execution on behalf of client Unilever Australia. The first Grand Prix was won in 2002. Universal McCann is a primary element of Interpublic Media, a part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG - News).
Universal McCann's Grand Prix this year was awarded for the agency's media communications strategy for Unilever's Lynx Jet campaign, with the centre piece of the campaign being the creation of a fictitious airline - a development derived from insights and knowledge of the Lynx target market. The campaign was developed in collaboration with Lynx's creative agency Lowe Hunt in Australia, a sister company within the Interpublic Group of Companies.
Jeff Cressall, CEO of Universal McCann Australia, said the scope of the wins was the result of a relentless focus on attracting the best talent and inspiring the agency's clients with consumer engagement innovations that push known boundaries of strategic thinking and execution. "The talent we have developed within UM and the great clients we work with have allowed us to achieve outstanding results," said Cressall. "To win the Grand Prix twice in four years is proof of our consistent performance. The Media Agency of the Year Award is a testament to our standards of accountable creativity, our strategic products and the high levels of trust our clients place in our ideas and executions. We share the accolades with them."
The win of the Media Agency of the Year spreads the accolades for Universal McCann Australia, and recognizes the consistent high quality of Universal McCann's work on other major clients including The Federal Government of Australia and Coca-Cola.
This year's Cannes Media Lions was judged from a pool of 176 finalists across 19 media categories.
About Universal McCann
Universal McCann is one of the world's largest media service firms providing strategic services and consultancies in the areas of traditional and non-traditional media planning and buying, communications architecture, digital technologies, and research/modelling. Launched in 1999 as the globally branded media services arm of McCann Worldgroup, Universal McCann is a primary element of Interpublic Media, a part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. It has the privilege of serving some of the world's most recognizable brands, such as; The Coca-Cola Company, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, L'Oreal, Nestle, Microsoft and Sony.
Contact:
for Universal McCann Australia
Jeff Cressall, +612 9994 4000
jeff.cressall@universalmccann.com.au
or
Charlotte Hatfield, +44 7711 824370
charlotte.hatfield@universalmccann.com
Source: Universal McCann Australia