Group M awarded Asia Pacific Agency Of The Year

It was a banner evening for Group M Asia Pacific (Maximize and MindShare) at the annual Media Magazine Advertising & Media awards ceremony last week.

Group M was the finalist in four out of the 10 award categories and the eventual winner of three awards, making it the single largest haul of awards for an agency that entered the event. Group M Asia Pacific also grabbed the top prize of the 2003 Agency of the Year award.

Group M China was jointly awarded 2003 Office of the Year, the only media specialist so honoured out of 30 submissions. Group M India won last year's Office of the Year award.

Further testimony to Group M's talent came with the selection as runners up for Media Planner/Buyer of the Year of Maneesheel Gautam (MindShare Fulcrum India) and Michael Zhang (MindShare Beijing). This category attracted 30 submissions with only three finalists. Gautam, who has only been in the business for four years, made a sensational impression on his Hindustan Lever client, with his integrated approach to Lifebuoy communication planning.

Chris Walton (Group M China) was nominated a finalist for Agency Head of the Year, the only media specialist head to be selected.