O&M top agency, Lowe is second, as per AC Nielsen AgencyTrack

The eagerly awaited AC Nielsen ORG-MARG AgencyTrack is out, and O&M has secured the number one position among the overall top 10 agencies in India. Following O&M on the list are Lowe, JWT, McCann- Erickson, Mudra, Grey Worldwide, Leo Burnett, Bates India, Saatchi & Saatchi and FCB Ulka, in that order.

AgencyTrack has conducted a separate study for the FMCG sector, according to which the topmost agency is O&M again, but this time, it is McCann-Erickson that is second in line. Following these two are JWT, Lowe, Leo Burnett, Mudra, Grey Worldwide, Bates India, FCB Ulka and Rediffusion DY&R, in that order.

Says Sarang Panchal, executive director, customised research, AC Nielsen, South Asia, “The strength of these world-famous brands, which are among the biggest in marketing today, is also growing. Our study shows how much these brand-builders have invested in strengthening their own brands.”

In its sixth round, the AC Nielsen ORG-MARG AgencyTrack Agency Equity Index surveyed more than 300 advertising buyers, covering key decision-making levels and different industries.

The ranking is derived from three key measures: respondents’ favorite agency, whether they would recommend the agency to others, and their willingness to pay a premium for the agency’s services.

The rankings saw a shuffle geographically. While O&M leads the way in all key metros included in the survey with the exception of Kolkata, different advertising agency franchises appear to have varying levels of equity in different locations. For instance, Bates jumped to second position in Kolkata, while RK Swamy /BBDO made the top five in Chennai.

“Capitalising on the geographical advantage and balancing the clients’ perception can be vital to an agency’s client acquisition strategy. It is not enough to be a large national player if clients headquartered in any location suspect that an agency’s capabilities in that market are not up to their expectations. The other effective strategy for an agency to improve its equity could be one of industry specialisation,” Panchal points out.

AgencyTrack shows that there are differences in an agency’s equity, based on its past work in a given sector.

The AC Nielsen ORG-MARG AgencyTrack is India’s premier study of the equity of the country’s advertising agencies amongst the advertiser community. The study tracks the perceptions of advertising agencies amongst advertisers across key urban geographies, decision-making levels and sectors.

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