OMD, the world's most awarded communications planning network, has shone at two advertising festivals in the first two months of the year.

It was awarded three wins at the MENA Cristals, while its clients came out of the Gulf Marketing Review's 2008 GEMAS with three wins, including the Gold Grand Prix.

The international jury awarded a Media Cristal to OMD in three of the seven categories that received an award. OMD won in the Banking & Finance category for its take-over of 7Days for Barclays Bank, in the Women category with the product integration/sponsorship of Perfect Bride by Kellogg's and with Cheetos' 'Chester the Presenter' operation in the Young People category. There were 36 entries in the long list and no award was presented in three categories. No other agency received more awards.

The MENA Cristal Awards, produced by 2C Associés, awarded media prizes for the first time this year. Running since 2005, the competition recompenses the best advertising work from the Middle East and North Africa, following similar rules to the Meribel Ad Festival and the Central Europe Cristal Awards, which are organized by the same company.

'These awards are a testament of the tremendous talent in and around our agency. None of this would be possible without teams and clients who embrace creativity and innovation in thinking and execution,' commented Eric Bequin, regional managing director of OMD MENA. 'We are immensely proud of the recognition of our peers, be they local, regional or international. We see these awards as an incentive to do even more to demonstrate that OMD is about delivering tangible business results through 'more, bigger, better ideas, more places, more often'.'

'At Barclays, we place a premium on innovation and collaboration, and both were on display during this campaign. OMD, Impact BBDO and our own internal teams put an enormous amount of effort into this. We're exceedingly proud of the hard work and creativity of the individuals and teams who made our retail launch a success,' added Barclays Bank's manager of community affairs, internal communications and corporate affairs, Umayma Abubakar.

'OMD constantly strive to deliver creative, innovative and cutting edge solutions for Kellogg's. It is fantastic that this pioneering move into branded content has been given the recognition and reward it deserves,' commented Will Brockbank, head of marketing at Kellogg's Middle East.

Earlier, the GEMAS judges also named Barclays Bank as winner in the 'Best Product Launch' and 'Best Integrated Campaign' categories and awarded it the Gold Grand Prix, the most prestigious award of the night. SAMA, from Saudi Arabia, was also highly commended in the 'Best New Brand Launch'. More than 80 entries made it to the short list.

'It is tremendously heartening to see our work pay off for our clients,' commented Shadi Kandil, general manager of OMD Dubai. 'These awards are particularly important in that they recompense the total sum of the work on a brand and looking at the effectiveness of the campaigns. We're very proud of these stunning results, both in the market and at the Awards.'

The GEMAS 2008 comprised of 12 categories that embraced the different marketing functions deployed by companies in the Gulf, from print, broadcast and online advertising to PR and sales promotions. The GEMAS were launched in 2004 and have established a strong reputation for their objectivity, integrity and impartiality.

OMD Middle East has always seen innovations and creativity in media as a significant differentiator. Last year, it introduced OMD Ignition, its thought-starter unit, to work with planning teams on client assignments and generate a creative response to their brief. The network also created the OMD Creative Masterclass to inspire both clients and staff on media innovations, running two events a year.

Fonterra Brands has appointed leading international agencies IMPACT/BBDO and OMD as its creative and media partner in the Middle East.

The announcement follows a global agreement between Fonterra and the agencies owner, Omnicom Group, to be the single advertising and media agency for Fonterra Brands internationally.

Amr Farghal, General Manager of Fonterra Brands Middle East, says Fonterra is excited about working with both companies and utilising their knowledge and creativity to help achieve its objectives in the Middle East.

'Having a single agency across our global brands business will allow us to have greater consistency between our markets and operate more efficiently,' Mr Farghal says.

In the Middle East IMPACT/BBDO and OMD will be working on brands such as Anchor, Mainland, Chesdale and the recently launched Anlene.

'We are working hard to continue to grow each brand in this region and it is important to have a creative and strong agency that has a lot of fresh ideas,' says Mr Farghal.

Middle East Group Managing Director IMPACT/BBDO Pierre Azzam says Fonterra Brands is a great addition to its portfolio of multinational and regional clients.

'Fonterra has international flagship status in the global dairy market and has a prestigious profile, so we feel privileged to have been chosen as their sole Marking Communication Partner,' says Mr Azzam.

Known for their creativity and commitment to clients, Mr Azzam and his team are looking forward to helping Fonterra Brands build a greater market share in the Middle East.

For the third consecutive year, global media communications agency OMD has been named the 2006 Most Creative Media Agency by the prestigious Gunn Report for Media.

The Gunn Report for Media is the industry standard for evaluating media creativity, ranking agencies according to their performance in the top industry awards shows around the world. Most importantly, it recognizes the vital role media agencies play in today's highly competitive and fragmented communications environment.

The Gunn Report for Media rates agencies on a point system based on awards won in 53 annual award competitions worldwide. OMD received the highest number of points, 206, and saw the most dramatic increase of any media agency over last year, up from 161 points in 2005.

'Creativity is a huge differentiator in the market,' said Joe Uva, President and CEO, OMD Worldwide. 'It has become a competitive advantage for our clients, providing exponential value to a communications program. To make an impact on consumers today, advertisers must continue to inspire new, inventive and insightful ways to truly connect with and influence them.'

During the past five years, OMD has made an indelible mark on the global media industry, particularly in the area of creativity. In 2006, OMD dominated with more major creative media award-wins than any of its competitors - including two Cannes Gold Lions (EMEA and Latin America), recognition as the Most Awarded Media Agency in Latin America and an unprecedented 16 EFFIEs in the USA.

OMD received many of the industry's top honors around the world, including Media Agency of the Year recognition in Europe, Asia Pacific, Australia, Chile and Dominican Republic; RECMA's A+ agency ranking in Canada and Australia; and six 'Best Campaign' accolades from M&M Europe for OMD International. OMD Latin America achieved great success at the FIAP awards, the Ojo de Iberoamerica awards, the Festival Iberoamericano El Sol, the Festival Antigua and the Festival Caribe. Highlights for OMD USA include three Creative Media Awards, an Adweek Buzz Award, Mediaweek's Media Plan of the Year and Jack Myers' Bart McHugh Award for Outstanding Media Innovation & Creativity.

'While media awards are still a novelty in this region and are not yet included in the Gunn Report for Media, this doesn't mean we're not focusing on our creative product in the Middle East,' commented Shadi Kandil, general manager of OMD Dubai. 'In fact, we have introduced a dedicated unit to enhance our teams' ability to think creatively. OMD Ignition, headed by Karim Abbas, is already running workshops and attending client briefing sessions to fuel the creative thinking process. This builds on already impressive credentials.'

During the last year, the Omnicom Media Group not only developed its offering at a rapid pace but also maintained the momentum acquired in 2005, retaining its leadership position.

The latest monitoring figures for 2006 indicate that the group, which comprises the networks OMD and PHD, led the market with $700 million in gross billings for the GCC and the Levant.

The report also shows that OMD, together with its regional affiliates, was the most significant investor in media even as a single brand, with $633 million. This is the result of sustained organic growth from existing clients as well as a number of significant account wins across the region.

PHD, launched at the end of 2005, has also witnessed a rapid progression, to rank 11th in just one year with $66 million, also according to the data released by PARC. The year was marked by a series of new assignments from existing clients, as well as several new wins. In 2006, PHD implemented etna, the network's proprietary planning process, which includes the revolutionary neuroplanning system.

Omnicom Media Group developed its service offering last year by adding several specialist units to its research and insights consultancy, Integral. These include OMD Digital, the largest digital media specialist integrated into a communication planning agency, OMD International, handling non-Middle Eastern communication requirements, and Fuse, the branded content and experiential marketing specialist unit.

Last year saw some $20 million being invested in digital media at rate card value, which represents a progression of about 30% on 2005. OMD Digital, the leading investor in digital media in 2005, repeated the performance in 2006. With an estimated 24% share of the total gross investments in online and mobile media, against 20% the year before, OMD Digital is undeniably the most significant player in the market.

'Despite a number of regional upheavals, the market performed very well last year, showing a real progression of some 15%,' commented Elie Khouri, regional managing director of Omnicom Media Group.

'We're very pleased to have exceeded this market growth and maintained our leadership position.'

Khouri added that while this is not a goal in itself, it enables the company to invest and develop not only in its own future, but also that of the industry as a whole.

'We see our role as a catalyst for change, for our clients first but also the industry at large,' he explained. 'What drives us is the ability to deliver results for our clients and promote their growth in the market. This performance allows us to grow our own staff, investing in training and technology, and develop our understanding of consumers and media, through proprietary research like 'Changing Lives', our consumer profiling and segmentation survey in Saudi Arabia last year, and our active involvement in industry initiatives such as Project Illumination and Castor. There is plenty more in store this year. We have several new developments up our sleeves and intend to work towards the implementation of global best practice in the market, again for the benefit of all.'

2007 will also see OMD celebrating its fifth anniversary in the region, an occasion to be marked through events and industry initiatives.