MUMBAI: Ogilvy and Mather (O&M) has secured the top position in the ACNielsen ORG-Marg AgencyTrack Agency Equity Index.

The survey studies the advertising agencies' brand equity. Second in line was Lowe India, which was followed by JWT.

 
AgencyTrack Agency Equity Index Rankings (Overall)
Rank
Advertising agency
1
Ogilvy & Mather
2
Lowe
3
JWT
4
McCann Erickson
5
Mudra
6
Grey Worldwide
7
Leo Burnett
8
Bates India
9
Saatchi & Saatchi
10
FCB-Ulka
Source : ACNielsen ORG-MARG | AgencyTrack
McCann Erickson stood fourth followed by Mudra Communications, Grey Worldwide, Leo Burnett, Bates India, Saatchi & Saatchi and FCB Ulka (in that order).

"It is fascinating to observe the growing strength of these world famous brands which are among the biggest in marketing today. Our study shows how much these brand-builders have invested in their own brands," said ACNielsen South Asia executive director - customised research Sarang Panchal.

 
 
In its sixth and most recent round, the ACNielsen 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
Their willingness to pay a premium for the agency's services.
 
 
The rankings saw a shuffle geographically. While O&M lead 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 RKSwamy BBDO made the top five in Chennai.

"Capitalising on the geographical advantage and balancing clients' perception can be key 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 geography are not up to expectations," observed Panchal.

"The other effective strategy for an agency to improve its equity could be one of industry specialisation," pointed out Panchal.

AgencyTrack Agency Equity Index TM Rankings (FMCG sector)
Rank
Advertising Agency
1
Ogilvy & Mather
2
McCann Erickson
3
JWT
4
Lowe
5
Leo Burnett
6
Mudra
7
Grey Worldwide
8
Bates India
9
FCB-Ulka
10
Rediffusion DY&R
Source : ACNielsen ORG-MARG | AgencyTrack
AgencyTrack shows that there are differences in an agency's equity based on their past work in a given sector. The change in rankings for McCann Erickson, FCB-Ulka and Rediffusion DY&R in the ACNielsen ORG-Marg AgencyTrack Agency Equity Index for the FMCG sector is testimony to this.

The table below shows that McCann Erickson, which stood fourth in the overall rankings, catapulted to the second position as far as the FMCG sector was concerned. Also Rediffusion DY&R, which did not feature in the overall Top 10 rankings, stood at the tenth position for the work they did on the FMCG sector.