The agency won two silver and three bronze awards for campaigns in Norway, Germany, South Africa and the UK. 

Charles Courtier, Global CEO, MEC said: “As an agency we deliver creative solutions that engage and connect with our clients’ consumers.  It’s a particular source of pride that our Cannes Lions success spans multiple markets and categories.”

MEC UK claimed a bronze in the Best Use of Social Media category for the innovative and creative execution of the Torchview campaign for Lloyds TSB, part of Lloyds Banking Group.  The campaign combined Street View technology with social interactivity to create a snapshot of Olympic history by allowing anyone who watched the torch relay to find and tag themselves. It subsequently became the most tagged piece of content ever on Facebook with over 3m tags.

Likewise, the Geox Urban Waterproof Shoes for Geox Amphibiox won bronze in Best Use of Branded Content and Sponsorship for combining an interactive experience with filmed content to underline the capabilities of the brand’s waterproof trainers.  MEC Germany celebrated two Silver award successes for Best Use of Special Events and Stunts/Live Advertising and Best Use of Mobile Devices categories thanks to its Park-King campaign for Smart Vertiebs. Finally, MEC South Africa completed the five-star performance for the agency with a bronze for Best Use of Special Events and Stunts/Live Advertising for its work on KFC’s Journey of Hope, which outlined the brand’s activities to support the fight against poverty and hunger among South Africa’s children.

MEC is the only UK agency to be shortlisted in the Best Use of Social Media category for its Torchview campaign for Lloyds TSB, part of Lloyds Banking Group.

The Torchview campaign combined Streetview technology with social interactivity to create a snapshot of Olympic history. MEC built a bespoke camera rig and technical system to photograph, stitch together and add zooming and tagging functionality along the entire Olympic torchbearer route. Anyone who watched the torch could find and tag themselves through Facebook. Torchview became the most tagged piece of content ever on Facebook and achieved social amplification with combined retweets reaching 517,000.

MEC has also made the shortlist for awards in the following categories:

• Best Use of Digital Media: Henkel Laundry and Home Care, Balls Dream Band, alongside TBWA\ Milan
• Best Use of Special Events and Stunt/Live Advertising: KFC , Journey of Hope, alongside Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg
• Best Use of Special Events and Stunt/Live Advertising: Smart Fortwo, Smart Vertriebs, alongside BBDO Berlin
• Best Use of Mobile Devices: Singtel’s Old Phones Give New Life, alongside Ogilvy & Mather Singapore
• Best Use of Mobile Devices: Smart Fortwo, Smart Vertriebs, alongside BBDO Berlin

The winners will be announced at the Media Lions Awards ceremony in Cannes on Tuesday, 18 June 2013.

World Refugee Day, which takes place on 20^{June, celebrates the courage, strength and determination of people forced to flee their homeland under the threat of persecution, conflict and violence. With the help of MEC, UNCHR has produced and will distribute a 30-second TV public service announcement that will be backed with a social media campaign to increase visibility to the World Refugee Day site, www.unhcr.org.uk/1family. Supporters are invited to post an image of an item they would take with them if they were forced to flee, using Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/refugees/) to help underline the difficulties that Refugees face.}

Social media users will also be encouraged to join UNHCR’s profile on crowd speaking platform, Thunderclap, at http://thndr.it/142YK1n. The Thunderclap will help raise awareness through a timed Facebook Post or Tweet that is broadcast simultaneously by all supporters to create a wave of attention, and ensure a consistent message is broadcast across both platforms.

The campaign has been supported by a host of major media partners who have pledged over £297,000 in donations across TV and online media to raise awareness of the day and publicise the campaign’s overriding objectives. These include King, Wall Street Journal, E-Buzzing, MTV, Euronews, CNBC, CNN, Stumble Upon, BrandEngage® by SponsorPay, Unruly Media, Solve Media and the Financial Times.

World Refugee Day takes place on 20 June, with activities commencing from 14 June including the UK, US, Australia, Canada, Spain, Italy and the Middle East.

“We all crave the opportunity to do something good in our work, the depth and scope of this work is testament to passion that everyone involved in the project feels with the campaign. We would like to thank all of the media owners who have shown an interest in this campaign and pledged free inventory, which will undoubtedly make a difference and help UNHCR raise as much money as possible,” says Jason Steele, Social Media Director, MEC Global Solutions.

“World Refugee Day is an important marker in the calendar to recognise the courage and strength of refugees, as well as to fundraise to provide shelter and protection for those who have fled persecution, violence and conflict. In the UK, we dedicate a whole Refugee Week (17 – 20 June) to celebrating the contributions that refugees have made and to promoting a more positive view of asylum. We are grateful to all of the media owners and MEC for their invaluable support in raising awareness and publicising World Refugee Day,” says Mike Walton, UNHCR Head of Fundraising Development.

If any media owners would like to get involved in the campaign by donating inventory please get in touch with Michele Romas at MEC Global Solutions on Michele.romas@mecglobal.com. 

Each year, the prestigious Cannes Young Lions competitions, tailored academies, master classes and exhibitions help educate and nurture young talent from around the world.  The goal is for every young delegate to leave Cannes more inspired, more aware and more prepared for the professional challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Judging:  executives chosen to select this year’s Young Lions regional finalists include MEC UK’s chief strategy officer, Stuart Sullivan-Martin; MediaCom USA’s Chris Pyne, chief product officer; MediaCom Australia’s James Ledger, chief client officer, and Will Worsdell, head of strategy.

Competition: four teams of young delegates aged 28 or under from Maxus, MEC and Mindshare will represent their agencies and countries in the final competition in Cannes this month.  Teams are given 24 hours to work on their media strategies for a charity whose identity and objectives are revealed during the Festival, and then each team has five minutes to present to a four-person panel.  This year’s “final four” are:  

• Maxus UK – Georgia Lindsay and Yewande Sokan
• Maxus Spain – Elena Castán and Azahara Vera
• MEC Germany – Maria Polnjakov and Viktoria Lipps
• Mindshare Argentina – Cynthia Soledad Recchi and Victoria Iviglia

Young Media Academy: MediaCom USA’s CEO, Sasha Savic, will head to the Young Lions Zone on Wednesday, June 19, to share his thoughts on the importance of creativity and storytelling, and to provide his personal take on the future of the media industry.

GroupM’s participation comes on the heels of its 2012 performance, which featured five final teams from across the agencies and a Silver Lion for MEC UK, the first-ever medal for a GroupM UK team in the competition.

Dominic Proctor, President of GroupM Global, said, “Young Lions showcases the best up and coming talent in the world, so it’s a huge accolade to have so many representatives from our agencies competing. I wish all of our finalists the best of luck!”

The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, the biggest global gathering for professionals in creative communications industries, celebrates its 60^th anniversary this year.

MEC was voted for by the industry, from a shortlist which included other leading media agencies Carat, Mediacom, ZenithOptimedia and PHD.

We send our congratulations to fellow winners which include Tess Alps, Executive Chair of Thinkbox as ‘Agency Leader of the Decade’, Thinkbox as ‘Industry Body of the Decade’, ITV as ‘Media Owner of the Decade’ and Facebook as ‘Media Launch of the Decade’.

We would like to thank everyone who voted for MEC and even more importantly, our clients and media partners, our people - present and past- who have all contributed to the success of the last 10 years. Here’s to 2023!

Alex will be based in London and report to Tom George, Chairman of the UK and Northern Europe. 

Tom George said, “In his new role, Alex is uniquely qualified to help MEC navigate and develop the future of Global Solutions. His experience in driving team culture and delivering brilliant work for clients will be vital as Global Solutions continues to grow and develop into a centre of international media excellence. Personally, I’m delighted to be working again with Alex.  He has a fantastic people-first leadership style and I’m confident that he will inspire all those who work with him.”

Alex Altman commented, “I’m absolutely over the moon to be coming back to MEC.  It was an easy decision to make and it’s a wonderful job with a great team of leading interational experts.  The world is getting smaller and the opportunity is getting bigger – it’s a great time to be in media and a fantastic time to be back at MEC.  I’m relishing it.”

About Alex Altman

Alex has worked in media for over 20 years.  He’s worked previously at Mediacom, Mindshare and Carat before joining MEC UK as Deputy MD five years ago.  A common theme to Alex’s career is a focus on change and development. In establishing clear direction and vision and being prepared to take bold and decisive decisions, he has led and been part of teams that have seen significant success and/or turnaround: both strategically and commercially.  In 2010, Alex led the successful GroupM pitch for the COI which was the biggest ever UK media pitch.  After winning that business he was named MD of the company formed to handle the business, M4C, before moving to Initiative as CEO.

Michael will report to Stephen Li, CEO for Asia Pacific and Keith Tiley Global Head of Trading.  He’ll be based in Hong Kong.  Michael was previously Global Head of Digital Trading, based in London.  He replaces David Primmer who moves into a key regional role on Colgate Palmolive.

In his new role, Michael will be responsible for managing and delivering MEC’s world-class trading service and product to clients. Michael will work closely with Keith’s  global trading team, local market trading heads and the GroupM trading community to develop and enhance the agency’s trading performance across all markets in Asia Pacific.

Stephen Li, commented on the appointment: “Asia Pacific remains a critical growth region for many of our international clients and trading is a fundamental cornerstone of our business. Michael’s appointment enables us to develop a strong, integrated trading competency within Asia Pacific. Michael is an accomplished professional with a unique background.  His deep expertise in digital, trading and business development will be invaluable for our teams and we look forward to his innovative solutions for our clients and agency partners.”

 About Michael Beecroft

Michael has been with MEC for 11 years.  He started his early career at Mediapolis and then Mediavest as a TV buyer, but he found his true home when he joined the newly formed MEC UK in 2002 to manage the agency's then biggest account United International Pictures.

As MEC UK's growth accelerated of over the following decade, Mike established himself as a highly adaptable part of the team and advanced to take on senior trading as well as client leadership responsibilities. He was invited join MEC UK's management board in 2007 and at the same time he became MEC's first Head of Digital trading, working closely with GroupM to create market leadership partnerships and applications of technology and data.

In 2009 Mike moved to MEC's Global Team as Global Head of Digital Trading, a first within GroupM.  

The latest chapter in Mike's MEC adventure now brings him to Asia where he takes responsibility for all MEC's trading across the APAC region. 

Launched in September 2012, the course has already show concrete signs of enhancing employee development, both on a personal and professional level.  

“We are thrilled to be recognized by Adweek for the launch of our happiness curriculum,” said Marla Kaplowitz, CEO, MEC North America.  “This acknowledgment not only highlights our commitment to nurturing and inspiring our talent in new and creative ways, but showcases our drive to bring innovative thinking and techniques to market, strengthening our ability to deliver maximum results across the agency as well as our clients’ businesses. A special thanks to those participants of the pilot course who are already reaping the benefits of a happier mindset.”

The Adweek Project Isaac Awards were conceived in 2013 to cast a celebratory light on the smartest inventions across the media, marketing and technology sectors.  As the industry continues to transform at a rapid pace, genuine invention, rather than innovation, has become crucial to advancing brands and businesses past the inertia of traditional models and modes.   Project Isaac recognizes these outstanding achievements.

MEC launched its second round of the “Inspire Happiness” training course in April 2013.  

In this newly created role, Tino will be responsible for the operations of MEC across their offices and will oversee client leadership to drive new business.

Matthias Brüll commented, “We are very happy to have Tino join our team, he is an experienced communications professional and his mix of skills will help MEC continue to develop and grow our business as well as deliver excellence in client service.  Tino is another great example of our commitment to investing in our people to delight our clients.”

Tino Krause joins from Telefónica Germany, where he was Head of Brand Management.  Prior to this he was Head of Media, CRM & Direct Communication at Audi AG. Previously, he was Group Head  at GroupM Munich office working for clients such as  Audi, HypoVereinsbank and  Escada.

“Every day, more and more marketers are struggling to understand the true impact digital channels have on their sales,” commented Theresa LaMontage,Head of Analytics and Insight, MEC.  “The digital ecosystem is immensely complex, and last click methods have proven insufficient in maximizing the ROI of digital marketing campaigns. CookieCutter™ is game changing in its ability to distill cookies into meaningful, results-driven insights and information.”

For several years, marketers have addressed digital attribution by using third party vendors, with limited involvement from media agencies to ensure quality data output. With no standard attribution methodology, a “one-size-fits-all” approach is employed by vendors, leaving no room for flexibility or customization based on marketers’ unique needs.

The launch of CookieCutter™brings digital attribution modeling into a media agency environment, effectively centralizing data management and laying the foundation for a more holistic media planning process.

CookieCutter^TM is designed to process millions of cookie-level records sourced from marketers’ various digital data sources in a matter of seconds.  The data is then synthesized in MEC’s statistical modeling environment.  The results from these models reveal which consumer touchpoints are  most important through the digital media mix journey.  

The methodology for this proprietary platform is grounded in sophisticated modeling techniques which quantify digital ad exposure while controlling the interaction between online and offline channels. 

LaMontagne added, “With an increasing number of clients expressing the need to quantify digital media’s ROI, there’s been an explosion of digital attribution vendors. We recognized this as an opportunity to provide a new, scalable and adaptive solution that takes the nuances of a marketer’s business into account.  At MEC, we believe in a consultative approach to supporting a business’ budgeting decisions; CookieCutter™ is a manifestation of this approach.  We have invested in expert digital data specialists and statisticians who work hand-in-hand with our planners and clients to provide more streamlined reporting and faster recommendations to improve the actionability of results.”

“What makes CookieCutter™ different from competitive platforms is that our technology is designed to support our approach,” said Marla Kaplowitz,  CEO of MEC North America. “It is fast, yet flexible.  It’s not simply producing canned results;the platform is designed to produce analytics datasets which allow our integrated teams to build truly tailored  solutions to answer our clients’ evolving objectives. We are thrilled to officially offer this best-in-class attribution to clients across MEC’s portfolio to ensure we are maximizing the ROI of their media investments.”

The launch of CookieCutter™ represents MEC’s continued comittment to providing clients a clear competitive advantage with consumer data-centric media planning and thought-leadership.