For the first time in almost a decade, a Western Australian advertising agency has won the prominent AdNews Agency of the Year (outside Melbourne and Sydney) award.
The award has been traditionally won by Brisbane-based agencies, but this year Subiaco-based 303 Group took top honours, bringing the award back to WA for the first time since 1998 when the state agency of the year title was presented to John Davis Advertising.
The award is entered by advertising firms based outside of Sydney and Melbourne.
303 won the award ahead of fellow WA finalist Marketforce, as well as Clemenger Tasmania.
AdNews editor Andrea Sophocleous said the award was judged on creativity, new contracts, client retention, staff stability and financial performance.
303 will come up against a big test in client retention this week.
The agency is scheduled to pitch for the lucrative Synergy advertising account on Friday.
303 held the Western Power advertising account for three years before taking on the Synergy account two years ago.
Synergy is the electricity retailer created from the break up of Western Power.
WA Business News understands that Marketforce and The Brand Agency will also tender for the Synergy work.
The advertising contract is one of the biggest Perth-based advertising contracts and is believed to be worth about $1 million a year.
One advertising executive told WA Business News that gaining work for the electricity retailer had long been considered an important contract by the industry. But he said its importance had grown somewhat in recent years through the emergence of the Synergy brand, which was considered a “growth” brand.
