• by Kelly Samardak , January 12, 2011

OMMA Agency Of The Year Awards, The Yale Club, New York
January 11, 2011

Last night 2010's best of the best digital -- well, maybe not explicitly digital agencies gathered at the studious Yale Club in the heart of Manhattan (think of Grand Central, pumping out those people like platelets), thumbing their noses as the latest storm of snow loomed ominously, to celebrate the OMMA Agency Of the Year Awards.

I love walking into The Yale Club because if it weren't for MediaPost/OMMA I would have no business being there.  The doormen are always polite and the elevator is always a treasure.  Last night did not disappoint, as I discovered a promo for Yale Club speed dating, a concept I would LOVE to see at a networking cocktail party.  Obviously not in a romantic way (but the heart wants what the heart wants), but in an expertise-dating-your-brand sort of way.  But I digress.

I arrived to find the cocktail party portion already in action, with tuxedoed waitstaff imploring sippers with "Tortilla cup?" "Little hotdogs?" "Chicken stick?" and a smile.  A buffet was set up with a cluster of veggies, bread, and something else shrouded in darkness perhaps strategically.  There I found 360i's David Berkowitz talking with Erno Tauriainen, Founder and VP Sales, Wantlet International, and Matthew Snyder, Advisor at Wantlet USA.  Wantlet, according to their website, is "coming real soon."

I also found Dani Horowitz, founder and CEO of Daniweb, near the buffet.  Come to think of it, where didn't I find her.  Throughout the night, I spotted Dani in her Daniweb-purple shirt smiling and chatting with nearly every guest.  That's how it's done with these things, you're surrounded by such a great chunk of creative, thoughtful, successful agency types -- wouldn't you want to dig into their skulls for some juicy bits, even for just a moment? 

At one of the tall cocktail tables, I found Linda Gluszak of Greystripe chatting with Lukas Mairl of HUGE.   Pereira & O'Dell braved the cross-country flight from lovely San Fran to join OMMA with their crew of Molly Parsley, Kash Sree, Andrew O'Dell, PR Pereira, and Phil Frank.  I also found adMarketplace's Anthony Tsigourakos and Ken Morgan later in the evening talking with Phonevalley's Warren Zenna.

Will Marigiloff, CEO of Innovation Interactive, was talking animatedly with Jonathan Ragals, COO at 360i, and then I later found him with Anthony Martinelli, SVP Sales, 360i.  They were later joined for the awards portion by 360i Director of Marketing Amanda Bird.

The bar temporarily closed (to the usual grunting from those enjoying unfettered access to the cocktails), signaling the start of the awards ceremony.  MediaPost Founder, Chairman, and Big Boss Ken Fadner kicked it off, reflecting on MediaPost's beginnings "during that other recession" that revealed other award show competitors who eventually dropped out. "I'm not saying we don't have any competition," Fadner clarified, making the point that MediaPost and OMMA appreciate the continued support over the years.   If you think about it, we (all of you!) are one huge team.

Joe Mandese, Editor in Chief of MediaPost, played the role of emcee deftly; respectful, jocular ("you guys are stiff!" he heckled the audience, who was not living up to their digi-rowdy reputation), and most importantly, swift. Those cocktails weren't getting any younger.

Best summary of the agency world:  "We. Work. Our. Asses. Off" - Mullen's Chief Media Officer, John Moore. 

Best overheard moment:  The HUGE table snickering and quietly booing as 360i, Bronze Winner in Best Use of Search, thanked their big brand clients like Coca-Cola.  "Psssh, so what," one anonymous table mate snarked (not confirmed as part of the HUGE contingent, just at the same table) to the chuckling cluster.

Most malleable moment:  Bronze winners in Best Use of Mobile's Phonevalley's Alexandre Mars, Sanjay Pothen, and Warren Zenna working at least 12 different poses with their award until they got just the right look.  Add "takes modeling direction well" to your CVs, boys.

Being Idealistic Has Its Rewards moment: Brought to you by Wieden+Kennedy's Jason Clement, Director of Emerging Platforms, who quoted Dan Wieden: "There's places where you can work better hours, there's places where you can make more money, there's places where you can cruise to an early retirement, but the people who come to Wieden come to do the work of their lives..." Clement continued, "...and that's what me and my colleagues do every single day... we're just thankful to have a place to do that, to have clients who appreciate it, and to have industry organizations appreciate it."

Congratulations to all of the OMMA Agency of the Year winners!  Beginning the new year with a shiny new plaque for your desk/loft/studio/souped-up van is not a bad way to start.

Photos from the evening are up on Flickr!