• by September 23, 2004

Well, Advertising Week in New York City isn't quite finished, but we at MediaPost came to a finish line of sorts last night, as our jam-packed week of events culminated in a celebration of creative media at our first annual Creative Media Awards (CMAs).

Creative agencies have plenty of awards shows to enter - the Clios, the Cannes Lions, One Show, Effies, and more. Online creative is finally getting much greater recognition these days, thanks to online tracks within the major awards competitions and through awards programs sponsored by MSN, Eyeblaster, DoubleClick, and others.

And this year, there was a new awards show created by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and MediaPost - the OMMAs, the Online Media, Marketing, and Advertising awards. The agencies that entered this contest had their work assessed by a panel of leading marketers who judged entries on the basis of creative excellence, campaign effectiveness (i.e., results), media plan, and overall strategy. The entrants submitted detailed briefs that were required to hit on each of these points.

OMMA award winners took center stage on Tuesday night at the close of the Interactive Advertising World Conference and Expo. Best in Show, as well as Best Product Launch went to the Napster campaign, developed by Mediasmith, which conceived the strategy and coordinated media buying and planning, while Venables, Bell & Partners handled the creative.

The San Francisco-based shops worked hand-in-glove with the client to deliver a unique and entertaining, as well as effective campaign. The effort surely is an example of a case where a media agency was every bit as instrumental, if not more, than the creative shop. In post-awards comments, the OMMA judges were particularly impressed by the media strategy for Napster. So perhaps, it came as no surprise that the Napster effort also snared a CMA award as the best online campaign.

Congratulations to all the winners of the OMMAs and the CMAs, and to all the entrants.