• by David Kaplan , September 9, 2004

WPP Group's Mediaedge:cia (MEC) has been named the "most dynamic media communications agency" and the "most competitive agency" in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa by the Research Company Specializing in Media Agencies, or RECMA, a Paris-based media services analysis firm.

The recognition of MEC is part of RECMA's "Vitality Assessment Report," which examines more than 282 local media agencies and more than 3,000 account moves across 26 markets over a 19-month period (January 2003 - July 2004).

RECMA's survey has MEC as the only agency in the world to place its agencies in the top six markets (U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) within grades A+ to B+ indicating consistency of performance across markets.

In a statement, Mainardo de Nardis, MEC Worldwide CEO, emphasized the investments the agency has made in developing its skills set, comprised of channel planning and implementation, sponsorships and one-to-one and entertainment marketing, and traditional media buying and planning.

Some of the major new business wins and client developments RECMA cited include: Schick Wilkinson Sword and Remy Cointreau Worldwide; Energizer and Piaggio in Europe; The Wrigley Company in eight European markets including Spain, Italy, Portugal, and the Nordic Region; Heinz in Southern Europe; Hyundai in the Middle East & Africa; Mitsubishi in Spain, France, and Belgium; H&M in Germany; Ferrero in the U.K.; Banca Intesa and Conserve Italia in Italy; the Spanish Ministry of Defense and the Department of Health in Spain.