Campaign

7 December 2005

Direct Agency of the Year 2005

With all three shortlisted agencies giving such impressive performances in 2005, choosing Campaign's Direct Marketing Agency of the Year was going to be a tough call.

But Rapier's impressive financial performance, fuelled by aggressive new-business growth and strong creative output, made it the natural choice for the top accolade.

In a flat year by DM's usually buoyant standards, the agency trounced its more mainstream direct marketing competitors in the 2005 new-business league, with a tally of more than £35 million in new billings.

The fact Rapier is wholly owned by its management team is one explanation for its unparalleled success. Another, more surprising factor is its unique positioning: Rapier delivers direct marketing over any channel - without compromising on creativity - but specialises in service brands.

While some think that restricting its offering in this way could limit the agency’s potential, this positioning proved irresistible to its target audience in 2005.

The capture of the £30 million ntl account was the agency's biggest win of the year. Rapier already held the integrated account for Telewest Broadband, and convinced ntl to add its integrated account to that business just weeks before the two companies confirmed final plans to merge.

Rapier picked up more DaimlerChrysler business, adding the Mercedes Vans account to its work for the smart marque.

It also benefited from its position on the COI roster, which it retained during the roster review. The agency beat Clark McKay & Walpole and Tullo Marshall Warren to the Disabilities & Discrimination Act task and was awarded the Health & Safety Executive account after a pitch against Claydon Heeley Jones Mason, Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel and TMW.

You don’t become as successful as Rapier has been this year without a good, stable team and happy staff.

Stead has been with the agency 20 years and the creative partner, John Townshend, joined ten years ago. Alison Meredith, a former Proximity head of planning, runs the agency’s planning department and Catherine Ince - whose Rapier tenure spans 18 years - is the new-business director. In 2004, David Prideaux took over the day-to-day running of the creative department from Townshend, and this year he hired Steve Broadhurst, one of DM’s most experienced creatives, as Rapier’s senior art director.

Given the stature of its creative and planning teams, it is no wonder that Rapier’s work - the true gauge of an agency’s ability - is of such a high standard, despite the creative limitations imposed by a client list consisting exclusively of service brands.

This year, its DRTV campaign for AA Insurance, featuring Bev and Kev, won a silver award at the Campaign Direct Awards, and its posters for South Eastern Trains made the final at the Campaign Poster Awards.

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