Zenith scoops ad planning challenge

ZenithOptimedia’s winning team of Riona Murray, Dan Aherne, Michael Rekab, Graham Clarke and Eimear Dalton Photo: Fennell Photography

Independent.ie newsdesk

A team representing ZenithOptimedia won the NewsBrands Ireland press planning competition, held at the Lir Academy last week.

Teams of young media planners (with just three years' experience or less) from Ireland's leading agencies participated in the competition to devise strategies designed to showcase the range and effectiveness of the various print and online platforms that make up NewsBrands Ireland.

Teams had just a few hours to prepare strategies, while representatives from the various NewsBrands Ireland ad departments were on hand to provide information about products.

Each team was then given just five minutes to present to the panel of judges, which included Dave Smyth (managing director Ogilvy), Ruth Payne (media director at Javelin) and Dara McMahon (director of NewsBrands Ireland).

The teams were judged on the basis of five criteria - interpretation of the brief; strategic thinking; best use of the medium; use of budget; and presentation skills. The winning strategy was devised by Dan Aherne, Michael Rekab, Eimear Dalton, Riona Murray and Graham Clarke from ZenithOptimedia.

With a budget of €500,000, the team devised a plan for the fictitious airline Fly Global, "an established airline seeking to grow the number of premium seats sold on business flights whilst maintaining their dominant position in the leisure flight market".

Teams from Starcom, Mediavest, Mediacom, MEC, Carat, Vizeum, PHD and OMD also took part in the annual competition.