Starcom Is Adweek's US Media Agency of the Year

For decades, heritage media agencies grew in power by managing clients' buys on television, radio and print. But to stay on top of 2023's omnichannel world, a media agency must be able to see the entire media map, locate every consumer on it and navigate it like a trailblazer. Starcom comes from heritage—it traces its roots back to the 1940s as Leo Burnett Media and became Starcom in 1999—but now is in lockstep with modern integrated trends. And often it's ahead of them, helping its long-tenured clients and new ones alike with Publicis Power of One-fueled cutting edge media technology and data. But technology alone does not make a great agency. The Publicis media shop also brings decades of experience, know-how of the creative process and a decent dose of humanity to its clients that include mainstays like the Kellogg Company and Best Buy, as well as newer additions McDonald’s, AB InBev and Aldi. Some client relationships date back to the Leo Burnett Media days, including Kellogg's, but Starcom has evolved over the past couple of years, bumping its profile beyond its heritage clients to grab major players. Those clients are loyal to Starcom and appreciate the way the agency values its partnerships. They tout Starcom’s push for constant improvement, the agency's commitment to its partners and its ability to see the big picture and make changes when and where necessary—which is why Adweek has named Starcom its U.S. Media Agency of the Year. Starcom's new business boomed in 2022, with $357.9 million in total net new business results, according to COMvergence. “I get to continuously see from Starcom and their leadership a commitment to continuous performance improvement in spirit of our partnership. They're excellent at hearing us, adapting, adjusting and addressing kind of whatever the needs are," said Julie Bowerman, chief marketing officer at the Kellogg Company. An infusion of energy There’s a can-do attitude in the Midwest, and Starcom, with most of its people based in Chicago, embodies that hard-working, no-nonsense posture. “Maybe because they were born in the Midwest, this company has a different perspective than the anchor New York City-based agencies,” said Diane Harrison, chief talent officer. Since 2021, Starcom has rejuvenated its leadership team with fresh perspectives. Global and U.S. CEO Michael Epstein—formerly CEO of Dentsu's Carat, where he was named Adweek’s media executive of the year, leads the group after joining Starcom in June 2021. His new executive group is made up of Starcom veterans and newcomers, including chief strategy officer Kim Einan, chief client officer Maureen Glure, chief investment officer Kristin Haarlow, chief operating officer Karla Knecht and chief marketing officer Robert Schwartz. Epstein's knowledge and work in digital transformation made him a desirable pick for Starcom, and he has not disappointed in his time, pushing the agency forward while integrating Publicis’ digital tools to create even greater success. He also found Starcom a bit insular with a management structure that wasn’t streamlined properly, and he helped move people into the right positions to maximize their impact. Einan, who has been with Starcom for almost 24 years, said that Epstein’s hiring was a huge momentum driver because he is an advocate for change and modernization. Epstein has also helped update Starcom's products, embracing Publicis' digital tools from Epsilon and Sapient, letting CSO Einan build out an insights practice, allowing Haarlow to concentrate on investments and getting Starcom to think more about DEI and its business advantages. “If you understand segments better, you can change the way you go to market better,” Epstein said. Strategy is a big part of Starcom’s success, and that has led to Einan’s development of the insights department, which she said will help bolster Starcom’s reputation. “Strategy includes insights, which is really about identifying the right people opportunity, the right business opportunity, in the context of the right cultural opportunity," said Einan, adding that the agency has taken a strong point of view about what a brand should—and should not—do with media, content and creative. Transforming business for clients With a partnership dating back 70 years, Kellogg's and Starcom have gone through periods of reinvention as business needs have changed. The team is currently helping the brand as it prepares to split into three separate companies. “They came to us as a very tenured partner to help take them through that transformation, looking at how we can help serve each of those individual companies in a very unique and different way based on the challenges that they were facing,” said Glure, adding that Starcom expanded its remit to bring in some of Kellogg’s omnicommerce business and work with external partners. Key wins: McDonald’s, AB InBev, Aldi, Frontier Communications, Kellogg’s omnicommerce, AB InBev socialLosses: Lionsgate, Planet Fitness (resigned)Strategic moves: Executive hires and promotions include Kim Einan, chief strategy officer; Maureen Glure, chief client officer; Kristin Haarlow, chief investment officer; Diane Harrison, chief talent officer; Karla Knecht, chief operating officer; Robert Schwartz, chief marketing officer Revenue: Publicis Groupe will not provide annual revenue estimates. In 2022, Starcom’s total revenue grew more than 7%. In Recma’s most recent new business activity report, Starcom grew more than 20% in 2022. The agency has won more than $1.5 billion in new business since December 2021, according to COMvergence.DEI: Starcom hired 400 new employees in 2022, and roughly 40% are people of color.The agency also has a summer internships program and a future leaders program that looks to hire from underrepresented groups. The company is working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities as well. Epstein added that some of Starcom’s key clients are going through massive transformations, but the client base has remained stable with little turnover. “Our teams and our leadership [have] not been afraid to embrace the changes they're going through and help them in the ways that we can,” said Epstein. Starcom's partnership with Best Buy dates back 15 years, and the agency recently helped the retailer develop its ecommerce chops during the pandemic. According to Keith Bryan, president of Best Buy ads, media and CRM, the relationship between the two companies is “very reciprocal, not a transactional one,” because of Starcom's ability to think critically and strategically about Best Buy’s business and understand its customers. “Starcom has helped us, whether in crisis, like the pandemic, or whether in deliberative transformation," said Bryan. "They take great interest in our customer journey; they help us solve complicated problems around measurement." Grabbing the big burger While long-term clients are foundational for any agency, landing big wins keeps agencies growing, and one of the largest gets over the past year came when McDonald’s consolidated its media buying with Starcom after a two-decade partnership with Omnicom media shop OMD USA. McDonald’s had already entrusted Starcom with its loyalty program, but with the consolidation, McDonald’s got a partner that added the depth of Epsilon and Sapient along with the media savvy of Starcom to create a true CRM business strategy, said Tariq Hassan, McDonald’s U.S. CMO. According to Hassan, Starcom's work on McDonald’s grew the brand's loyalty program and app to roughly 40 million users, and then leverages them once they're on the app. In addition, Starcom is able to utilize its data and insights and feed it to agency Wieden+Kennedy for creative success. During a Quarter Pounder program, Starcom found data for people who hadn’t tried the sandwich yet, then leveraged that data to gain insights into the consumer that made its way into the creative brief. “Being able to start with that mindset upfront around customer data and customer signals that they could see, apply that to the creative and then turn around and apply that back to the actual application of the media plan proved to be incredibly [helpful],” said Hassan. McDonald’s Moves U.S. Media Buying and Planning to Publicis Groupe’s Starcom from Omnicom’s OMD What makes Starcom work is the team's thorough understanding of its partners from a business perspective, and its investment in those relationships. McDonald's noted that Starcom takes advantage of investment opportunities for its clients because they also see the growth opportunities for themselves, which makes for a great shared partnership. “They're carrying that broader business strategy mindset," said Hassan. "When you get a partner who understands your business goals, not just your marketing goals, that’s the formula for great success." Key campaigns:McDonald’sLast October, McDonald’s leaned into the nostalgia around enjoying a Happy Meal and partnered with hot streetwear brand Cactus Plant Flea Market to reimagine the experience for adults. Starcom created a media experience fueled by Gen Z’s desire for authentic self-expression and access to the exclusive trends at the forefront of drop culture. A digital-led strategy captured trendsetters and McDonald’s customers and included an AR experience on Snap where scanning the Happy Meal box transported fans to a world of CPFM collectibles. McDonald’s sold out within the first few days of the promotion, and it helped drive the highest weekly digital transactions ever for the U.S. business. Cheez-ItKellogg’s brand Cheez-It needed to address an underperforming segment in younger millennials. The brand and agency built a plan based on a Swiss study that found that aging cheese to the sounds of hip-hop enhances its flavor, using the idea to bake up a limited-edition Cheez-It. Partnering with Pandora, the brand curated a hip-hop playlist that the cheese listened to nonstop. Starcom and the brand negotiated a $500,000 asset exchange with Pandora, as well as a partnership with hip-hop personality Sway Calloway from SiriusXM to create a YouTube series “Living Legendz.” By creatively dropping Cheez-It into hip-hop culture, the brand engaged younger millennials. The effort had more than 448 million earned media impressions, and visits to the Cheez-It website spiked 1,900%. Kraft HeinzTo connect with millennial consumers, Kraft Heinz partnered with Alpha Precision Media to create “5GRV Gamers on the Road,” a series that featured three female gamers and a comedic host as they hit the road for a 10-day adventure to the 2022 DreamHack gaming festival in Atlanta. Along for the ride were Velveeta and Kraft Mayo making stops at seven different HBCUs in an effort to promote inclusivity in gaming. Livestreamed on Twitch, Kraft Heinz achieved strong engagement with 97,000 minutes watched on Twitch with viewers per stream 38% higher than the Twitch average. Paid media delivered 19 million impressions. Publicis Media’s APX Content Ventures helped bring the brands together. Be sure to check out Adweek's Media Agency of the Year honorees in the Global and Breakthrough categories.

Media Agency of the Year

US Media Agency of the Year Starcom Boasts Big Wins and Heritage Clients

The Chicago-based shop added McDonald’s and AB InBev and built on existing client biz

Kyle O’Brien

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Kyle O’Brien