Top Search Agency Shining Bright

Yahoo! congratulates Outrider on winning the 3rd Annual Searchlight Award

If you ask us, the biggest election story last Tuesday was not the Obama and McCain landslides in the Potomoc primaries, but rather, the election of this year’s winner for search marketing excellence. Outrider, the search unit of Group M, was awarded the Searchlight Award for 2008 on a snowy, blustery day at the Time Life Building in New York City. An audience of more than 200 interactive marketers braved the elements to watch four agencies duke it out for top honors.

Expert Perspective
The day began with a stirring keynote by Rob Norman, CEO of Group M Interaction. Rob shared with the audience his thoughts on the intersection of performance marketing and brand advertising, and how Yahoo! is in an ideal position to capitalize on this convergence. It’s always a treat to hear Rob speak, and this keynote was no exception. After Rob finished his remarks, it was on to the finalists.

First to the stage were Renee Robertson and Jessica Mainelli from Carat, who explained how search marketing was used to build awareness and brand intent for Reebok’s “Run Easy” campaign. Panelist Greg Sterling, a local search expert, was impressed with the use of geo-targeting in this campaign, as it tied in nicely with the unique messaging in Carat’s out-of-home buys.

Outrider then walked the audience through its work to promote Smirnoff’s recent additions to the growing “malternative” beverage category. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, chief Outrider Chris Copeland flew in to help sell the audience on its candidacy for the Searchlight Award. One of the most impressive screen shots of the presentation was a search results page on which Outrider had secured multiple search listings for Smirnoff by using both organic and paid search tactics.

Lance Neuhauser and Neal Wilson of Resolution Media presented a case study of work they had done for FedEx around their 2007 Super Bowl buy. While many digital marketers will generally dismiss the efficacy of a Super Bowl buy, the folks from Resolution made a strong case for building on The Big Game for a strong multi-channel effort with an incredible halo effect. They supported their case with compelling data, including an impressive chart taken from the Yahoo! Buzz Index that highlighted the surge in search activity for FedEx immediately following Super Bowl Sunday.

The last agency to showcase its work was Digitas. The firm’s Chris Paul and Matt D’Ercole walked us through an inspirational campaign called “The Members Project,” which called upon American Express members to ideate and vote for projects that would better the world, and American Express would then fund. Digitas discussed how to leverage a parent brand for a philanthropic enterprise, and how to connect social media, video and celebrity endorsements to a search campaign. Chris and Matt showed the great work that can happen when creative and media are tightly aligned.

The audience was then asked to vote, and Outrider was announced as the 2008 Searchlight Award winner. The event was capped off by a comedy performance by Jeff Caldwell and a cocktail reception.

From all of us at Yahoo!, we warmly congratulate not only Outrider, but each of the other finalists. All of us left winners, as we got to hear from these great marketers and expand the way we think about leveraging search marketing in our campaigns.

It’s an event that I look forward to each year, and hope that you can join us in 2009.

— Ron Belanger, Vice President, Agency Development.