HOW DO YOU GET TO BE BEST MEDIA OPERATION?

The winner of Strategy's Best Media Operation competition is determined by a confidential poll of top media sellers across the country.

Over 800 sales people at TV networks, magazines, Web sites, newspapers, outdoor and other media companies were contacted by e-mail and asked to visit a secure voting Web site.

Upon visiting the site, each executive was presented with a list of media planning and buying operations and asked to rate those they do business with on a scale of one to 10. Media sellers were also encouraged to nominate companies not on the list if they considered them deserving. The scores for each operation were based on three factors:

General attributes: Is the company well organized? Does it have professional personnel? Is it up-to-date in its attitudes, data and techniques? Is it imaginative in its general approach to media? Is it responsive to new ideas and recommendations?

Planning attributes: Does the company show a strong understanding of your particular medium? Does it develop a strategic approach to looking at problems and opportunities?

Buying attributes: Is the company likely to get the best efficiencies for the client's dollar? Does it excel at negotiating the best all-round value for advertisers?

We then averaged the numerical scores from the sellers, and the operation with the highest overall score won.

Best Media Director

Each seller we surveyed was also asked to nominate an individual for the Best Media Director award. This year, for the first time, the top four nominees progressed to a second round of voting where each was rated on a scale of one to 10. When rating the nominees, sellers were asked to consider such criteria as knowledge of the media industry, creativity in coming up with innovative media solutions and openness to new ideas. The media director or president who received the highest average score won.