The Gunn Report for Media: India ranks No. 3 in most awarded countries

India has ranked No. 3 in Country of the Year with 181 points, preceded by the United States and the United Kingdom. Last year, India was ranked at No. 5.

The Gunn Report for Media, the global evaluation of creativity in media agencies launched in 2004, has released its new report. India ranked at No. 3 in Country of the Year with 181 points. The United States came top this year with 282 points, 98 points ahead of the United Kingdom's score of 184, which was ranked second. Last year, India ranked at No. 5.

OMD has topped the most creative agency network list, followed by Mindshare. OMD has kept its top position since the launch of The Gunn Report in 2004 scoring 331 points, while MindShare secured 229 points.

GroupM secured the top position in Holding Company of the Year scoring 714 points, followed by Omnicom Media Group with 605 points. Publicis Groupe was placed third with 445 points.

In 2012, thirteen advertisers were recognised worldwide for their media creativity and among them Coca-Cola won the first place with 97 points and campaigns from 28 different festivals demonstrating quality and originality of work all over the world. Coca-Cola was named Advertiser of the Year, with McDonald's in second (76 points) and Ikea in third (46 points) positions.

This year's report did not name a Media Campaign of the Year, as it often does. Apparently, no single campaign "obtained a significant number of points and won awards in four or more regional or global festivals," the report explained.

However, the report did cite several campaigns -- including ones for Google Voice Search, Daimler AG, McDonald's and Pepsi that won global festivals and were cited for their "creativity, innovation and results."

Similar to the methodology used by previous Gunn for Media Reports, this year's scoring system assigned each agency and campaign 3-5 points for a best in show award/Grand Prix, 2-3 points for a winner or gold, and 1-2 points for a silver or bronze. Campaigns could also receive points for awards in different categories (that is, Best Use of Sponsorship, Best Use of TV and others).

Every show in the report features all of the media: TV, cinema, radio, magazines, newspapers, outdoor, special events/stunts, internet, mixed media and sponsorship. Some have special categories on target audiences such as youth, young adults, all adults, men and women. Single media festivals are excluded. Too few of these reward media creativity and efficiency, and their inclusion would have unbalanced the scoring system in respect of some countries and agencies.

"The context in which marketing is taking place has changed dramatically these past years. At a time of increasing difficult economic climate in the world, and in a world where consumers are increasingly unpredictable and exert more control over the messages they receive, media innovation and creativity are keys to brand success. Brands need even more than before to find and use meaningful and new solutions," says Isabelle Musnik, editor of The Gunn Report for Media.