The Holmes Report's 2014 Global Creative Index again analyses entries and winners from more than 25 PR award programmes from around the world, to determine the best performing campaigns and agencies.

1. 2014 Global
Creative
Index

2. 22 creativity.holmesreport.com
Regardless, there is some substance
to the idea that credible award shows
can deliver a certain level of creative
currency within the industry. They are
not, of course, the only measure of
creativity, but they do offer a useful
benchmark for organisations and
agencies alike.
All of the work featured in this report,
furthermore, factors effectiveness into
its output. PR campaigns, rightly, are
measured according to their results. A
powerful idea, in isolation, is irrelevant
if it does not drive relevant, measurable
outcomes.
The organisations and firms featured
here should be commended for their
commitment to breakthrough thinking.
Ultimately, we hope that this report —
in particular the work it showcases —
helps to elevate and inspire.
awards won. However, restricting the
criteria to campaigns that had won
more than three awards prevented
campaigns that had scooped
just one award on a global scale
finishing higher than campaigns that
may have won three or four different
awards on a local or regional scale.
Agencies have been ranked based
upon how many points they have
been awarded, not how many
awards they have won. Therefore an
agency may have won less awards
overall than agencies below it, but
we believe the awards it has won are
more significant on a global scale.
Campaign Rankings ................. 3-5
Agency Rankings ......................6-8
Network Rankings .......................9
CREATIVE INDEX
INTRODUCTION
In the public relations industry,
creativity has become a core currency.
Big ideas can dramatically reshape a
company’s fortunes and, increasingly,
those ideas are being generated
through a sophisticated understanding
of public engagement.
This report, the third edition of an
initiative that launched in 2012, aims
to celebrate the best of these types of
ideas. Once again, only award-winning
campaigns have been considered.
There are, of course, any number of
innovative PR programmes that have
either not entered award shows, or
have come home empty-handed.
Neither should we overlook the regular
flow of PR work, often from the public
affairs and crisis management space,
that remains confidential.
METHODOLOGY
To compile these rankings the
Holmes Report first selected more
than 20 key global, regional and local
PR award shows over a 12-month
period, using the 2014 Cannes
Lions as a cut-off date. Some of the
shows included were the various
PRWeek Awards, the European
Excellence Awards, the Cannes PR
Lions, and our own SABRE Awards
programme.
Each show was then weighted
according to our knowledge of its
scope and scale, looking specifically
at its significance; geographic
remit; and, reputation within the PR
community.
Where one campaign has won
multiple awards at the same show,
points are only awarded once. If,
however, a campaign has won a
best in show award – campaign of
the year or similar – it is awarded
double points. In addition, only
campaigns that have won more than
three awards across different shows
have been considered. The tables
are created from these rankings.
Campaigns are ranked according
to overall points, not number of
Arun Sudhaman
Partner & Editor-in-Chief
The Holmes Report
arun@holmesreport.com

3. TOP 14 CAMPAIGNS
RANK CAMPAIGN AGENCY CLIENT SECTOR TOTAL
POINTS*
1 (=) Thank You Mom Hill & Knowlton / DeVries Global P&G Consumer 11
1 (=) The Most Powerful Arm Ever Invented Red Agency / Reactive Save Our Sons & Duchenne
Foundation Public sector 11
2 (=) Chengdu Pambassador Ogilvy Chengdu City Public sector 10
2 (=) Rule the Runway IRIS Worldwide Adidas Consumer 10
3 (=) Dynamo Writes 3Doodler into the Kickstarter
Record Books Dynamo 3Doodler Technology 9
3 (=) How does the man of steel shave Ketchum P&G (Gillette) Consumer 9
3 (=) It Can Wait Fleishman Hillard AT&T Consumer 9
4 (=) Pump it forward Vitamine Johnson & Johnson China Consumer 8
4 (=) Shave or Crave Weber Shandwick (Corporate Voice) P&G india Consumer 8
4 (=) Sinopec HK plastic pellets crisis management Brunswick Group Sinopec Corporate 8
4 (=) Elevating Lenovo’s Corporate Image Text 100 Lenovo Corporate 8
4 (=) Galvanizing for Giving Havas PR North America United Nations Foundation and
92nd St Y Charity 8
creativity.holmesreport.com 33
CAMPAIGN INDEX
*Based on the Holmes Report’s Creative Index Methodology
4 (=) Hey! It’s NTU N/A Nayang Technological University
Singapore Public sector 8
4 (=) LeFun Run BlueFocus Lenovo Consumer 8

4. A big-budget Olympics sponsorship extravaganza
and an equally compelling non-profit initiative to
raise muscular dystrophy funding have emerged
as the most awarded PR campaigns in the world,
according to the Holmes Report’s 2014 Global
Creative Index.
The Index analysed entries and winners from
more than 25 PR award programmes from around
the world, over a 12 month period, using the 2014
Cannes Lions as a cut-off point. Scores were
weighted according to a Holmes Report formula
that placed particular emphasis on Best of Show
winners.
The results reveal a tie for top place. Procter &
Gamble’s ‘Thank You Mom’ Olympic campaign,
developed in conjunction with Hill+Knowlton
Strategies and DeVries Global for the 2012 Olympics
but entered into several award shows in 2013, was
boosted in particular by a strong showing at global
and local shows in the US and UK.
44 creativity.holmesreport.com
Meanwhile, ‘The Most Powerful Arm Ever
Invented’, a campaign from Australia’s Save Our
Sons and Duchenne Foundation with Havas PR’s
Red Agency, scored highly at regional and local
shows in Asia-Pacific.
A close race at the top of the table saw the
two campaigns narrowly edge out Ogilvy PR’s
Chengdu Pambassador effort on behalf of the city
of Chengdu, and Adidas’ ‘Rule the Runway’ by Iris
Worldwide, which together tied for second place.
DIGITAL-FUELLED IDEAS
The results, which rank the top 15 PR campaigns,
reinforce the importance of a strong creative idea,
supported by compelling content that spurs
engagement.
P&G’s ‘Thank You Mom’, for example, built on
the ‘Momumentary Project’, which told athlete
stories from the perspective of their mothers,
utilising 60 documentary videos to foster an
emotional connection that ultimately translated into
awareness and concrete sales returns.
‘The Most Powerful Arm Ever Invented’,
meanwhile, overcame a minimal budget by
creating a robot arm that signed petitions using a
font created from the handwriting of DMD sufferer
Jacob Lancaster. The drive ultimately attracted
32,000 signatures, resulting in a pharma company
agreeing to commence essential clinical trials.
Despite the difference in scope, both campaigns
demonstrate how a content-rich strategy can
build on a compelling insight to develop genuine
engagement and behavioural change.
CAMPAIGN INDEX
P&G, Thank you Mum
The Most Powerful Arm Ever Invented

5. creativity.holmesreport.com 55
Both campaigns also illustrate how digital and
social media platforms are a core element in any
successful public relations initiative, a trend that
is again exemplified by most of the top-ranked
programmes.
The Chengdu Pambassador effort, similarly, used
a strong social media component, supported by
local activation, to share panda content and drive a
contest to work in the Chinese city.
Neither should the focus on genuine business
results be overlooked. P&G’s Olympics campaign is
estimated to have resulted in $500m in incremental
sales. Save Our Sons efforts saw critical clinical
trials commence. And, the Pambassador campaign
drove a 30.3% increase in international visitors to
Chengdu.
Many of this years top-ranked campaigns also
showcase a refreshing willingness to empower
fans and consumers, relinquishing control in a bid
to establish more authentic relationships.
A particularly good example of this approach is
Adidas ‘Rule the Runway’ initiative, which enlisted
teen fashion bloggers to develop a socially curated
fashion show on behalf of youth label NEO. By
dispensing with the typically formulaic fashion
show format, the campaign drove strong business
results.
A number of the most awarded campaigns,
meanwhile, illustrate the prominent role that a
sense of social responsibility plays in the world’s
best PR work.
‘The Most Powerful Arm Ever Invented’ is the
clearest example of this. Another is Vitamine’s
‘Pump It Forward’ effort in China, which developed a
digital platform that made it easier for breastfeeding
mothers, changing traditional attitudes in the
process.
While the ranking is dominated by consumer
campaigns, it is worth noting that public sector,
technology and corporate programmes all make
an appearance in the top 17. Sinopec’s ‘Plastic
Pellets’ initiative, for example, helped the company
recover from a potentially debilitating crisis.
GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY
Once again, there is a refreshing geographic
diversity among the top 17 campaigns, featuring
work from traditional powerhouse markets such
as the US and UK, along with eye-catching
programmes from China, India, Singapore,
Australia and Africa.
CAMPAIGN INDEX
Vitamine, Pump It Forward
Iris Worldwide, Rule the Runway

6. AGENCY INDEX TOP 15 OVERALL AGENCIES
66 creativity.holmesreport.com
2014
RANK
2013
RANK AGENCY
AGENCY
MARKET
OF ORIGIN
TOTAL
POINTS
1 1 Ogilvy Global 128
2 4 Edelman Global 101
3 3 Weber Shandwick Global 92
4 2 Ketchum Global 92
5 6 MSLGroup Global 53
6 5 Burson-Marsteller Global 50
7 7 Fleishman Hillard Global 38
8 9 Hill & Knowlton Global 27
9 12 Unity UK 26
10 - Text 100 Global 25
11 18 Havas Global 19
12 (=) - Allison & Partners USA 17
12 (=) 17 Blue Rubicon UK 17
12 (=) 10 Cohn & Wolfe Global 17
13 (=) 67 M&C Saatchi Global 16
Among agencies, Ogilvy PR retains its number one ranking atop the overall Global
Creative Index, after placing first last year. The agency’s strong performance
featured awards from major shows across EMEA, Asia-Pacific and the US, led
by its ‘Chengdu Pambassador’ campaign, along with ‘Measure of Pleasure’ for
Beyond Dark and last year’s top-ranked Gnome Experiment effort for Kern &
Sohn.
Edelman jumps to second place from fourth last year, boosted by its Cannes
Grand Prix for Chipotle’s ‘Scarecrow’, along with work for Albal in Spain and
Xbox in Europe.
Weber Shandwick retains third spot, after placing two campaigns within the top
17: ‘Shave or Crave’ for Gillette in India and ‘Share Your Now’ for Samsung.
Both Edelman and Weber leapfrog Ketchum, which dropped two spots to rank
fourth this year. Ketchum’s haul was again led by Europe and the US, notably
work for Gillette and Austrian Butchers.
MSLGroup, Burson-Marsteller, FleishmanHillard and Hill+Knowlton Strategies
again feature in the top 10. Porter Novelli and Cohn & Wolfe both fall out of the
top 10, replaced by UK boutique Unity and global tech agency Text 100,
Outside the top ten, major risers included Havas and Allison+Partners.
Ogilvy, Measure of Pleasure

7. creativity.holmesreport.com 77
2014
RANK
2013
RANK AGENCY
AGENCY
MARKET
OF ORIGIN
POINTS
PER
HEAD*
1 1 Unity UK 742
2 - Vitamine China 560
3 - Trigger AS Norway 538
4 - Frank PR UK 186
5 5 RF|Binder USA 184
6 - iris Worldwide UK 128
7 8 Blue Rubicon UK 113
8 (=) - Citizen group Global 104
8 (=) - Allison & Partners USA 104
9 (=) 6 Prime Sweden 93
9 (=) - Hunter PR USA 93
10 7 Marina Maher
Communications USA 83
*Points per head—sees agency scores weighted according to staff size.
While networks dominate the overall table, because of their volume of awards,
a better measure of agency creativity comes from weighting agency scores
according to their staff size. Accordingly, the Holmes Report has again used a
points per head calculation to identify which are, ‘pound for pound’, the most
creative PR agencies in the world.
Once again, the title is taken by the UK’s Unity, after it ranked in first spot last
year. While the gap between Unity and its rivals has narrowed, the fact that the
30-person agency has again beaten out contenders from across the globe is
remarkable.
Unity’s score was led by its work for M&S, this time the ‘Shwoppers Not Keepers’
campaign that continued its successful Shwopping initiative on behalf of the
retailer, and the ‘Dryathlon’ campaign for Cancer Research UK.
Taking second place is China’s Vitamine, thanks to some innovative digital work,
in particular the ‘Pump it Forward’ effort for Johnson & Johnson. Norway’s Trigger
came third, led by award-winning campaigns for Norwegian Air.
WEIGHTED SCORE
POUND FOR POUND
Unity, Shwoppers Not Keepers

8. POUND FOR POUND
Like Vitamine and Trigger, the UK’s Frank PR is another new entrant, ranking
fourth this year. A perennial creative heavyweight in the UK and Australia, Frank’s
awards haul featured campaigns for Charlie Bingham’s and Durex Australia.
US agency RF|Binder rounds out the top five after ranking third last year. Iris
Worldwide enters the top 10 at number six, led by its ‘Rule the Runway’ campaign
for Adidas, and Blue Rubicon, Prime and Marina Maher retain their top ten spots,
joined by new US entrants Allison+Partners and Citizen Group.
KEY MARKETS
The results demonstrate that creativity is neither the preserve of big networks nor
of big markets. While the UK and US are well represented, Scandinavia continues
to impress, and China makes its first appearance.
88 creativity.holmesreport.com
Ogilvy PR, Chengdu Pambassador
Iris Worldwide, Rule the Runway
Iris Worldwide, Rule the Runway

9. creativity.holmesreport.com 99
NETWORK INDEX
TOP 5 NETWORKS
The Holmes Report
Paul A. Holmes - CEO
Arun Sudhaman - Partner & Managing Editor
Greg Drury - Partner & President - U.S. Operations
Aarti Shah - Senior Editor
Annabel Davis - Chief Internet Officer
Amanda Busby - UK Administrative Officer
Celeste Picco - Chief Administrative Officer
Cathy Bussey - Creative Index Research Editor
James Beer, Chris Porter - Design
The Holmes Group, Address: 271 West 47 Street, Suite 23-A, New York, NY 10036, USA,
Tel: (212) 333-2300; Fax: (212)333-2624
RANK NETWORK TOTAL POINTS
1 WPP 254
2 Omnicom 181
3 Interpublic 138
4 Publicis Groupe 87
5 Havas 39
Trigger Oslo, Peer Gynt