The Brand Union named as Design Agency of the Year

Client judging panel recognises 'the culmination of a remarkable transformation'

The Brand Union in London is delighted to have been voted UK market leader by Marketing magazine. The judging panel, which included senior marketing personnel from TUI, RBS and E-On, among others, were impressed by a year that has seen CEO Simon Bailey lead a 'robust new business performance' and cement the agency’s internal culture with improved HR initiatives.

Client work that was recognised included the branding for the combined Bank of America/ Merrill Lynch identity, a 2010 rebrand for Argos and continued work with Vodafone. In addition to this, the agency has won 15 new clients, including Castrol, Merck Serono and Premier Rugby, and extended its work for clients such as Reckitt Benckiser and HSBC Private Bank. Adding to its record awards tally this year, The Brand Union also picked up a Marketing Design Award, a DBA Design Effectiveness award and was published in the highly coveted D&AD Annual.

The judging panel also acknowledged the agency’s commitment to developing industry talent with the MA in Brand Development, recently launched by The Brand Union in conjunction with Goldsmith's University. The agency is also sponsoring three students.

UK CEO Simon Bailey comments; "Following the rebrand in 2008, we knew we had all the pieces in place to become stronger than ever in our field. Since then, it has been all about bringing these elements together and ensuring everyone understands our guiding principle of 'Brand Mastery', and how they can apply to every brief we work on. We're very pleased to see that this has translated into enduring and valuable client relationships, major new business wins and a very good year for us. Receiving this accolade is the icing on the cake."