Renetta McCann takes Starcom MediaVest Group to the top of media buyers

By Margaret Littman
Crain’s Chicago Business
(May 7, 2007) Since Renetta McCann took the helm in 2005, Starcom MediaVest Group has surpassed OMD Worldwide to become the largest media buyer in the world, with an 8% share of global media planning.

Starcom MediaVest's 10 agencies buy more than $25 billion in advertising for clients including Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., Mattel Inc., Walgreen Co. and Washington Mutual Inc. In 2005, Starcom MediaVest had estimated revenue of $667.7 million, according to Crain's sister publication Advertising Age.

But to keep that edge, Starcom MediaVest has to look for new markets for its clients, both at home and abroad. At this level, its competitors are other giant media operations with the bankroll and staff to go after lucrative business placing worldwide ads for U.S. clients like General Motors Corp.

But thanks to proprietary research Starcom MediaVest did on 18- to-34-year-olds last year, its clients have new ammo to help reach the coveted U.S. young-adult market. Conventional wisdom has been that those consumers are not loyal to brands.

"We found that they can be brand loyal, but they look at the honesty of a brand," says Ms. McCann, 50. "They are not looking for perfection, but the brand has to do what it says it does."

To solidify its foothold in emerging markets, Starcom MediaVest founded an India Media Exchange Unit in Mumbai earlier this year, with an emphasis on identifying media that will reach upscale consumers in India and the Indian diaspora worldwide. It also started SMG Multicultural in Chicago to design marketing campaigns and make media buys to reach Latino, African-American and Asian shoppers.

"She and I are in a small fraternity," says David Verklin, CEO of Carat Americas New York, a rival agency. "I compete against her five times a year, and I am always happy when her agency isn't involved." And while he describes Ms. McCann as a "vicious" foe, he also lauds her civility. The two send each other congratulatory notes or bottles of champagne when they win a new account.

Photo by Stephen J. Serio


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