Agency Scope’s Top 10 most admired media agency professions have a wider spread across agencies than the most admired creative agency professionals, with half of the top 10, being women.

The marketers’ choices saw the following media gurus take their place in the latest study as follows:

1. Merissa Himraj, Wavemaker

2. Chris Botha, Park Advertising

3. Celia Collins, Publicis Media

4. Kate Carlisle-Kitz, Mindshare

5. Gareth Grant, Meta Media

6. Adrian Naidoo, Mindshare

7. Kevin Ndinguri, UM

8. Graham Deneys, Carat

9. Lerina Berman, Dentsu

10. Lynette Naidoo, Publicis Media

“As the only study in South Africa where marketers rate their personal choice of media agency professionals, this year’s study has turned up a reasonably diverse group, each of whom stayed top of mind with marketers to be named without prompting."

This is the word from Johanna McDowell, Scopen partner and CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS), who emphasised the value of the top ten list due to Scopen’s methodology that is based on the service marketers have received from this group.

César Vacchiano, President & CEO of Scopen, says that by merely asking marketing decision-makers to name their choice of media agency professionals, the responses are a “reflection of the work media personnel do, rather than their popularity in the industry”.

In congratulating the top ten, Vacchiano says results like these are precisely why marketers are not asked to vote. “We believe Scopen’s system gives a true representation of the industry’s key players and we hope to see more proof that efforts are equal due to ability.”