There was no slowing Carat down last year, they followed up a very successful year with a huge 2013. Ad Age chose Carat as the Media Agency of the Year because of their ability to kick on, they increased revenue by 20% and recruited top talent 2013, while still securing new accounts and managing their huge General Motors account.

Carat Global President Doug Ray said: "After winning so much business last year we could have gotten distracted by trying to absorb the business and being too internally focused, the goal was to avoid distraction by hiring and "scaling operations."




Carat kicked on in 2013 and won a number of prestigious accounts such as; Macys, Dannon, Staples, Burberry and adding more Sony business. Not content with just winning new clients, they also convinced a number of talented individuals to join. Robert Hannan, head of operations, and Mark Mylan, head of new business were notable additions. Carat also internally restructured so that analytics, strategy and research capabilities were all under one department led by new chief strategy officer, Michael Epstein.

Carat utilities the Aegis network and its sibling agencies as oppose to trying to do everything itself. The result is a true full package service in which a collaborative culture gives clients the best possible solutions.

Megan Stooke, director of global marketing at General Motors, highlighted how this approach allowed them to be agile, "A great example is the ability to access a specialist brand like The Story Lab to help us with content strategy and creation."

With an account the size of GM's, difficulties are accepted. Since taking winning the account in 2012 they've gone from strength to strength, including convincing them to resurrect their Facebook account. Doug Ray believes that: "Facebook is an important partner for GM."

Its not just the tailored approach clients enjoy from Carat, their Consumer Connection System (CCS)  is a "research, insight and planning tools which links consumer and category understanding to actionable media and communications insights." Carat also runs bespoke client studies to gain a powerful insight into brands and products perception, alongside their annual lifestyle and media study. This combine approach results in driving "media effectiveness through more efficient targeting."

"Their proprietary study, CCS, has provided an invaluable level of consumer insight," said Tony Giannini, Macy's VP of Media and Marketing Effectiveness. "We are stepping up support of digital channels, including audio, video, social, mobile and tablet based on research and future-forward initiatives Carat has brought to us."