Starcom Mediavest Group (SMG), a leading brand communications group in the region, said it has been crowned 'Media Agency of the Year'' at the Dubai Lynx Festival of Creativity for an unprecedented fourth time.

This year marked the annual event’s eighth edition which was held at Madinat Jumeirah’s Madinat Arena in Dubai last week.

"The win further cements SMG’s market-leading position – making it the only agency ever to garner the prestigious title this many times; the group was also named Dubai Lynx Media Agency of the Year in 2009, 2010, 2013 and now 2014," remarked John Antoniades, the chief executive officer of SMG Mena.

“We are so proud to be the only four-time winners of the Media Agency of the Year Award,” he said.

“The Dubai Lynx is the Middle East’s leading festival for creative excellence in advertising and media – and so, there truly is no greater honour or higher industry recognition. Receiving this title is a testament to SMG’s award-winning performance which has, over the years, allowed us to expand market presence and produce ground-breaking work," he added.

In addition to the Media Agency of the Year win, SMG took home Silver in the Young Lynx Media competition category.

The contest provides a platform for young creative talent from across the MENA region to shine on an international stage and showcase their cutting-edge skills.

The initiative saw teams respond to a brief from a social enterprise in a mere 24 hours. The SMG team performed outstandingly – demonstrating unparalleled creative leadership in media, strong business acumen and in-depth market insight.

At this year’s festival, SMG also joined forces with Adopt-a-Camp – a UAE-based social enterprise founded by Saher Sheikh – to activate a live CSR brief designed to improve the lives of the UAE labor force.

The collaboration was part of SMG’s Future Leaders of Marketing Program. First inaugurated in 2013, the program brings together 20 marketers – working in client organizations across various industry sectors – and aims to equip them with the right expertise and best practices to be future leaders of marketing.-TradeArabia News Service