OMD’s driving need was for a technological platform that could deliver the key outputs that would help to bring it new clients – strategic insight built on empirical data and econometric analysis combined with game-changing ideas.

Our answer was to develop Vision – a global operating system that OMD could use to create and deliver effective media strategies. The software platform delivered a single consistent process for developing strategies, not just for media campaigns but also to help clients generate demand for their products.

Inspired by OMD’s ‘Insights, Ideas and Results’ positioning, Vision put a variety of different tools at the fingertips of 10,000 staff worldwide, including:

• ‘Insights canvas’ – to capture knowledge and data, and shape these into opportunities

• ‘Ideas maps’ – global canvases to develop, share and refine ideas on how to meet client goals

• ‘Results scorecards’ – specifying and tracking the objectives that media investment will deliver.

In addition, we incorporated techniques to demonstrate behaviourial triggers that will stimulate demand and econometric models of how to build client sales.

All of these tools were made easy to use, with intuitive interfaces and attractive designs, echoing popular image sharing services such as Pinterest. And to ensure that ideas could be converted and prioritised into executable activities, results were presented in a clear, crisp way, with infographics that helped to make actions to be taken easily understandable.

The implementation of Vision has delighted OMD. Not only has it brought its new strategic position to life, it’s made the agency more responsive and agile, and so more able to meet the demands of current and potential clients.

It is now consistently able to outperform other media networks both in the speed to which it can respond to briefs, and the consistent quality of their responses across all markets. Proof of this is the fact that it has recently won global briefs from Hasbro, Disney and Liberty Global, a fact that helped Adweek name it Global Media Agency of the Year in 2014.