TOP PERFORMERS OF 2002: Direct Agency of the Year - HTW.(Harrison Troughton Wunderman)

Harrison Troughton Wunderman's commitment to producing consistent creative work for all of its clients saw it pick up numerous accolades at last year's awards.

Campaign's choice of Harrison Troughton Wunderman as Direct Agency of the Year is a testament to the agency's unswerving commitment to creativity while coming to terms with what was potentially a tricky business year.

When HTW formed 18 months ago out of the backwards merger between the creative hotshop HPT Brand Response and WPP's floundering Impiric network, very few saw grounds for optimism.

But at the end of 2002, the agency had successfully blended the two contrasting cultures into one that was capable of producing excellent work across a disparate client base. Financially, it was a solid rather than spectacular year for HTW, with profits and staffing levels remaining static. On the new-business front, the agency held on to all of its existing business, while winning five accounts.

In the early part of 2002 it was appointed as brand response agency by First Quench. It has since won AquAid and The Royal Marsden while consolidating its relationship with Vodafone by winning all of its business-to-business direct marketing work.

But HTW's finest new-business moment came in November, when it snatched the lion's share of the Nectar account away from WWAV Rapp Collins, the agency it had lost out to during the original pitch in February.

However, it's the quality of work that set HTW apart from its rivals last year. This is reflected by the fact that, with six golds, the agency was the big winner at last month's DMA Awards.