It’s that time of the year when media agency execs are pondering whether it was worth blowing half of their client’s budget on The Ashes when they could have spent more on MAFS, and whether Omnicom + IPG Mediabrands = Pitch Pallooza 3.0.
At B&T, we also ponder such things, but don’t make our views public (until we have to). In this late January period, when most media execs have drained their festive holidays, B&T hedges its bets behind a handful of media agencies that we believe the industry should watch.
Havas Media
‘Deliberately Different’. That’s the new Havas mantra and this year the village could well live up to its market proposition.
In December, Havas acquired one of the hottest indies in Kaimera. Nick Behr’s media agency has won a series of clients including Taylors Wines, MG and Nandos.
It has successfully opened for business in Melbourne and its acquisition is a shrewd piece of business for Havas boss James Wright, Kaimera leader Behr and the relative teams.
Add to the mix that Havas Media signed Mindshare’s Kate O’Ryan-Roeder to lead the business and it’s easy to see why Havas Media is one to watch in the year ahead.
Atomic 212°
A year ago, B&T reported that Atomic 212°—arguably Australia’s most talked about and biggest indie—had been acquired by Publicis Media. The deal included a four-year earnout for Atomic’s leadership team, who still own equity in the business.
There were always questions about whether Atomic 212° would retain the independent spirit that had made it so successful after joining a large (and equally successful) holdco.
Although the agency has since left its cool Sydney Walsh Bay office to move into Publics HQ in Pyrmont, not a whole lot appears to have changed since. In fact Atomic now benefits from the tech, smarts and media muscle of Publicis.
In the past year, Atomic 212°has been retaining important pieces of business and showing up to some of the larger pitches in market.
MFA Hall of Famer and Atomic 212° founder Barry O’Brien and CEO Rory Heffernan are running a steady ship and it’s so far, so good post-acquisition. But we reckon this is an agency worth watching in the year ahead.
Another watch out for Publics Groupe will be to see how new CEO Matt Houltham steers Starcom.
WPP Media & Mindshare
Wavemaker won B&T’s Media Agency of the Year, and we are all aware of how good Peter Vogel’s agency has been in recent years. But one of its stablemates that has been quietly excelling.
Mindshare was a very close runner up to Wavemaker in the B&T Awards, and it’s not hard to see why. Mindshare topped B&T’s New Business Winners list for 2025 with wins including Citibank, MG and Suncorp, the largest media pitch of 2025.
The agency won $176 million in billings in 2025, all new billings, and it continues a remarkable run of results in the past two years for CEO Maria Grivas and her charges.
Mindshare is not the only agency worth watching. EssenceMediacom and Wavemaker are both strong outfits and it will be interesting to see how they leverage WPP Open, the group’s AI platform, to win and deliver for clients.
Dentsu Media
Dentsu’s media agencies, Carat and iProspect, have a new boss in Dentsu CEO Rob Harvey. Since Dentsu Media chief Fiona Johnston left her post last year, Harvey has been responsible for shaping the future of the group in uncertain times. Dentsu Japan has put up a ‘for sale’ sign over its international business, although potential suitors have been hard to find, according to reports.
Nonetheless, Harvey is ploughing ahead trying to create a more stable, connected and culturally stronger business in this market.
Then there is the elephant in the room: Woolworths. One of Dentsu’s largest, if not the largest, media clients has been internally reviewing its relationship with Dentsu, and there is speculation that the account could go up for pitch.
In 2023, and under former Dentsu boss Danny Bass, Woolworths extended its relationship with Dentsu, but B&T understands that its 23-year relationship, first forged under the late Harold Mitchell, could be up for grabs.
It’s one of many items on Harvey’s to-do list, alongside finding a new Dentsu Media leader and leading its agencies into a position of strength after several years of cost cutting.
Omnicom Media Group
In December, Omnicom acquired Interpublic Group and its media agencies UM and Initiative. It had been widely expected that takeover would lead to consolidation between IPG Mediabrands agencies and Omnicom’s OMD, PHD and Hearts & Science.
That hasn’t yet transpired, and it’s unclear if, or when, it will. But having five media agency brands under one roof doesn’t sound like a five year plan.
Nonetheless, OMG has left all of its agency leaders in place, including UM’s Anathea Ruys and Initiative’s Jo McAllister. This continuity is refreshing and smart.
B&T understands that the uncertainty and anxiety that were hallmarks of pre-takeover have somewhat subsided for optimism about what being part of Omnicom can deliver.
There may still be rounds of redundancies to come, but it is unlikely to impact client facing teams and leaders.
Perhaps the bigger challenge will be managing client conflicts. B&T understands that the reason why consolidation of media agencies didn’t take place was because managing client conflicts was too hard, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all clients will be pleased about the takeover. The market is keeping a close eye on whether some clients get the jitters.
On the Omnicom Media Group front, it is the first full year of Kristiaan Kroon as CEO (even though he was leading the group as COO), and Mark Jarrett as COO.
Laura Nice is the new CEO of PHD and it will be interesting to see how she goes, while the group is also welcoming back Stevie Douglas-Neal, who is speculated to take the helm of Hearts & Science.
Although some of the major leadership redundancies have come to pass, Omnicom Media Group 2.0 is one to watch.
Other notable mentions…
There are a number of other agencies that B&T will be closely following on the indy scene. Sparro by Brainlabs went on a new business tear in 2025, picking up 13 new accounts worth $63.6 million in billings during the first three quarters of the year. Notable wins included Australian Council of Trade Unions ($20.4 million) and Jaycar ($12.5 million), and this year the agency has booked a ticket to provide media strategy, planning, and buying for Aurora Expeditions.
Nunn Media also performed admirably with $28.5 million in new business, while Match & Wood won Snooze and Renault as clients. All three indies are on B&T’s radar, alongside Sydney outfits Avenue C and This is Flow.
Accenture Song planted its flag in the sand last year by winning Optus, and is making a lot of pitching shortlists. Many eyes will be watching how Mel Fein, Sam Geer and Chris Colter continue to build this exciting media proposition.
Another notable mention is the media arm of Clemenger BBDO. With Stu Bailey at the helm and the agency winning the MFA Awards Grand Prix for its work with Samsung and Red Cross, it will be interesting to see how it kicks on after a remarkably successful 2025.
The final call out is for JOY. Last year they recruited industry leader and former OMG boss Peter Horgan to helm a ship that was already doing very well under Simon Rush. B&T expects to hear a lot more about the agency as they carve out a larger space in the media planning and buying space.
