Australia’s largest agency, Omnicom’s OMD, heads up RECMA’s biannual assessment of agencies strengths and weaknesses while GroupM leads the new business race over the past year.
OMD remains in pole position in Australia and globally, according to the latest RECMA ranking of media agencies.
GroupM’s EssenceMediacom and Wavemaker round up the podium, while GroupM heads up the new business rankings over the past year. Among the top five, the only shift from the last RECMA rankings is Wavemaker leapfrogging Initiative (see current top five below).
OMD has a total score of 23 points, leading the Australian ranking, while EssenceMediacom comes second with 21 points; both agencies scored a ‘Dominant Profile’.
At a holdco level, GroupM Australia sits aloft RECMA’s Qualitative Domestic Report, and also tops the new business rankings ahead of Publicis Groupe and Dentsu in the 12 months to September 2024.
GroupM’s major wins include Uber APAC hub, Google offline and Specsavers for EssenceMediacom; Allianz (Wavemaker) and Nestlé (Mindshare).
Meanwhile Zenith picked up (Bank of Queensland, Virgin Money and Superloop).
OMD is the only Australian media agency to consistently appear in the dominant profile since 2015.
RECMA also places OMD in the top position for ‘Structure’, stating that “OMD remains out of competitors reach” in that area.
At the local level, OMD was named Campaign’s Gold Australian Media Agency of the Year, AWARD Award Media Agency of the Year and UnLtd’s Good Company.
“We are so proud to be ranked the number one media agency by RECMA for the tenth consecutive year, particularly as this achievement recognises the expansive capabilities of our talented people and our longstanding client partnerships,” OMD Australia co-CEO Laura Nice said.
“Building sustainable and enduring partnerships with our people and client partners alike is something we pride ourselves on, as is the ability to evolve these over the years to drive growth opportunities for all.”
OMD’s other co-CEO Sian Whitnall said that OMD’s success during a turbulent period is down to, “the full year impact of our agency restructure with bolstered investment strategy and transformation capabilities unlocking new growth potential not only for our client partners, but for our people’s career trajectories”.
OMD has also toped RECMA’s Global rankings ahead of Starcom and UM (see below).
GroupM’s surge continues
GroupM’s rise under current boss Aimee Buchanan has been remarkable. In 2021, GroupM was positioned in fourth place with a total 19 points, and has risen to the top by adding 32 points over this period to its current score of 51 points.
The turnaround coincides with the merger of two its agencies, Essence and MediaCom, as well as leadership changes at EssenceMediacom (now led by Pippa Berlocher) and Mindshare (Maria Grivas), while Wavemaker continues to run a steady and successful ship with Peter Vogel at the helm.
In the past two years EssenceMediacom (2024) and Wavemaker (2023) won Media Agency of the Year at the B&T Awards.
“Each of our agencies has gone from strength to strength and delivered outstanding results in a tough year. I could not be prouder of what we have collectively achieved, and I look forward to rolling out the next phase of our plan,” Buchanan said.
“This ranking is a reflection of the wonderful clients and publishers we work with and their ongoing contribution to partnering with us to shape the next era of media.”
Twice a year, RECMA evaluates Australian media agencies’ performance based on their vitality and structure. The rankings are widely revered as a performance yardstick by the industry.
Vitality criteria assess an agency’s dynamism through various indicators, such as competitiveness in pitches over three years, the new business balance over the past 12 months, volume growth over three years, changes in top management, or awards won. Structure criteria includes criteria such as a focus on resources (number of experts in digital, data, and content) and the agencies’ client portfolios.
