After a re-count and inaccuracies reported elsewhere, RECMA has, erm, rectified its Qualitative Domestic Report. Now, B&T can reveal for the first time the full standings and ranking.
OMD Australia has secured the number one position in the latest RECMA qualitative evaluation, narrowly edging out EssenceMediacom. At a group level, WPP Media are on top with 56 points, followed by Omnicom Media Group and Publicis Groupe in equal second with 42 points each.
OMD leads the Australian agency ranking with a total score of 22 points, narrowly ahead of EssenceMediacom in second place with 21 points — both agencies achieved the ‘Dominant Profile’ status for scoring above 20. Mindshare ranks third with 18 points, followed by Wavemaker (17 points) and PHD (16 points).
Under the leadership of group boss Aimee Buchanan, WPP Media agencies recorded one of the fastest increases in quali points across 45 countries, rising from 27 points (fourth) in 2022 to 56 points and first in 2025.
Publicis also showed strong progress, rising to 42 points and a joint second, up from 28 points and third in 2022. It’s latest RECMA ranking has benefitted by the addition of Atomic 212° to its stable.
After a challenging 2022, dentsu has demonstrated a rebound over the past two years, driven by notable wins including Ferrero and eBay (iProspect).
On the new business front, WPP Media leads the race over the past year, driven by major wins including Suncorp, Lion, MAX and MG Motor, among others.
It is followed by Omnicom Media Group, with Reckitt and Bunnings, and Publicis Media with Paramount Viacom, Mars and HBF.
“This success is a direct result of the hard work and passion of our people, and the trust our clients place in us. I’m so proud of this, and of the work Maria, Pippa and Peter do leading and strengthening our relationships with our clients,” WPP Media chief executive Aimee Buchanan said in a release.
“We are deeply committed to continuing to invest in capabilities that our clients need to thrive in the future, from advanced data and technology to innovative strategic commerce and content solutions. We’ve achieved this together, and we remain focused on delivering exceptional value and growth for our clients.”
Real RECMA figures
RECMA’s qualitative evaluation is the market benchmark that media agencies use to assess their performance against peers. B&T partners with RECMA to help it assess media agency performance for its annual B&T Agency Scorecards.
RECMA’s rankings were inaccurately reported by sections of the Australian trade press in October.
Omnicom’s figures were not accurately represented, leading to reports that OMD and OMG were ranked lower than their real position in market.
RECMA’s qualitative rankings are based on two key dimensions: Vitality and Structure.
Vitality gauges an agency’s momentum across nine indicators, including competitiveness in pitches over the past three years, new business performance over the past 12 months, volume growth over three years, changes and stability in top management, and media industry awards.
The Structure assessment focuses on an agency’s resources — such as the number of experts in digital, data, and content — as well as the analysis of its client portfolio (capability to win and retain Big clients, number of locally headquartered clients in Australia, Exposure to Top 3 clients etc.).
Agencies earn points that reflect their strengths and weaknesses relative to other players across all criteria, resulting in an overall ranking and a profile classification ranging from ‘Dominant’ to ‘Average’.
RECMA told B&T that the goal is not to identify which agency wins the most clients lately (that’s the New Business Balance), nor which is the biggest in size (that’s the Activity Volume), nor even which is the most competitive in pitches (that’s Compitches).
