WPP Media has topped RECMA’s most recent Qualitative Domestic Report in the Australian market.
WPP Media, led by Aimee Buchanan, increased its national score to 59 points, extending its lead at the top of the pile.
All three WPP Media agency brands also occupied the top three positions for individual agencies in Australia.
EssenceMediacom ranked first with 22 points and is the only agency in the market classified as ‘Dominant’, Wavemaker came in at second with 19 points and Mindshare rounded out the podium on 18 points. Both Wavemaker and Mindshare were profiled as ‘High’.
“This result is something we’re incredibly proud of because it reflects the collective strength of our people, our agencies and the partnerships we have with our clients. To have EssenceMediacom, Wavemaker and Mindshare occupying the top three positions, while WPP Media extends its overall leadership, is a powerful recognition of what we are building together,” said Buchanan.
“But what excites me most is the momentum behind the result. We’re continuing to win and grow with ambitious clients, while investing in the capabilities that will shape the future of our industry, from AI, data and technology to commerce, content and new forms of influence. We’re building WPP Media for what our clients will need next, and this recognition from RECMA gives us even greater confidence in that direction.”
In the Group Quali-scores, B&T understands both Omnicom Media and Publicis Media scored 51 — eight points shy of WPP Media.
The latest report also reflects strong new business momentum across WPP Media. Mindshare leads Australia’s one-year Net New Business Balance, driven by wins including, Asahi and Jaguar Land Rover.
EssenceMediacom recorded an above-market-average new business balance, supported by local wins including Michael Hill, whilst Wavemaker added Insignia Financial, Novo Nordisk and South Australian Tourism Commission.
WPP Media also won Suncorp and retained L’Oreal with dedicated bespoke units. RECMA identifies Suncorp, as the largest of the top five client moves impacting this year’s study, with reported spend of $128 million.
This performance also had WPP on the top of Australia’s COMvergence rankings for the first half of 2026 showing strong new wins and client retentions.
B&T contacted Omnicom, Publicis, Dentsu and Havas for comment.
Globally, Omnicom Media topped the global rankings, as well as the regional rankings across APAC, North America, EMEA and LATAM.
As RECMA notes in its report, Omnicom Media “is emerging as the new industry powerhouse”. The leader in Activity Volume/Billings with approximately 30 per cent industry share, Omnicom Media also leads this Diagnostic Report with just under 35 per cent of quali-share.
Following Omnicom was Publicis with a Quali-Share of 24 per cent, WPP Media (16.9 per cent), dentsu (15.2 per cent) and Havas Media (8.1 per cent)
The Dominant profile is awarded in a market where an agency significantly outperforms its competitors across multiple Diagnostic criteria. In the current report, Omnicom Media agency brands were dominant in 19 markets – more than any other media group – encompassing all four regions.
“These results are a powerful validation that our Growth by Design strategy – built on the simple premise of bringing together our singular advantages in scale, data, identity, commerce, and talent to create a competitive advantage for our clients – is working,” said Omnicom Media CEO Florian Adamski in a statement.
“Leading RECMA’s global and all four regional rankings for the second consecutive time since the integration of Omnicom and IPG’s media groups, and with three agencies among the global top five, demonstrates the strength of our connected capabilities and our ability to consistent translate them into outsize growth for the world’s leading brands.”
The RECMA ranking lands amidst a winning streak for Omnicom Media, which in October alone won the media business for The Coca-Cola Company in North America; grocery retailer Lidl across Europe; the global assignment for Lavazza coffee; The British Council; and the L’Oréal business in the DACH region. Adding this 30-day sprint to a 2026 global and regional win record that already included Adidas, Aviva, CVS, Delta, Dyson, IBM, Novo Nordisk, Uber, and Xiaomi.
OMD, PHD and Initiative were among the top five best performing global media agencies, with OMD topping the ranking for the 12th consecutive report.
Hearts United – OM’s newly launched agency that brought together Hearts & Science and Mediahub – and PHD were both among the agencies that showed the greatest increase in quali-share scores since the last report as well as over a three-year window, with Hearts United topping this ranking and PHD close behind at number three
RECMA is a report for analysing media agency performance, the bi-annual Diagnostics report is based on the evaluation of approximately 700 agencies in 45 markets.
Utilising 19 KPIs to evaluate vitality and structure, the report offers an assessment index that goes beyond typical quantitative metrics such as new business wins or billings volume alone to also consider criteria such as client portfolio and relationship stability; digital, data and content resources; and homogeneity across geographies.
Participating agencies are ranked both numerically by “quali-points” and by the following profiles: Dominant, High Profile, Very Good Profile, Good Profile, and Average Profile.
