GroupM leads India’s media wins with $447M in new business, OMG follows at $183M: COMvergence 2024

According to the 'New Business Barometer for India (2024)' report by COMvergence, GroupM has maintained its leadership position among media agency groups, securing new business worth over $447 million in 2024.

In the same year, Omnicom Media Group won over $183 million worth of new business value, while Publicis Media Group reported a over $71 million new business value. COMvergence assessed 157 account moves and retentions in India, with total estimated media spend reaching $1.1 billion.

According to the report, local pitches accounted for 62% of total pitches, aligning with the global trend of 60% for country-specific media account decisions.

GroupM’s major wins included Amazon and Tata Consumer Products, Omnicom Media Group’s major account wins included Tata Motors, Volkswagen, and HDFC Life; and Publicis Media Group’s new accounts included Kenvue and Relaxo Footwear.

In terms of agencies that played a crucial role in shaping the country’s media investments and strategy, Wavemaker, Spark Foundry, PHD, Madison Media, and EssenceMediacom led the ranking list.

On a global scale, COMvergence report tracked more than 3,900 account moves and retentions across 48 countries, which was up 11% from the prior year

COMvergence found that $39 billion in media spending was reviewed globally in 2024, and Publicis Media and OMG collectively accounted for nearly one-third of the total global spending.

OMG led all media groups with $7.7 billion in total new business value on the back of the large account wins including Amazon in the U.S. ($1.2 billion) and Gap ($600 million), and $4 billion in retained billings. More than half of the $4 billion came from Omnicom’s retention of Volkswagen, which totaled $2.6 billion and was retained by PHD.

The average retention rate across all the agencies tracked in the COMvergence report was 32%. OMG’s retention rate was 74%, followed by Publicis Media with around $6.5 billion total in new business, including retentions and WPP's GroupM came in third with over $4.5 billion (on the back of its retention of Unilever’s global business and its Johnson & Johnson account win).