Initiatives scores top spot in Comvergence New Business Barometer H1 2025 rankings
Initiative topped the Comvergence New Business Barometer H1 2025 rankings.
The announcement:
Initiative has been ranked #1 globally in the COMvergence New Business Barometer H1 2025 rankings, marking a significant turnaround for the IPG Mediabrands agency. The agency also secured the top position in North America and leads new business rankings in six markets worldwide: the US, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Greece, and Portugal.
The winning streak began in December 2024 with Initiative’s capture of Volvo’s $500 million global media account, ending WPP agency Mindshare’s 25-year relationship with the Swedish automaker. This momentum continued with major H1 2025 wins including Paramount streaming services and AI company Anthropic, while successfully retaining global pharmaceutical giant Merck and key clients in LATAM, Falabella and DiDi.
The COMvergence report also highlights Initiative’s strong local market performance, with notable wins including Iliad (Italy), Orange (Belgium), Walmart and Cencosud (Chile), Netflix and Pizza Hut (Australia).
The COMvergence report shows Initiative achieved a Total New Business Value of $1.4 billion globally, with North America alone generating $1.1 billion in new business value. The turnaround comes after Initiative two lost major accounts in Amazon’s streaming and retail business and LEGO in 2024.
Initiative’s recent work includes Anthropic’s first major advertising campaign “Keep Thinking,” launched this week as a multimillion-dollar global effort with creative by Mother London and Initiative handling media strategy, planning, and buying. The campaign positions Claude as the AI tool for problem solvers and represents Anthropic’s first entry into paid advertising.
This comeback follows Stacy DeRiso’s appointment as global brand president in June 2025. DeRiso has been instrumental in helping to shape Initiative’s vision and strategy, particularly through the agency’s “Fame & Flow” framework, driving growth for the network.
“This ranking reflects the resilience of our teams and the strength of our ‘Fame & Flow’ model in action,” said DeRiso. “After facing our share of challenges last year, our people doubled down on what makes Initiative unique – we are living up to our name every day, and these results validate that approach and position us for strong continued momentum.”
Jo McAlister, CEO, Initiative Australia, added: “Australia has been a big part of this global momentum, with landmark wins like Netflix and Aspen Pharmacare adding to our growth story this year. Just as important has been the strength of our client partnerships – retaining long-standing clients in a tough market is a true testament to the trust we’ve built across our client portfolio. This combination of new opportunities and enduring relationships sets us up for a strong future, both locally and as part of Initiative’s global network. It’s a great time to be in media.”
Initiative’s #1 global ranking is based on COMvergence’s comprehensive analysis of 1,840 media account moves and retentions across 49 countries in the first half of 2025, representing $17.6 billion in total media spend reviewed.
Source: Mohr PR
