Rankings recount: OMD pips EssenceMediacom after review
Kristiaan Kroon, OMG Australia COO
OMD has leapfrogged EssenceMediacom to claim the top spot in Recma’s latest Australian media agency rankings, following a review requested by Omnicom Media Group (OMG).
Figures seen by Mumbrella show OMD’s score rose two points, from 20 to 22, overtaking EssenceMediacom on 21. On the holding company side, OMG’s review lifted its score six points, from 36 to 42, putting it in joint second with Publicis, behind WPP, which retains the top spot.
The correction follows Omnicom flagging that Recma’s original Qualitative Domestic Report “didn’t accurately reflect [OMG’s] market position,” which had placed it third behind WPP and Publicis.
A spokesperson for OMG said: “We’re pleased to see the corrected data now reflect a more accurate picture of performance. Our teams work tirelessly to deliver sustained momentum and vitality for their clients and agencies, and it’s great to see that effort properly recognised.”
The original figures — which were circulated to Recma customers on 21 October and independently sighted by Mumbrella — gave WPP 56 points overall, placing it 14 points ahead of its nearest competitor.
Meanwhile, Publicis increased its score from 34 to 42 year-on-year, while OMG had initially been reported to drop 20% to 36. At the time, Mumbrella understood Recma’s rankings may not have fully accounted for several recent OMG group wins.
However, some industry observers say they were led to believe that all data in the initial Recma report had been thoroughly verified.
“While the initial data set was inaccurate, we want to acknowledge that WPP, which remains [the top holding company] acted in good faith when releasing its announcement based on the original report and communicated the data as it had been released,” OMG’s spokesperson added.
The announcement follows this year’s Comvergence and Recma annual Australian Billings and Market Share reports, in which WPP and OMG were ranked joint leaders. OMG highlighted its wins but was apparently unaware that its slight edge over WPP in the holdco rankings was within the report’s margin of error (and therefore was not a win, but a tie).
