WPP holds top spot in Recma rankings as Publicis overtakes OMG
WPP Media ANZ CEO Aimee Buchanan
WPP has maintained its position at the top of Recma’s latest qualitative rankings of Australian media agencies, while Publicis has edged past Omnicom Media Group (OMG).
Figures released by WPP – independently verified by Mumbrella – show the holding company scored 56 points, a total assigned by the research firm based on “vitality” and “structure” across the holding companies.
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. At the time, OMG highlighted its wins but did not acknowledge the shared top spot with WPP Media.
Released today, the second edition of Recma’s Qualitative Domestic Report for 2025 shows that WPP’s score increased by almost 10% year-on-year from 51.
In a press release, WPP attributed a recent win at the 2025 MFA Award, as well as new client wins for Amazon, Specsavers, Australian Retirement Trust, MG, HBO MAX, Australian Labor Party, Lion and Suncorp.
“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,” WPP Media ANZ CEO Aimee Buchanan said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Publicis has surpassed OMG in the 2025 rankings, increasing its score from 34 to 42 year-on-year, buoyed by several wins, including Flight Centre for Zenith, HBF for Starcom, and Tennis Australia for Atomic.
OMG, which is in the process of finalising its global acquisition of IPG Mediabrands, fell to 36 points, marking a two-year decline of 20%. However, Mumbrella understands the Recma ranking may not account for several recent OMG group wins.
Mediabrands extended its two-year slide, closing 2025 on 14 points – down 56% from the end of 2023 and 26% from last year’s 19 points.
As such, Dentsu has crept ahead of Mediabrands with 15 points, while Havas closed off the rankings with two points.
At an agency level, WPP-owned EssenceMediacom claimed the top spot, followed by OMG-owned OMD. WPP’s Mindshare and Wavemaker were placed third and fourth, while PHD took fifth.
Formerly independent agency Atomic 212, which was absorbed into Publicis in January, was ranked joint sixth alongside holdco peer Zenith and IPG Mediabrands’ Initiative.
Publicis’ Spark Foundry and Starcom closed out the top 10.
