India’s media agency landscape in 2025 was defined by aggressive new business wins, strong retentions, and a decisive tilt towards local mandates, according to the latest New Business Barometer report released by COMvergence.
At the group level, WPP Media emerged as the clear leader, securing $320 million in new business value. It was followed by Publicis Media with $223 million, while Omnicom Media Group (OMG) trailed at $98 million, rounding out the top three holding companies in the Indian market.
Among individual agencies, EssenceMediacom dominated the rankings with a substantial $233 million in new business value, creating a wide gap from its closest competitors. Wavemaker climbed to the second spot with $73 million, buoyed by key wins including the retention of Paytm and a major e-commerce mandate from Reckitt India towards the end of the year.
Starcom and PHD shared the third position, each securing $70 million in new business value, reflecting a tightly contested mid-tier. Havas Media followed in fourth place with $42 million, while OMD completed the top five with $28 million.
The report highlights that a mix of marquee advertisers significantly influenced the market dynamics in 2025. Key account movements included brands such as Godrej Group, Kenvue, Hero MotoCorp, Marico, Dabur, Mars, LinkedIn, Paytm, Muthoot Finance, Sony Pictures Network, Shaadi.com, and Suzuki Motorcycles.
In total, COMvergence tracked 129 account moves and retentions in India during the year, representing an estimated $1.06 billion in media spend. Notably, the market was heavily skewed towards domestic activity. Of these, 104 pitches, accounting for $835 million, were local in nature, while only 25 were global or multi-market assignments, contributing $227 million.
This translates to 79% of all pitches in India being local, significantly higher than the global average of 58%, underlining the continued importance of country-specific strategies and decision-making in the Indian advertising ecosystem.
The findings reinforce India’s unique position as a market where local dynamics, regional nuances, and in-market expertise continue to outweigh global alignment in media agency selection.
