Publicis Media’s H1 Crown — $218 Million Tops India’s New-Business Barometer
COMvergence’s India New Business Barometer puts Publicis Media first among groups — Wavemaker still leads the agency table.
Mumbai, September 2026: Publicis Media has taken the top slot among media agency groups in India for net new-business value in the first half of 2026, booking $218 million, according to COMvergence’s New Business Barometer. WPP Media followed at $198 million, with Omnicom Media Group a distant third at $18 million across January–June.
On the individual agency table, WPP’s Wavemaker still led India with $147 million in net new-business value. Publicis shops filled the next two places — Zenith at $126 million and Starcom at $71 million — while Initiative ($29 million) and Motivator ($21 million) rounded out the notable runners.
COMvergence tracked 62 account moves and retentions representing an estimated $838 million in media spend. Domestic reviews dominated: 46 local pitches accounted for $719 million (86%) of assessed spend, versus 16 global or multi-market pitches at $119 million (14%). Names shaping the half included Reckitt, L’Oréal, Wipro, AMFI, Netflix, JSW Motors, Flipkart, Jaguar Land Rover, Abbott Nutrition, HP, Red Bull and Skechers.
The split underlines how India’s media new-business market still turns on local pitches more than global coordination — even as the same holding-company brands keep trading the same big consumer, tech, auto and streaming accounts.
Marketing take
Group crowns and agency crowns can diverge in the same half. Publicis won the holding-company race; Wavemaker kept the shop-level lead — a reminder that India’s pitch market still rewards both network muscle and the agency brand that actually walks into the room.
