Exclusive: MediaCom Top Media Agency for 2020 New Business

In a year where new business was as important as ever to withstand the financial impacts of the pandemic, there was a lot more opportunity for media agencies to succeed than their creative counterparts. Global data research consultancy group COMvergence released the results of its 2020 Media Agency New Business Barometer today, tracking 2020's top agencies and networks of the 3,580 media account moves and retentions seen in 46 countries. Unsurprisingly, given the pause in reviews by many clients in the initial months of the pandemic, there was less up for grabs than in previous years. The media account moves and retentions tracked by COMvergence in 2020 totaled around $22.2 billion in spending, around 11% of the $203 billion in the group's global agency billings. That number was down about $4 billion from 2019's total. Incumbent agencies also fared better than in previous years, with an average retention rate of 31%, compared to 25% in 2019. Global Media Agency of the Year MediaCom Helped Clients See the Bigger Picture During Crisis A more global approach to relationships Another trend of the year seemed to be more clients choosing to skip the review process when renewing or consolidating media agency partnerships, according to COMvergence founder and CEO Olivier Gauthier. Gauthier cited two examples: Uber's decision to consolidate its global media buying and planning duties with WPP's MediaCom, and Heineken consolidating the majority of its global media account with Dentsu. Gauthier also noted a trend of clients moving to a more integrated, global approach to media agency relationships more broadly. Clients who previously worked with separate media agencies for different regions opted for reviews consolidating across multiple regions, he said. Global clients ran integrated pitches at the holding company level, including ongoing reviews for Coca-Cola and Philips, Gauthier added. There was less up for grabs than in previous years. Notably, Adweek Global Media Agency of the Year MediaCom topped COMvergence's list for global new business performance in 2020, with just over $1.6 billion in new business value globally, including $489 million in billings from retentions. Large global reviews and account moves including Duracell, Hasbro, Uber and Walgreens Boots Alliance were key contributors. MediaCom topped the list. Wavemaker, Havas and GroupM make waves Fellow GroupM agency—and Adweek U.S. Media Agency of the Year—Wavemaker was close behind, at over $1.4 billion, including $497 million from retentions. Havas Media took the third spot with over $1 billion. It was a position largely attributable to the nearly $700 million in billings from Havas Media retaining U.S. media responsibilities for pharmaceutical company Sanofi–the largest media review globally according to COMvergence, at over $1 billion. (Omnicom Media Group was appointed as global media agency of record for Sanofi, awarding the account outside the U.S.) WPP's GroupM also took the top spot among the six large global media agency groups, boasting over $4.8 billion in new business value—nearly $3 billion ahead of runner-up Dentsu. Publicis Media and Omnicom Media Group were close behind Dentsu at nearly $1.7 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively. WPP's GroupM took the top spot among the six large global media agency groups. US is a third of all media spending The U.S. comprised around a third of all media spending at play in 2020, at approximately $7.3 billion. Havas Media led COMvergence's barometer for the U.S. on the strength of the Sanofi retention, with a net new business value of around $693 million, followed by Publicis Media's Starcom at $603 million. GroupM's MediaCom and Wavemaker were close behind at $587 million and $554 million, respectively. Excluding retentions, the agencies' totals look very different, with Havas Media at -$7 million and Starcom at $56 million, according to COMvergence. Excluding retentions, the top agencies for new business in the U.S. last year were Wavemaker ($481 million), Initiative ($452 million) and MediaCom ($431 million). Havas Media led COMvergence's barometer for the U.S. on the strength of the Sanofi retention. MediaCom Hires Execs to Lead Investments, People

Media Agencies

Exclusive: MediaCom Tops COMvergence's 2020 Media Agency New Business Barometer

WPP's GroupM was the top media agency network

Erik Oster

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Erik Oster