Zenith Wins Australian Media Rankings With A$175M New Business

Publicis Groupe's Zenith has claimed first place in Comvergence's full-year 2025 Australian media agency rankings, winning and retaining US$120 million (A$175 million) in business throughout the year.

Zenith Leads Individual Agency Table With Travel and Auto Wins

WPP Media's Mindshare and EssenceMediacom followed in second and third place, with US$112 million and US$110 million respectively. Mindshare's result was driven entirely by new client acquisitions.

Independent agency Brainlabs ranked fourth nationally with US$64 million, ahead of Omnicom Media Group's PHD at US$53 million. Zenith's notable new account wins included Flight Centre and Honda, reflecting competitive strength in travel and automotive categories.

Under CEO Jason Tonelli, Zenith attributed its performance to client retention alongside new business growth. Publicis ANZ CEO Michael Rebelo cited "a relentless focus on our clients, capability enhancement, talent magnetism and innovation in data and technology" as the drivers behind the result.

Publicis Leads Holding Company Rankings; WPP Stays Competitive Locally

At the holding company level, Publicis Media recorded US$208 million in total Australian business, ahead of WPP Media at US$194 million. Independent network Nunn Media placed third with US$28 million, while Havas Media Network recorded US$25 million.

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WPP Media CEO Aimee Buchanan noted that "having both Mindshare and EssenceMediacom ranked joint number two reflected their teams' excellence," crediting investments in future-facing capabilities and leadership development.

Publicis Media also led globally in Comvergence's full-year 2025 barometer with US$7.7 billion in total new business worldwide, making Zenith's Australian leadership consistent with its parent network's global position.

Recma Qualitative Rankings Add a Second Layer to the Picture

Comvergence's quantitative results were released alongside Recma's qualitative assessment, which evaluates agencies on new business activity, capabilities, and client base quality.

In Recma's holding company rankings, WPP Media maintained the top score at 56 points. The newly combined Omnicom-IPG Mediabrands entity debuted in second place at 54 points. Publicis improved from 42 to 48 points, recording the strongest growth among all groups. Dentsu declined from 15 to 13 points, and Havas fell from three to two points.

At the individual agency level, EssenceMediacom retained its number one position in Recma's assessment, followed by OMD and Mindshare.

Independent and Consultancy Players Signal a Shifting Market

Brainlabs' fourth-place finish at US$64 million is a notable result for a non-holding-company agency in a market historically dominated by the major global networks.

Separately, Accenture Song secured the Optus media account in Australia, valued at A$45 million, in what was described as the consultancy's first major Australian media mandate. The win signals that consultancy-led models are beginning to compete at scale for accounts previously held exclusively by traditional media agencies.

The 2025 rankings confirm Zenith's multi-year momentum in the Australian market. The agency previously ranked first in Comvergence's Australian new business data in 2023, achieving 33.1% billings growth year-over-year in a market that contracted by 2.7% overall.