PHD holds the top spot in the final APAC media league of the year

PHD maintained its top spot in the final APAC media league of the year, with $1,214.7 million in Campaign Red’s measure of new business billings, which takes into account wins, retentions and losses tracked by COMvergence. 

 

PHD had a steady run throughout the year, holding its leading position, which was bolstered by Q1 and Q2 retentions in China, including SAIC Volkswagen, Volkswagen Group and HP (Hewlett Packard).   

 

PHD has managed the SAIC Volkswagen account since 2020, and its renewal of the $310 million contract in Q1, along with the retention of the $110 million Volkswagen Group account in Q2, has solidified the agency's leadership position in the APAC region. In November, PHD also won the Bosch China media account, valued at $35 million from incumbent Carat. The win, following a Q2 pitch, took effect in January 2025. And to round off the year, there was a confidential win in the ANZ market in December valued at $69.2 million. 

 

This contrasts a dramatic shift in power at the top compared to 2023 when PHD finished at the seventh position in 2023 ($246 million). In comparison, Wavemaker dominated the table last year but finished sixth this year with $314.5 million in new business billings, considerably down on 2023's $805.1 million. However, Wavemaker shot up the rankings from 9th position in December to finish 6th in the year-end league. The shop retained the $63.6 million account for Tata Consumer Products in India in December, contributing to its jump. 

 

Meanwhile, Publicis-owned Spark Foundry finished second overall with $1,028.9 million in billings. This was a significant improvement on 2023's performance when the shop languished in 14th position. Pivotal wins throughout the year for Spark Foundry included the $400 million Yum Brands (China) media win and Unilever (APAC).

 

Starcom's steady rise from 10th in 2023 to third in 2024 reflects consistent growth and successful new business efforts. Their wins with Wyeth Nutrition (China), Lego (global), and Dyson (China) have clearly paid off. 

 

OMD moved from fifth in December's ranking to fourth at year-end, mainly thanks to newly reported wins from earlier in the year. In December, the shop also won the Australian Dental Boutique account worth $3.1 million. 

 

Rounding out the top five is GroupM. Despite recent reputational challenges in China—and losing key accounts such as Yum on the back of a bribery scandal—GroupM rebounded strongly with its $311.2 million mega Amazon win in APAC and EMEA in September. However, EssenceMediacom dropped from 11th place in 2023 to outside the top 20 in 2024. Despite securing accounts with Uber, Vivo and Google in 2023, the agency's overall performance did not maintain its previous standing.

 

 

Further highlights

 

In a reversal of fortunes, having finished in second position in 2023 with estimated YTD net billings of $445, Mindshare dropped out of the final league table this year, not making the top 20. In December, Mindshare lost the global Volvo account, worth $52.2m in APAC, to IPG’s Initiative. Mindshare also lost Haidilao Hot Pot (worth $20m) to Publicis’s Starcom. 

 

Mindshare's exit from the table meant that one new agency entered the rankings—Beacon/Zenith. Bolstered by Spotify's win in Japan earlier in the year, the shop was moved up because Mindshare dropped out of the final table.

 

It was a solid year for independent agencies in Australia who stood out for their steady progress in these rankings. Among them, Nunn Media finished in 15th position, bolstered by a Q1 win of Spotlight Retail Group worth $59.5 million. The agency founded by Matt Nunn most recently acquired Sydney-based digital agency Indago Digital in early November. Atomic 212 finished one spot behind in the 16th position, having expanded its remit with O’Brien Glass, adding paid search and SEO to its existing main media planning and buying role. The win worth $0.2 million sees the agency hold firm in the top 20 and caps off a strong year in terms of new business. 

 

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