Media agencies led by PHD and Initiative in the first half of the 2024 COMvergence report

Mumbai: According to COMvergence's most recent New Business Barometer study, PHD, Initiative, Zenith, and EssenceMediacom emerged as the top media agency in India for new business wins in the first half of 2024.Significant changes in the Indian advertising market were highlighted by the independent research and analytics consultancy, which focused on critical account movements and retentions between January and June.With a new business worth of $63 million, PHD emerged victorious among media agencies. Initiative came in second with a new business value of $46 million, followed by EssenceMediacom and Zenith, who tied for third place with $29 million apiece.With $83 million in new business, GroupM led all media groups, ahead of Omnicom Media Group ($54 million) and Mediabrands ($48 million).In the first half of 2024, COMvergence evaluated 72 Local pitches exceeded the global average of 65%, making up 78% of the total with a $276 million worth. New business was led by the automobile industry, and then by government spending associated with the national elections. The technology and e-commerce sectors also saw a lot of activity.

The amount of money spent on media in H1 2024 was lower than in H1 2023, which included large pitches from companies like Maruti and Reckitt. Nonetheless, H2 2024 is bright, with multiple significant pitches in the works, according to PRIyanka Mehra, COMvergence's regional director for South Asia. Over 1,740 media account movements and retentions were examined globally by COMvergence in 49 countries, accounting for $16.4 billion in media spending from 1,210 advertisers in the first half of 2024.media account movements and retentions in the Indian market, totaling $352 million in media spending.