Mumbai: The ABBY Media Awards 2026 Powered by One Show announced its winners across the Media Agency of the Year and Network Agency of the Year categories, with EssenceMediacom and WPP Media emerging as the top performers in their respective segments.
A total of 97 metals and 582 points were distributed across the Media Agency rankings this year, reflecting intense competition among India’s leading media agencies and networks.
Media Agency of the Year: EssenceMediacom Leads the Field
EssenceMediacom secured the Media Agency of the Year title with 14 metals, including 5 Gold, 6 Silver and 3 Bronze, accumulating the highest tally of 88 points across all participating agencies.
Wavemaker India finished second with 76 points and 11 metals, comprising 7 Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze. Mindshare India and Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. shared the third position with 66 points each. While Mindshare India earned 10 metals, including 6 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze, Tribes Communications delivered one of the standout performances of the evening with the only Grand Prix award alongside 1 Gold, 5 Silver and 4 Bronze medals.
HiveMinds and Interactive Avenues both closed with 30 points each, followed by Madison Media and OMD at 20 points. Havas Media India and White Rivers Media secured 18 points each, while PHD and Sparkfoundry followed with 16 points apiece.
MudraMax, WPP OpenDoor and Zenith India each recorded 12 points, with Lodestar UM at 10 points. BC Web Wise, DentsuX, Roll Dot and Saatchi & Saatchi ended with 8 points each, while Hearts & Science secured 6 points. Innocean India, Laqshya Media Group, Omnicom Media, Rapport and Starcom completed the rankings with 4 points each.
The overall Media Agency category saw 1 Grand Prix, 33 Gold, 29 Silver and 34 Bronze metals awarded.
Network Agency of the Year: WPP Media Dominates
In the Network Agency of the Year category, WPP Media delivered a dominant performance, winning 37 metals, including 19 Gold, 9 Silver and 9 Bronze, to accumulate 242 points — the highest score in the category by a significant margin.
Omnicom Media secured second place with 108 points and 20 metals, comprising 2 Gold, 10 Silver and 8 Bronze. Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. ranked third with 66 points and 11 metals, including the only Grand Prix award in the competition.
Madison Communications claimed fourth place with 50 points and 8 metals, while Publicis Media followed with 40 points from 6 metals. Havas Media Network India earned 18 points, Dentsu Aegis Network secured 8 points, and Laqshya Media Group rounded out the network rankings with 4 points.
Navin Khemka, President Client Solutions WPP Media South Asia, added, “On behalf of WPP Media, I want to extend our heartfelt congratulations to our winning clients. Our collective success at Goafest, with WPP Media securing Network Agency of the Year and EssenceMediacom leading as Media Agency of the Year, underscores our commitment to delivering unparalleled strategic and creative solutions. Our collaboration with clients has been a source of pride and continuous learning, enabling us to push boundaries and deliver meaningful impact, and we eagerly look forward to what the future holds and many more years of innovative and creative partnerships together.”
These accolades from Goafest 2026 reflect the growing intensity of competition and our steadfast commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions and fostering successful partnerships that drive significant impact for our clients.
“We are truly honoured to receive the Media Abby for the Client of the Year award at Goafest 2026. This recognition is a testament to the collaborative spirit, bold creativity, and shared ambition that defines our partnership with EssenceMediacom. Together, we have pushed boundaries, embraced disruption, and built campaigns that connect with consumers in meaningful ways. We thank the jury for this recognition and dedicate it to the teams who made it possible.” said Shantanu Gangane, Sr. Director, Integrated Marketing Mix, INSWA, the Coca-Cola company.
“We are delighted to see this work being recognized at the ABBYs Goa Fest. This award is a reflection of the strong partnership between adidas and WPP Media, and the collective focus on combining strategic thinking, audience intelligence, and performance excellence to drive meaningful business outcomes for the brand,” added Bhawna Sikka, Sr. Director, Brand Adidas.
The ABBY Media Awards 2026 Powered by One Show continues to remain one of India’s key benchmarks for excellence in media strategy, innovation and effectiveness, recognising outstanding work across agencies, networks and media professionals.
