Carat led all Canadian media agencies with more than $72 million in new business billings in 2023 (all figures in U.S. dollars), while Publicis Media and Omnicom Media Group also had strong years, according to the latest report from the research firm COMvergence.
The “2023 Canada New Business Barometer” was compiled using account moves reported by industry news websites, and validated by more than 900 agencies across 48 countries that have agreed to supply COMvergence with billing information.
The report is based on 107 Canadian media account reviews with a combined $775 million in billings tracked by COMvergence, which is slightly fewer than the 111 reviews completed in 2022.
Stephan Argent, the founder of pitch consultancy Listenmore which tracks agency reviews in Canada, recently predicted a busy year for new business, saying it could match 2023, which he likened to a “singles mixer on steroids.”
Media agency leaders contacted by Campaign agreed with Argent’s assessment. Cairns Oneil president Devon MacDonald, for example, said he is seeing a “high volume” of new business pitches early in the year.
“The call for change that we hear from most brands is around improving results and finding a new partner that they can work with,” he said of this increased activity. “Which means in turn that they may not be working well, or getting results, with their current partner.”
Publicis Media CEO Alastair Taylor said that because media is typically the second or third most expensive cost for companies after payroll and, in some cases, raw materials, looking at media agency partners potentially presents a “quick way to respond to the market reality.”
Carat’s strong showing in 2023 was led by its April win of a sizeable piece of the Telus business, one of four pieces of net new business last year. The report also includes accounts that were successfully defended by the incumbent agencies.
Asked to provide some insight into Carat’s success, Sarah Thompson, president, media for parent company dentsu Canada, attributed it to a focus on the quality of media investment and a “relentless obsession” with Canadians and their media habits.
It’s an approach that ensures heavy scrutiny of waste in media as well as how Canadians navigate the increasingly complex media environment. “We are focused on the craft of media investment strategies,” said Thompson. “And as such, we unlock value for our clients with our partners and how media really does drive business forward.”
Interpublic’s UM won approximately $66 million in new business, including Kimberly-Clark, General Mills, and Irving Tissue, while Touché landed US$61 million in new billings, led by Uber. It also successfully defended both the HSBC and Tourisme Montréal accounts and did not lose any accounts.
At a group level, Publicis Media led all companies with approximately $138 million in new and retained business. Its 15 new business wins included Home Hardware and LVMH, while its six client retentions included Lactalis and Kellanova.
In an email to Campaign, Taylor attributed part of the organization’s success to what he described as “significant” investment in new data and tech that has been playing out “really well” for the company in new business pitches.
“Our privacy laws in Canada make data parity across markets a tricky proposition, and we are some ways towards cracking that nut with solutions built in Canada, for Canada,” he said.
Omnicom Media Group welcomed US$141 million in net new business last year, tops among all agency groups, while Dentsu was third.
