Publicis and OMD shine at SEA's Agency of the Year

Campaign's Agency of the Year 2024 awards concluded last night (December 10) at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia in Singapore, celebrating remarkable achievements across the region. The event honoured standout performers across Singapore, Malaysia and regional Southeast Asia, following the earlier ceremony in Jakarta for other Southeast Asian markets including Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and the Philippines.

The night belonged to Publicis Groupe, with its agencies—including Leo Burnett, BBH, Digitas, Starcom, Publicis Chemistry and Performics—collectively amassing more than 30 awards across creative, media, and digital categories. Meanwhile, on the media side, OMD secured five wins. 

In the creative arena, BBH Singapore's claimed the title of Singapore Creative Agency of the Year, taking the win that TBWA garnered in 2023 and Ogilvy in 2022. BBH's victory was complemented by their wins in brand experience and culture categories.

BBH wins Singapore Creative Agency of the Year 2024

Leo Burnett too held on to its Southeast Asia Creative Agency of the Year title and secured the Digital Innovation Agency of the Year title, which is comparable to Mindshare's win of Digital Agency of the Year in 2023. The agency's strength extended to Singapore where it secured Silver in the creative category, while also showing particular strength in Malaysia with Gold for Creative Agency of the Year.

In the media realm, OMD made a turnaround from 2022 where Mindshare held sway with both Media and Digital Agency of the Year titles. OMD's 2024 performance shone as it secured Southeast Asia Media Agency of the Year and other victories in Singapore. 

OMD takes home Southeast Asia Media Agency of the Year

Digital innovation saw significant restructuring this year. Beyond Leo Burnett's regional Digital Innovation Agency title, OMD Singapore secured Gold in the Singapore market-specific category, followed by Leo Burnett's Silver. McCann Worldgroup impressed by securing Gold for Southeast Asia B2B Marketing Agency of the Year, followed by Transmission's Silver and HEA's Bronze. In the ecommerce space, Performics dominated with Gold for both Southeast Asia Performance Agency and Programmatic Agency of the Year, while Pmax (Vietnam) secured Silver and a Gold as Southeast Asia's E-commerce Agency of the Year. Havas Ortega took Bronze in the performance category and a silver in Southeast Asia Programmatic Agency of the Year. Havas Media (Singapore) also took home a Bronze for Southeast Asia Programmatic Agency of the Year.

The rise of specialist categories saw Jack Morton Worldwide securing Gold for Brand Experience Agency of the Year, followed by BBH Singapore's Silver. Digitas won Gold for Customer Engagement Agency of the Year, with GrowthOps Asia clinching the Silver. UM (Universal McCann) also had a notable showing, clinching Gold for Consultancy of the Year and Southeast Asia Data Analytics Agency of the Year, alongside strong regional performances with Silver and Bronze in Singapore. 

UM wins Malaysia Media Agency of the Year

Among independents, The Secret Little Agency defended its Singapore Independent Agency of the Year title, with Uncanny taking Silver and Goodstuph Singapore Bronze. Moonfolks demonstrated notable success as well, securing recognition across various categories including Silvers for Event Marketing Agency of the Year and Southeast Asia Brand Design Agency of the Year, and Bronzes for Southeast Asia Brand Experience Agency of the Year and Southeast Asia Integrated Marketing Agency of the Year.

In the people categories, TBWA SMP's Melvin M. Mangada won Agency Growth Leader of the Year, while Publicis Groupe's Kate Bayona-Garcia was recognised as Agency Head of the Year. The talent pool expanded with Starcom's Marian Magturo winning Channel/Engagement Planner of the Year, while Leo Burnett's Ravi Shanker secured Creative Leader of the Year. Young talent shone with Leo Burnett's Nuttapol Yamkaweetrakul as Young Achiever of the Year.

The PR category saw AKA Asia emerge victorious in Singapore, followed by Edelman's Silvers in Singapore and Malaysia, and DeVries Global's Bronze in Singapore.

For the full winners list, see here.