India records 62 media account moves worth $838M in H1 2026: COMvergence

India's media agency market saw 62 account moves and retentions during the first half of 2026, involving an estimated $838 million in media spend, according to COMvergence's New Business Barometer for India.

The January-June period was driven largely by local activity. Of the 62 account movements assessed by COMvergence, 46 were local pitches representing $719 million, while 16 were global or multi-market pitches representing $119 million in new-business value. Local activity therefore accounted for approximately 86% of the total assessed spend, compared with 14% for global and multi-market activity.

The account movements covered a wide range of categories and included Reckitt, L’Oréal, Wipro, AMFI, Netflix, JSW Motors, Flipkart, Jaguar Land Rover, Abbott Nutrition, Hewlett Packard, Red Bull and Skechers.

Several of these mandates represented sizeable shifts in the market. Flipkart moved its integrated media mandate to Starcom at the beginning of the year, with the business estimated at ₹700-750 crore. The mandate covers integrated media planning and buying across the Flipkart Group.

L’Oréal India also shifted its media mandate to Zenith during the period after a multi-agency review. The business had previously been handled by Wavemaker, with industry estimates placing the mandate at around ₹900 crore or higher.

Alongside competitive pitches, the first half also saw advertisers consolidate existing relationships. Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting brought its Consumer Care media mandate under Wavemaker, covering media strategy, investment and activation across traditional and digital channels.

The movement was reflected in the agency rankings as well. Wavemaker led individual agencies with a net new-business value of +$147 million, followed by Zenith at +$126 million and Starcom at +$71 million. Initiative and Motivator followed with +$29 million and +$21 million, respectively.