The sixth edition of the Agency of the Year Global awards has revealed its shortlist, with agencies from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region performing strongly against global competition.
Eighteen entries from the region have been shortlisted for the Campaign AOY Global awards 2026, marking a significant increase from nine shortlisted entries in the previous year.
Publicis Groupe Middle East leads the MENA region with six shortlists. TBWA\RAAD has been shortlisted in five categories and Impact BBDO is spotted three times. Omnicom Media MENA has been shortlisted in one category while MCN’s UM Egypt under Omnicom also claimed a spot on the shortlist. Independent agency Gambit Communications has also been featured twice on the shortlist.
Overall, there were entries from 85 companies from 16 countries for this year’s Agency of the Year Global awards ranging from independent shops to global networks, demonstrating the programme’s commitment to recognising excellence, regardless of scale.
Agencies in the UK hold 51 shortlist nominations; those from the US have secured a total of 33 nominations; the United Arab Emirates has scored 17; Australia has garnered 14; Canada is in the running for 10; and Egypt has secured one nomination.
Meanwhile, entries from New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore each have multiple nods on the shortlist.
John McDonald, Chief Marketing Officer of HSBC, is chair of the judging panel for Campaign’s Agency of the Year Global Awards 2026.
The process is independently audited by MediaSense, and the judging panel also includes marketers such as: James Kissell, Global Head of Marketing Operations and Globalisation at Fujitsu Global; Sinem Soydar, Global Head of Digital and Social Media at Shell; Kevin Mercer, Executive Director of Creative Strategy at media giant Comcast; and Zeeshan Khan, Head of Marketing at Legoland Malaysia Resort.
Fourteen jury members from the region also feature on the jury panel. To see all the jurors, click here.
Winners will be revealed at Campaign’s Agency of the Year Global Awards ceremony at London’s Carlton Tower Jumeirah on Thursday 18 June, timed to be the week before Cannes Lions.
Find out more at the Agency of the Year Global website here.
See the full list of last year’s winners here: Campaign Agency of the Year Global Awards.
The awards are open to individual agencies operating in a single market or as part of a wider agency network, with more than 30 categories for agencies and individuals. The global awards are a standalone scheme that operates alongside Campaign’s Agency of the Year in local markets.
Agency of the Year Global – the 2026 shortlist:
Agency Categories:
BRAND EXPERIENCE AGENCY
- Akcelo
- Amplify
- George P. Johnson Experience Marketing
- Imagination
- Jack Morton
- Leo Taiwan
- Momentum Worldwide
- Salt Productions
BRANDING AGENCY
- Bold Scandinavia
- Design Bridge and Partners
- JKR
- Landor
- Manifest
- WMH&I
CONSULTANCY
- Edelman
- Fiftyfive5, part of Accenture Song
- Manifest
CREATIVE AGENCY
- Amplify
- McCann
- Mother
- Pablo
- Rethink
- TBWA\RAAD
- Thinkerbell
- VCCP
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AGENCY
- Apparent
- OLIVER | The Brandtech Group
- RAPP
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AGENCY
- Apadmi
- Critical Mass
- OLIVER | The Brandtech Group
- RAPP
- R/GA
- Starcom Taiwan
HEALTHCARE & PHARMA AGENCY
- dna Communications
- FleishmanHillard
- Klick Health
IN-HOUSE AGENCY
- The Kitchen North America
- U-Studio | OLIVER
INDEPENDENT CREATIVE/ADVERTISING AGENCY
- Howatson+Company
- Motion Sickness
- Pablo
- Rethink
- Special US
- VCCP
- Whalar Group
- Zulu Alpha Kilo
INDEPENDENT MEDIA AGENCY
- Croud
- Just Global
- NP Digital
INDEPENDENT PR AGENCY
- Gambit Communications
- Manifest
- The Romans
INTEGRATED MARKETING AGENCY
- Amplify
- Apparent
- Gravity Global
- Manifest
- Pablo
- TBWA\RAAD
- Thinkerbell
- VCCP
MEDIA AGENCY
- Atomic 212°
- iProspect
- Initiative
- Just Global
- MG OMD
- PHD UK
- Universal Media Egypt
- Zenith Taiwan
PERFORMANCE AGENCY
- Atomic 212°
- HAVAS MARKET UK
- M+C Saatchi Performance
- NP Digital
- RAPP
PR AGENCY
- Citizen Relations
- FleishmanHillard
- Gambit Communications
- Manifest
- The Romans
- Vector Inc.
- Weber Shandwick
SOCIAL MEDIA AGENCY
- Billion Dollar Boy
- The Goat Agency
- We Are Social
- Whalar Group
Network Categories:
BEST NETWORK: MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
- IMPACT BBDO
- Omnicom Media MENA
- Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East
BEST NETWORK: ASIA PACIFIC
- Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song
- Golin APAC
- Special
- We. Communications
BEST NETWORK: EUROPE
To be announced on the night.
BEST NETWORK: LATIN AMERICA
To be announced on the night.
BEST NETWORK: NORTH AMERICA
To be announced on the night.
GLOBAL NETWORK
- Droga5, part of Accenture Song
- HAVAS MEDIA NETWORK
- HAVAS Red
- Imagination
- McCann
- Publicis Production
- Serviceplan Group
- VML
People and Team Categories:
ACCOUNT PERSON
- Ashley Bolt, Havas Arena Media UK
- Geraldine Ridgway, MG OMD
AGENCY GROWTH LEADER
- Stephanie Brimacombe, VCCP
- Sandeep Mark Joseph, Ampersand Advisory
- Karen Pugliese, Weber Shandwick
- George Rex, Publicis Production
AGENCY LEADER – CREATIVE/ADVERTISING
- Gil G. Chua, GGC Group* (the ongoing rebranding of DDB Group Philippines)
- Julian Douglas and Michael Sugden, VCCP
- Nathalie Gevresse, Publicis Groupe Middle East
- Aaron Starkman, Rethink
- Reda Raad, TBWA\RAAD
- Dani Richa, IMPACT BBDO
HEAD OF AGENCY
- Bassel Kakish, Publicis Groupe Middle East, North Africa & Turkey
- Paul Knight, PHD UK
- Reda Raad, TBWA\RAAD
- Sam Stuchbury, Motion Sickness
- Etsuko Tsugihara, SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP.
AGENCY LEADER – MEDIA AND PR
- Patrick Affleck, Havas Media Network
- Tom Beckman, Weber Shandwick
- Rory Heffernan, Atomic 212°
- David Krupp, billups
CREATIVE LEADER
- Simon Au, The Kitchen North America
- Darren Bailes, VCCP
- Mike Dubrick, Rethink
- Ali Rez, IMPACT BBDO
- Sam Stuchbury, Motion Sickness
- Matthew Woodhams Roberts and David Horton, Special US
NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAM/PERSON
- PHD UK New Business team
- Kim James and the Havas Media Network Growth Team
- Publicis Groupe Middle East, Growth and Innovation Team
- VCCP New Business Development Team
STRATEGIC PLANNING LEADER
- Ellie Bamford, VML
- Eva Grimmett, PHD UK
- Tahaab Rais, Publicis Groupe Middle East, North Africa & Turkey
- Harjot Singh, McCann
- Emma Withington, Havas Media Network UK
TALENT MANAGEMENT TEAM/PERSON
- IDEASXMACHINA Hakuhodo
- GGC Group (the ongoing rebranding of DDB Group Philippines), The Culture Hub
- Publicis Groupe Middle East, Talent Transformation Team
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS/MARKETING TEAM OR PERSON
To be announced on the night.
CREATIVE TEAM
To be announced on the night.
Staff Engagement & Initiatives Categories:
BEST PLACE TO WORK: INDIVIDUAL SHOP & NETWORK
- Akcelo
- Apparent
- GGC Group (the ongoing rebranding of DDB Group Philippines)
- IDEASXMACHINA Hakuhodo
- TBWA\RAAD
GLOBAL DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVE
To be announced on the night.
