ABBYs 2025: Wavemaker wins Media Agency of the Year & ABP named Publisher of the Year

The first day of the ABBY Awards at Goafest 2025 spotlighted the industry’s leading players in media and publishing. Dominating the Media ABBYs were four stand-out agencies: Wavemaker India, Mindshare India, EssenceMediacom, and Initiative Media.

Wavemaker India clinched the coveted title of Media Agency of the Year, securing an impressive haul of 19 metals. This tally included 6 Golds, 8 Silvers, 4 Bronzes, and the sole Grand Prix of the night. The Grand Prix was awarded for Dream11’s campaign ‘India's New Local Language’ under the Innovative Use of Audio Visual sub-category.

Mindshare India followed with a strong performance, taking home 13 metals, 4 Golds, 4 Silvers, and 5 Bronzes. EssenceMediacom earned a total of 6 metals, split evenly with 2 Golds, 2 Silvers, and 2 Bronzes. Initiative Media walked away with 4 metals, including 3 Golds and 1 Silver.

Altogether, 64 Media ABBY awards were distributed on the opening day.

In the Publisher ABBYs segment, ABP Pvt Ltd was crowned Publisher of the Year, bagging 5 awards. Among them was a Gold for ‘Cadbury Gaane Mishti Utsabe Rasabanga’.

Jagran Prakashan Ltd won 2 Golds for Dainik Jagran’s ‘Brick by Brick We Build a Nation’, while Bennett, Coleman & Co. received a Gold for Flipkart Minutes’ ‘Hydrochromic Ink Pullout’. FCB India was recognised with a Gold for Navneer Education’s ‘Colour Blindness Detection Textbook’, and HT Media also scored a Gold for ‘A Print Delivery for Flipkart Minutes’.

A total of 19 Publisher ABBYs were awarded during the day’s proceedings.

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