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Team Tribes (top) and EssenceMediacomWPP Media's EssenceMediacom won the 'Agency of the Year' at the Media Abbys announced on day one at Goafest 2026.
The agency won five Gold, six Silver and three Bronze.
The Gold wins were for adidas' 'Powering Performance through Paid Search', Airtel 5G Plus' 'Airtel The Safe Network', NPCI Corporate's 'India's Transaction Story', Thums Up's 'Thums Up Thunderwheel -The Wheel That Unleashed the Storm' and Uber India's 'Uber x SRH Hyderabaddies'.
In second was WPP Media's Wavemaker, which received seven Gold, two Silver and two Bronze. Three of the Gold wins were for Birla Opus Paints' 'Indian Colours League: Birla Opus’ Game-Changing IPL Hack', 'Indian Colours League: Birla Opus Rewrote the IPL Sponsorship Playbook' and 'India's First AI Personalized Portfolios for Trade Experts'. It also won a Gold each for Cadbury 5-star (Celebrating Valentine's Day by Doing Nothing), Durex (Durex Podcast - Let's End Good Sex), Everyuth Naturals (Unlocking Gen Z's World: A Mobile-First Glow Up), and Netflix's (Orchestrating the 'Now' – From Breaking News to the Final Over).
Sharing third place was Mindshare and Tribes.
Tribes had a Grand Prix, Gold, five Silver and four Bronze. The Grand Prix was for Kansai Nerolac Paints' 'The Barefoot Journey'. The Gold win was for Wonder Cement's 'Life Saving Billboard'.
Mindshare won six Gold, a Silver, and three Bronze. It won two Gold each for Indriya Jewellery (Aasmaniyat by Indriya Cinema Projection and Indriya - AI-Powered Bridal Studio) and UltraTech Cement (Predicting Demand. Village by Village and Predicting Demand Before It Exists). The other Gold wins came for JioHotstar's 'Turning Cyber Fear into Curiosity: How Special Ops 2.0 Found Its Audience First (Hyderlocal Targeting)' and Horlicks' 'Horlicks Chhoto Byomkesh'.
Hiveminds won two Gold, a Silver, and two Bronze. The Gold wins were for Axis Max Life Insurance's 'The Creator Ops Stack: Al-Powered Media Operations at Scale' and Wakefit's 'Search Reimagined: How Wakefit Grew 25X In Revenue Via AI SEO'.
Sparkfoundry also won two Gold, both for WhatsApp. The wins were for 'Encrypted even on Paper' and 'Making Encryption Felt, Not Explained'.
Other Gold winners included:
Interactive Avenues, Madison Media, White Rivers Media, PHD, Sparkfoundry, Initiative, MudraMax, WPP OpenDoor, Zenith India, Lodestar UM, BC Web Wise, DentsuX, Roll Dot, Saatchi & Saatchi.
| Category | Winner | Brand | Title | Client Name | Metal |
| A. Use Of Media | Wavemaker India | Birla Opus Paints | Indian Colours League: Birla Opus’ Game-Changing IPL Hack | Birla Opus Paints | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Mindshare India | Horlicks | Horlicks Chhoto Byomkesh | Hindustan Unilever Limited | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | White Rivers Media | Jio Studios B62 Studios | Dhurandhar | Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | Havas Media India | SWIGGY INSTAMART | SWIGGY INSTAMART MANGO PHOTOCHROMATIC AD | Swiggy | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | EssenceMediacom | NPCI -Corporate | India's Transaction Story | National Payment Corporation of India | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Madison Media | Asian Paints | Transforming Print from Medium of Words to a Canvas of Colour | Asian Paints | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | Sparkfoundry | WhatsApp: Encrypted even on Paper | Meta | GOLD | |
| A. Use Of Media | Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. | HDFC MUTUAL FUND | DivyaDeep | HDFC MUTUAL FUND | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Saatchi & Saatchi | Hero MotoCorp Ltd. | Hero Prayers For Safety | Hero MotoCorp Ltd. | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. | Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. | The Coolest Seva | Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | Havas Media India | SWIGGY INSTAMART | IM Mother's Day Add to Cart | Swiggy | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. | Wonder Cement Limited | Life Saving Billboard | Wonder Cement Limited | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. | Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. | The Coolest Seva | Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | Initiative | OnePlus | OnePlus Turning Commutes into Camera Moments | OnePlus India | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | Havas Media India | Kia Motors India | Kia Carens Clavis x PVR 4DX | Kia Motors India | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Mindshare India | Indriya Jewellery | Aasmaniyat by Indriya Cinema Projection | Novel Jewels Limited | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | BC Web Wise | Tata Power | Tanvi the Great | Tata Power | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | MudraMax | Adani Group | Suraj Bhaiya Hain Na - Hum Karke Dikhate Hain | Adani Group | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | MudraMax | Adani - Dharavi Redevelopment Project | Dharavi 17 Ke Liye Mumbai Ek Saath | Adani Group - Navbharat Mega Developers pvt ltd. | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | PHD | ŠKODA AUTO India | Reinventing Radio: When ŠKODA Cars Did the Talking | Skoda India | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | PHD | OpenAI - ChatGPT | ChatGPT Turns Entertainment into Answers and Inspirations | OpenAI | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Wavemaker India | Cadbury 5-star | Celebrating Valentine's Day by Doing Nothing | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Wavemaker India | Birla Opus Paints | Indian Colours League – Turning the IPL into 37 Stories of Colour | Birla Opus Paints | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | PHD | OpenAI - ChatGPT | ChatGPT: The Most Talked-About Player Off the Field | OpenAI | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | EssenceMediacom | Thums Up | The Sound of Toofan : How Thums Up Hijacked the World Cup with a Live Anthem Drop | The Coca - Cola Company | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | EssenceMediacom | Harley-Davidson | Harley-Davidson: RIDING INTO THE SPOTLIGHT | Hero MotoCorp Ltd. | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | OMD | I Pill Daily | Unmuted – Breaking the Silence with i-pill Daily | Piramal Consumer Healthcare | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Wavemaker India | Durex | Durex Podcast- Let's End Good Sex | Reckitt | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | OMD | Philips Avent | Philips Avent - Unplugged. Unapologetic. Unstoppable. | Philips India | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | Interactive Avenues | Royal Enfield | India was Googling Royal Enfield. Bikewale/Bikedekho Was Answering. Until now. | Eicher Motors Limited | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | HiveMinds | Wakefit | Search Reimagined: How Wakefit Grew 25X In Revenue Via AI SEO | Wakefit Innovations Pvt. Ltd. | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Zenith India | DBS BANK | AI-Powered SEO to Increase Lead Growth and Account Acquisitions | DBS Bank India Limited | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Zenith India | Eureka Forbes | How Eureka Forbes Became AI's Go-To Recommendation for Home Appliances | Eureka Forbes Limited | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Starcom | Braun | BRAUN redefined the permanent hair removal category through a Smart Intent Maximization Strategy | P&G India | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | HiveMinds | Titan Tanishq | Driving 3.8X Sales Growth by Turning Search into a Real-Time Growth Engine | Titan Tanishq | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | EssenceMediacom | adidas | adidas India: Powering Performance through Paid Search | adidas | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Wavemaker India | Cadbury 5Star | Cadbury 5Star: 'Do Nothing' Helpline will keep Your Phone Busy while you Do Nothing | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | EssenceMediacom | Airtel 5G Plus | Airtel The Safe Network | Bharti Airtel Ltd | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | White Rivers Media | Jio Studios B62 Studios | Dhurandhar | Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | EssenceMediacom | Thums Up | Thums Up Thunderwheel-The Wheel That Unleashed the Storm | The Coca - Cola Company | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Mindshare India | Indriya - Aditya Birla Jewellery | Indriya - AI-Powered Bridal Studio | Novel Jewels Limited | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | EssenceMediacom | THUMS UP | The Contextual Matchmaker: How Thums Up Biryani Turned Digital Content into Instant Cravings | The Coca - Cola Company | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | WPP OpenDoor | Amazon Prime Video | Reading Faces, Recommending Content: How AI Turned Emotions Into Entertainment Discovery | Amazon | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Mindshare India | Indriya - Aditya Birla Jewellery | Indriya - AI-Powered Bridal Studio | Novel Jewels Limited | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Interactive Avenues | Amazon Prime Video | Phulera Had an Election. India Had a Starring Role in It. | Amazon | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Wavemaker India | Everyuth Naturals | Unlocking Gen Z's World: A Mobile-First Glow Up | Zydus Wellness | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | EssenceMediacom | Thums Up | A Launch Of Many Firsts : X Force | The Coca - Cola Company | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | EssenceMediacom | THUMS UP | Thums Up X Blink it : Taste the thunder in every over! | The Coca - Cola Company | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | Interactive Avenues | Zilo | The Search-to-Sale Engine: How Zilo Turned Speed-Intent Fashion Queries into a Programmatic Commerce Machine | Zilo | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | Havas Media India | TATA MOTORS ACE PRO | Ludo King x Ace Pro Ab Meri Baari - Game of Chance | Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Wavemaker India | Birla Opus Paints | Indian Colours League: Birla Opus Rewrote the IPL Sponsorship Playbook | Birla Opus Paints | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Madison Media | BHIM - Bharat Ka Apna Payments App | KBC Golden Week with BHIM Payments App – A never before opportunity to reach the Hot Seat | NPCI BHIM Services Limited | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | EssenceMediacom | Uber India | Uber x SRH Hyderabaddies | Uber | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | DentsuX | Berger Paints India Limited | 50 Years of Stardom - A Tribute by Berger Paints | Berger Paints India Limited | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | White Rivers Media | Jio Studios B62 Studios | Dhurandhar | Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Wavemaker India | Netflix | Orchestrating the "Now" – From Breaking News to the Final Over | Netflix India | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | EssenceMediacom | Uber India | Uber x SRH Hyderabaddies | Uber | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. | Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd | The Barefoot Journey | Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | Roll Dot | Ardent Alcobev Dram Bell Whisky | The Hack That Wasn’t | Ardent Alcobev Private Limited | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Mindshare India | JioHotstar | Turning Cyber Fear into Curiosity: How Special Ops 2.0 Found Its Audience First (Hyderlocal Targeting) | JioStar India Private Ltd. | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. | Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. | The Barefoot Journey | Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | Lodestar UM | GCMMF (AMUL) | HOW AMUL MASTERED THE FANDOM TO CONVERSION GAME | Gujarat Co-Operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Innocean India | Hyundai | Hyundai x ICC | Hyundai Motor India Limited | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | EssenceMediacom | Thums Up | From Bottle to Boundary: How Thums Up Turned Every Pack into a Front-Row World Cup Experience | The Coca - Cola Company | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Madison Media | Roff | Roff Rewriting the Rules of the Game: Turning Cricket into a Real-Time Brand Engine | Pidilite Industries Limited | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Mindshare India | UltraTech Cement Limited | UltraTech Cement | Vote Karega Toh Mazboot Banega India | UltraTech Cement Limited | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. | Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. | The Barefoot Journey | Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. | Grand Prix |
| A. Use Of Media | Mindshare India | UltraTech Cement Limited | UltraTech: Predicting Demand. Village by Village | UltraTech Cement Limited | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Interactive Avenues | Royal Enfield | How Royal Enfield Reclaimed India's Micro-Search Moments using programmatic play | Eicher Motors Limited | SILVER |
| A. Use Of Media | Wavemaker India | Bisleri | New Model of Brand Love - When Product Becomes Media | Bisleri | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. | HDFC MUTUAL FUND | The Chant to Change | HDFC MUTUAL FUND | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | WPP OpenDoor | Amazon Prime Video | Chai, Samosas & Streaming: Prime Video's New Formula for Turning Carts into Content | Amazon | GOLD |
| A. Use Of Media | Sparkfoundry | WhatsApp: Making Encryption Felt, Not Explained | Meta | GOLD | |
| A. Use Of Media | Mindshare India | JIOHOTSTAR | Order! Order! When a Lawyer Became Larger Than the Law — And Criminal Justice Became 2025’s Biggest Verdict. | JioStar India Private Ltd. | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | OMD | Mercedes-Benz | Innovative use of Integrated Media - Dream Days - “A Dream is Never Too Far Away” | Mercedes Benz | BRONZE |
| A. Use Of Media | DentsuX | Kingfisher Packaged Drinking Water | Kingfisher x WPL 2026 - Good Times | United breweries | BRONZE |
| B. Specialist Categories | Initiative | Sunfeast Mom's Magic | Will of Change | ITC Limited | GOLD |
| B. Specialist Categories | HiveMinds | Namma Yatri | Namma Ride, Namma Pride | Namma Yatri | SILVER |
| B. Specialist Categories | Lodestar UM | Tata Capital | Champions Ki Galliyon Mein | Tata Capital Ltd. | SILVER |
| B. Specialist Categories | Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. | Wonder Cement Limited | Helmets for Humanity | Wonder Cement Limited | SILVER |
| B. Specialist Categories | Rapport | SURF EXCEL MATIC EXPRESS | SURF EXCEL MATIC EXPRESS | Hindustan Unilever Limited | BRONZE |
| B. Specialist Categories | Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. | Nivea India Pvt. Ltd. | The Carbon Economy for Advertising | NIVEA India Private Limited | BRONZE |
| B. Specialist Categories | HiveMinds | Tata Consumer Products Limited | The Premium Placement Myth: Cracking the Code of the Digital Aisle | Tata Consumer Products Limited | BRONZE |
| B. Specialist Categories | Mindshare India | UltraTech Cement Limited | Ultratech : Predicting Demand Before It Exists. | UltraTech Cement Limited | GOLD |
| B. Specialist Categories | Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. | Nivea India Pvt. Ltd. | The Carbon Economy for Advertising | NIVEA India Private Limited | BRONZE |
| B. Specialist Categories | Wavemaker India | Birla Opus Paints | India's First AI Personalized Portfolios for Trade Experts | Birla Opus Paints | GOLD |
| B. Specialist Categories | Hearts & Science | Jaguar Land Rover | Defender OCTA Black: Redefining CTV Through Pinnacle Intelligence | JLR India | SILVER |
| B. Specialist Categories | EssenceMediacom | Thums Up | When Toofan Hit the Streets | The Coca - Cola Company | SILVER |
| B. Specialist Categories | Omnicom Media | Tata Motors | Data. Decisions. Dominance. Powered by AI | Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle Ltd | BRONZE |
| B. Specialist Categories | EssenceMediacom | Thums Up | Play the Wheel. Feel the Thunder - Thums Up Thunderwheel. | The Coca - Cola Company | BRONZE |
| B. Specialist Categories | Wavemaker India | Mondelez | Best Balance of AI and Human Collaboration | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | SILVER |
| B. Specialist Categories | Mindshare India | UltraTech Cement Limited | Ultratech : Finding India’s future Home Builder through AI | UltraTech Cement Limited | SILVER |
| B. Specialist Categories | Laqshya Media Group | Marriott Bonvoy | Toh, Aaj Jaana Kahan Hai? | Marriott Bonvoy | BRONZE |
| B. Specialist Categories | HiveMinds | Axis Max Life Insurance | The Creator Ops Stack: Al-Powered Media Operations at Scale | Axis Max Life Insurance | GOLD |
| B. Specialist Categories | Interactive Avenues | Amul India | We Didn't Add AI to the Team. We Built a Team That Couldn't Exist Without It. | Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. | SILVER |
| B. Specialist Categories | OMD | Nivea Soft | Powered by Rizz, Scaled by AI | NIVEA India Private Limited | SILVER |
| South Asia Category (Excluding India) Special Award | Initiative | Schneider Electric | From Invisible to Irresistible: The Rise of a New Category Leader | Schneider Electric | BRONZE |
