On the first day of the ABBY Awards at Goafest 2024, a remarkable 3,506 entries were submitted by 273 companies. This included 1,258 entries from 73 media agencies and 2,248 entries from 198 creative companies. The top four agencies that garnered the most awards were Wavemaker India, Initiative Media, EssenceMediacom, and Mindshare.
Wavemaker India was honored with the title of ‘Media Agency of the Year,’ winning a total of 16 awards, which included 4 Gold, 9 Silver, and 3 Bronze. The Gold awards were secured for 5Star’s #NothingUniversity and #EraseVday, as well as Cadbury Celebrations’ #ThisAdIsMyStore and #MyBirthdaySong. EssenceMediacom took home the only Grand Prix of the night for their campaign ‘Airtel 5G Plus Ultimate Fans: Look Maa! I am on TV’. In total, 65 Media ABBYs were awarded on the first day.
In the Publisher ABBYs category, ABP Pvt Ltd. was named ‘Publisher of the Year,’ winning 5 awards, including a Gold for ‘Cadbury Gaane Mishti Folk Fusion’. The Hindu Group also won a Gold for ‘Cadbury Iniya Kondattam’. Overall, 20 Publisher ABBYs were awarded on the first day.