Effie Worldwide has unveiled the 2023 Effie Index®, the 13th annual ranking of the companies behind the world’s most effective marketing initiatives.
FMCG/CPG, fast food and beverage companies dominated this year’s rankings, with 3 out of the Top 5 Most Effective Brands being QSRs.
AB InBev and McDonald’s demonstrate their dedication to effectiveness by taking top spots in the Marketer and Brand rankings, respectively, for the third year running.
The competition for Most Effective Agency Office showcases the global breadth and strength of agencies in relation to effectiveness. The Top 10 Most Effective Agency Offices span the globe, representing Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, India, New Zealand, Ukraine, and United Arab Emirates. Similarly, the Top 10 ranking for Most Effective Independent Agencies include Argentina, Brazil, China, Denmark, India, New Zealand, Peru, and the United States.
“The Global Effie Index has become the gold standard for measuring marketing effectiveness,” said Traci Alford, global CEO, Effie Worldwide. “The companies and brands at the top of our rankings demonstrate the highest commitment to effectiveness. No matter what their business challenge, they all have one thing in common, they continue to drive tangible successes for their brands. I’d like to congratulate all the teams involved, they represent the very best of our industry and should be very proud of their achievements.”
The Effie Index identifies and ranks the most effective agencies, marketers, brands, networks, and holding companies by analyzing more than 4,750 finalist and winning entries from eligible global, regional, and national Effie Awards competitions around the world. Announced annually, it is the most comprehensive global ranking of marketing effectiveness.
This year’s rankings are representative of Effie Awards finalists and winners announced between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023.
The results in detail:
Most Effective Marketers
Top 5: AB InBev, Unilever, McDonald’s, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company
AB InBev has held the top spot for the third time in a row, with Gold and Grand winning work for 15 brands across 10 markets. Unilever is back in the second spot after dropping to fourth last year, moving McDonald’s to #3. PepsiCo has re-entered the top 5 for the first time since the 2021 Index, with The Coca-Cola Company hot on its heels, rejoining the Top 5 for the first time since 2020.
Consistently high performers, Mondelēz International, Procter & Gamble, Yum!, and Nestlé took #6-#9, while Netflix entered the Top 10 for the first time, challenging the dominance of CPGs and QSRs.
Most Effective Brands
Top 5: McDonald’s, KFC, Oreo, UNITED24, Burger King
McDonald’s continues to showcase their commitment to effectiveness by claiming the #1 spot as Most Effective Brand for the third year running. Similarly, KFC retains its #2 spot for a second year, marking its fifth consecutive appearance in the Top 5. Burger King confirmed the dominance of QSRs by maintaining its place at #5.
Oreo joined the Top 5 for the first time as the #3 Most Effective Brand. As did UNITED24, winning in over 10 categories, locally and regionally. UNITED24, the Initiative of the President of Ukraine, was launched as the main venue for collecting charitable donations in support of Ukraine. It’s high ranking in the 2023 Index, reflecting work that ran in 2022/2023, is a testament to the Ukrainian advertising and marketing community’s perseverance, creativity, and strength during even the most challenging of times. UNITED24 and agency partner, Gres Todorchuk, won Effie Ukraine’s 2023 Grand Effie for “Azovstal. A symbol of perseverance.”
Most Effective Agency Holding Groups
Top 5: Omnicom, WPP, Publicis, Interpublic (IPG), Dentsu
Omnicom claimed the top spot as Most Effective Holding Group, unseating last year’s highest performer, WPP. Omnicom’s position was secured by strong global performance from DDB, BBDO, PHD, OMD, and TBWA offices, among others.
Publicis held the third position for the second consecutive year, with IPG and Dentsu taking fourth and fifth, respectively.
Most Effective Agency Network
Top 5: McCann Worldgroup, DDB Worldwide, Ogilvy, BBDO Worldwide, Leo Burnett Worldwide
IPG’s McCann Worldgroup regains the top spot, after a year at #2. McCann Worldgroup previously held the title as most effective agency network in the 2018-2021 Index. As part of Omnicom’s strong performance, DDB Worldwide climbed from fourth to second, and BBDO Worldwide took fourth place. WPP’s Ogilvy and Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett Worldwide take the #3 and #5 spots, respectively.
Most Effective Agency Offices
Top 5: AlmapBBDO (São Paulo, Brazil), Leo Burnett Dubai (UAE), McCann Worldgroup Gurugram (India), GUT (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Leo Burnett India (Mumbai)
AlmapBBDO came out on top as the #1 Most Effective Agency Office. Their success came from a strong performance across their client portfolio, winning 18 Golds across 10 brands, including Amazon, Meta, VW, Heineken and PepsiCo. Leo Burnett Dubai claimed the #2 spot, appearing in the Top 5 for the second consecutive year.
GUT and McCann Worldgroup Gurugram re-entered the Top 5 in the third and fourth spots, with Special (Auckland, NZ), Ogilvy Mumbai (India), DDB Bogotá (Colombia), Gres Todorchuk (Kyiv, Ukraine), and Africa Creative (São Paulo, Brazil) rounding out the Top 10.
Most Effective Independent Agencies
Top 5: GUT (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Special (Auckland, NZ), Gres Todorchuk (Kyiv, Ukraine), Valor Socios de Marcas (Lima, Peru) and GUT (São Paulo, Brazil)
GUT (Buenos Aires) secured the title of the Most Effective Independent Agency with 2 Grands and 18 Golds across 8 categories. Special took second place, reappearing in the Top 5 after a year’s absence. Gres Todorchuk, driven by their stellar performance on UNITED24, came in at #3. Latin American agencies claimed 3 out of the top 5 spots, with Valor Socios de Marcas in fourth and Gut (São Paulo) in fifth.
Once again, the Top 10 showed a healthy mix of agencies from across the world. Ranked sixth, Robert / Boisen & Like-Minded, from Copenhagen, and seventh was held by Mountains, from Shanghai. Mumbai agency, The Womb Communications, and Buenos Aires agency, DON, shared the 8th place ranking. Mischief @ No Fixed Address took the #10 spot for the first time, an impressive feat for an agency founded in 2020.
(Effie note: 2023 Effie Index data predates GUT’s sale to Globant in late November 2023).
2023 Regional Rankings
Asia Pacific
The Coca-Cola Company (marketer), McDonald’s (brand), WPP (holding group), Ogilvy (agency network), McCann Worldgroup Gurugram (agency office), Special (independent agency)
Europe
McDonald’s (marketer), UNITED24 (brand), Omnicom (holding group), McCann Worldgroup (agency network), Gres Todorchuk (agency office & independent agency)
Latin America
AB InBev (marketer), McDonald’s (brand), Omnicom (holding group), BBDO Worldwide (agency network), AlmapBBDO (agency office), GUT (independent agency)
Middle East & Africa
Landmark Group (marketer), K-Lynn (brand), Publicis Groupe (holding group), Leo Burnett Worldwide (agency network), Leo Burnett Dubai (agency office), Joe Public (independent agency)
North America
Unilever (marketer), Froot Loops (brand), IPG (holding group), McCann Worldgroup (agency network), Starcom Chicago (agency office), Mischief @ No Fixed Address (independent agency)
View the full rankings here. at
