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Digiday Announces 2026 Media Buying & Planning Finalists

Digiday published the list of finalists for the 2026 Digiday Media Buying and Planning Awards on June 2, 2026. Finalists span agencies, brands, publishers and technology vendors across categories including Media Campaign of the Year, Media Plan of the Year and Best Omnichannel Campaign. Highlighted nominations include Uber Advertising’s full‑funnel holiday campaign for Diageo; the NFL and CBS/Paramount+ for the “Count on Sundays” 360 campaign; and WPP Media & Mazda for the docuseries “First to the Finish,” which reported 16 million minutes watched and nearly 587,000 full-series viewers. The awards also feature new AI-related categories (Best AI Platform; Best Creative Use of AI; Best Use of AI in Planning/Search) and recognize campaigns using omnichannel, CTV, DOOH and data-driven tactics.

Week in Review: Platforms, Publishers and Policy Shifts

This Week in Review covers leadership and strategic shifts across broadcasters and publishers, regulatory pressure on social platforms, major M&A in data/identity, and several product launches in adtech. New BBC director-general Matt Brittin signalled possible channel closures, job cuts and moves to YouTube as part of a £500m savings plan. Ofcom released evidence criticising TikTok and YouTube for insufficient action on children’s online safety. Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch said the company is planning for a future with no Google search traffic. Regulatory and industry moves include ICO advice to loosen consent for low-risk advertising, Publicis Groupe agreeing to buy LiveRamp for $2.2bn, and multiple adtech product announcements (StackAdapt AI DSP features, Chalice AI partnership with Equativ, Amplified’s AttentionAI). The roundup also covers CTV market forecasts, publisher M&A, and agency financials and hires.

Q1 Holdco Results Show Ad Market Resilience

Digiday's Media Buying Briefing reports that Q1 2026 results from agency holding companies and advertisers indicate advertising budgets largely held steady despite macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. Publicis and Havas posted solid Q1 performance, with Havas reporting North American organic revenue growth of 7.4%. Advertisers such as Pepsico and Adidas signaled sustained or increased marketing spend. The FTC also announced a proposed consent order addressing alleged coordination among some holding companies (WPP, Dentsu, Publicis), drawing pushback from industry executives. The briefing highlights growth in influencer and UGC-driven campaigns (data from Collabstr), Dentsu’s launch of Dentsu.Connect 4.0 with a feature called “Agentic diplomacy,” and multiple agency leadership changes and account moves.