VCCP had the biggest rise in billings among the top five creative agencies ranked by Nielsen in 2018, up 21.7% year on year to £313.55m.
The boost is likely to be fuelled by new clients VCCP picked up last year, including Shell, Cathay Pacific and Novartis. The agency's billings growth will also include existing clients that increased adspend. VCCP works with brands including O2, Cadbury and easyJet.
VCCP leapfrogged Bartle Bogle Hegarty London to take fourth place on the table after BBH’s billings dropped 17.7% to £260.34m, putting it in fifth place. The Publicis Groupe agency stopped working with Uber and Unilever-owned Surf in 2018.
Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, McCann UK and Adam & Eve/DDB held on to the top three positions, with billings of £449.21m (up 3%), £370.53m (up 11.1%) and £318.42m (down 3.8%) respectively.
AMV won seven new accounts last year, including the £62m Asda business (from Saatchi & Saatchi) and Virgin Atlantic, which moved from fellow Omnicom shop Adam & Eve/DDB. The latter's slight decline in billings came in a year when it lost Sky but prised the £42m Camelot account from AMV.
McCann's wins included eBay, Godiva and Magnet.
Among the top 10 ad agencies, Saatchi & Saatchi was the next biggest riser after VCCP, moving to seventh place from 12th in 2017, as its billings increased 21.2% to £233.26m. This is likely to be attributed to wins including Expedia, Betway and Oracle, as well as growth from existing clients.
