It’s Day 2 of strategy’s week of Agency of the Year shortlist reveals and we’re moving on from Design to Media, because someone has to figure out where advertising’s most brilliant ideas are actually going to live.

Twelve shops made the cut in Media, the category that rewards the agencies behind some of the smartest planning, buying and channel strategy in the business.

Now in its 18th year, the category asks agencies to show off three pieces of work driven by clever targeting and multi-channel media integration. That could mean a brilliant one-off buy that stopped people in their tracks, or a fully fledged cross-platform campaign that found its audience wherever they were.

In other words, good media isn’t just about where you put the message. It’s about knowing who you want to reach, how to reach them and making each channel work that much harder.

Here are the media shops in the running for a coveted gold plane and the 2026 Media AOY jury.

Come back tomorrow for the PR AOR shortlist.

Media shortlist: 

Cairns Oneil
Carat
Cossette Media
Initiative
iProspect Canada
Media Experts
OMD
PHD Canada
Spark Foundry
Starcom
Touché!
UM Canada

Media jury:

Urania Agas, chief operating officer, WPP Media
Jennifer Bidwell, VP, business solutions, Horizon Media
Monique Brosseau, independent, former president of Group M Quebec
Greg Dermer, director of enterprise brand marketing, OLG
Laura Heck, EVP of media, ChangeMakers
Melanie Johnston, CMO, Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation
Quincy Kelman, VP, marketing, Walt Disney Company Canada
Bruce Neve, president, True Media
Wes Wolch, independent marketing and advertising executive consultant
Meera Patel, director of marketing, Taco Bell