2020 Effie Index: Here are the world's most effective marketers

"Marketing effectiveness matters more than ever, especially in times of economic uncertainty," according to Traci Alford, president and CEO of Effie Worldwide, which is why the 2020 Effie Index is particularly noteworthy.

The 10th annual ranking considers the performance of 4,000 finalists and winning entries in one global, four regional and 46 national Effie Awards competitions held worldwide from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019.

Here are the most effective leaders in their respective categories:

Brand: Unilever,

Marketer: Coca-Cola

Agency holding group: WPP

Agency network: McCann Worldgroup

Agency office: FP7McCann Dubai

Independent agency: Banda

"As the industry experiences change and disruption, the marketers featured in the rankings of the Effie Index demonstrate continued success and an unwavering dedication to marketing effectiveness," said Alford. "The Index showcases great examples of companies that have consistently excelled and driven brand growth around the world. On behalf of Effie Worldwide, I’d like to congratulate everyone included in the rankings this year and applaud their achievements."

Effie Worldwide has also broken down the top five most effective companies per category, with some noteworthy findings, such as AB InBev entering the top five for the first time and Coca-Cola taking No. 1 in brands for the sixth time in 10 years. Additionally, WPP has been the most effective holding company every year since 2012, while the top five for agency holding groups has been the same for the last four years.

Marketers: Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, Nestlé, AB InBev, PepsiCo

Brands: Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, KFC, Vodafone, IKEA

Agency holding groups: WPP, Omnicom, IPG, Publicis Groupe, Dentsu

Agency networks: McCann Worldgroup, Ogilvy, BBDO Worldwide, DDB Worldwide, TBWA\Worldwide

Agency offices: FP7/DXB, Ogilvy Mumbai, McCann Worldgroup India (New Delhi), Sancho BBDO (Bogotá), and a tie between Banda and DDB Colombia

Independent agencies: Banda, Dejavu, The Womb Communications, DON Buenos Aires, Zavalita Brand Building

2020 Effie Index by region:

Asia-Pacific: Unilever (marketer), KFC (brand), WPP (agency holding group), Ogilvy (agency network), Ogilvy Mumbai (agency office), and The Womb Communications in Mumbai (independent agency).

North America: Procter & Gamble (marketer), McDonald’s (brand), WPP (agency holding group), Ogilvy (agency network), Droga5 New York (agency office) and a tie between Rethink – Vancouver and Terri & Sandy – New York (independent agency).

Europe: PepsiCo (marketer), Vodafone (brand), WPP (agency holding group), McCann Worldgroup (agency network), Banda – Kiev, Ukraine (agency office and independent agency).

Latin America: AB InBev (marketer), Coca-Cola (brand), Omnicom (agency holding group), BBDO Worldwide (agency network), Sancho BBDO – Bogotá (agency office) and DON Buenos Aires (independent agency).

Middle East & Africa: Unilever (marketer), Saudi Telecom Company (brand), Interpublic Group (agency holding group), McCann Worldgroup (agency network), FP7/DXB – Dubai (agency office) and Dejavu – Dubai (independent agency).