Advertising Age reported on the new business cycle—as well as old business losses—at Omnicom after its acquisition of IPG.
Seems the only people benefiting from the mess are analysts, Monday morning merger quarterbacks providing clueless color commentary.
The progressing post-merger postmortem will likely expose increased casualties and collateral damages. It’s death by 4,000+ cuts.
How Omnicom’s new business is faring post-merger
By Brian Bonilla
The newly formed Omnicom has had a mixed new business cycle to start the year—the type of performance analysts believe was to be expected as the industry adjusts to the realities of its acquisition of Interpublic Group of Cos.
While the new No. 1 agency company may well prevail in any number of major pitches it’s currently going after—including IBM, Dyson and Delta—it’s also faced existing accounts going into review or moving.
The latest is Smirnoff, which launched a global creative review, parent company Diageo confirmed with Ad Age. The vodka brand’s account has been with McCann, which declined to defend the business, since 2022.
“We’re incredibly proud of the partnership and the globally recognized work we developed with Smirnoff over the past 3 years,” McCann shared in a statement. “While we’ve chosen not to participate in the pitch, we wish them every success moving forward.”
The news of the Smirnoff review comes on the heels of The Home Depot departing from BBDO. Plus, SC Johnson is moving its U.S. media account from Omnicom to WPP, according to multiple sources close to the situation, though WPP and the client declined to comment. (Omnicom did retain SC Johnson’s international business.)
Delta launched a media agency review in October, after most recently working with Omnicom’s PHD. In December, Kenvue picked WPP and Publicis to handle its creative and media; Omnicom was unsuccessful in defending the business, which had been at IPG. Then, in January, Mondelēz International launched a creative agency review spanning its U.S. business, including Ritz, as well as global duties for Oreo. Those accounts were housed at Omnicom’s The Martin Agency, which is handling Ritz’s upcoming Super Bowl spot.
On the flip side, Omnicom has notched some important wins and retentions. Since last year, it added American Express on the creative side, NatWest and Clarins in terms of media, and BBVA and BNY for integrated remits. Mercedes-Benz has also extended its contract with Omnicom without a review until 2029, Omnicom confirmed.
This jumbled scorecard isn’t a surprise, said analysts, as clients take stock of the late November mega-merger.
Dan Jeffries, founder of Jeffries Consulting, predicts that Omnicom will be in “defense mode” throughout the year due to clients being unsure of the merger and how it might affect talent disruption within the holding company.
Brian Wieser, principal of Madison and Wall, said the changes underway at Omnicom could “absolutely be a catalyst for a client to look on someone else with more favor … or to be disgruntled or to expect that you’re just not going to get what you signed up for when you picked the agency during the last review.”
He added that the merger might also give clients an excuse to push for a better deal. “There is always an effort, especially with media, to reduce costs on the fees that are being paid and there’s also always an openness to a new offering.”
The most significant loss for Omnicom from a perception standpoint was Kenvue, Wieser said, noting that the account carried added weight given IPG’s historical ties to Johnson & Johnson. J&J’s media business had been with IPG in some capacity since 1973.
Omnicom did not respond to comments about its new business strategy, review performance or relationship with Kenvue.
“For anyone who remembers the role that J&J had within Interpublic over the years, it was somewhat foundational,” Wieser said. While he acknowledged “Kenvue itself changed and separated from J&J,” he described it as the type of marketer “where you kind of built your offering around them.”
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