Despite ad tech consolidation, the Lumascape isn’t shrinking, and it’s tough even for agencies to help their clients find the right tech partners. So GroupM launched a startup accelerator program on Monday to streamline that process. GroupM will select four US-based startups to participate in the three-month mentorship program, called AdVentures, with clients including Mike’s […]
Publicis acquired Epsilon on Sunday primarily for the latter’s expertise in working with first-party client data. But Publicis got a lot more with Epsilon’s hefty $4.4 billion price tag. Epsilon is best known for its services related to data management, email marketing and loyalty platforms. But Epsilon also gives Publicis an affiliate marketing network (Commission […]
When Publicis acquired Epsilon for $4.4 billion on Sunday, it put a big emphasis on the value the company brings to the group around first-party data. But while Epsilon has deep experience working with its clients’ first-party data and managing their CRM databases and loyalty programs, it doesn’t actually own first-party data – depending on […]
Publicis Groupe’s $4.4 billion purchase of email marketing and data company Epsilon on Sunday comes down to three words: first-party data. “What is really important for our clients is to build their first-party data,” said Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun on an investor call Monday. “If not, they will be killed by direct to consumer […]
Agencies have a “can’t live with it, can’t live without it” relationship with Facebook. The world’s second-largest ad platform, which reaches roughly 2.4 billion people, is a must-buy for brands. But a stream of issues around brand safety, misinformation and election integrity have made Facebook a precarious place for a brand to expose itself. Facebook’s […]
Accenture Interactive, the agency division of the global management consulting firm, said Wednesday it will acquire independent creative agency Droga5. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though Accenture Interactive claims Droga5 is its largest agency acquisition to date. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, Accenture Interactive said in a press release. Droga5, […]
Agencies can no longer plan digital and linear investments separately. Integrating planning strategies and investments at OMD will be a core focus for George Manas, who joined as president and chief media officer last week from Omnicom performance agency Resolution Media. “I’ve been bullish on making sure programmatic talent doesn’t live in just an activation […]
Agencies need access to unique data sources to bring strategic value to their clients. Publicis said Monday it is in talks to acquire Epsilon from parent Alliance Data Systems in an effort to beef up its own data assets. The agency network is bidding against Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Advent International for Epsilon, […]
Hearts & Science US CEO Erin Matts will speak at AdExchanger’s upcoming Programmatic IO San Francisco conference on April 29-30, 2019 in San Francisco. It’s harder for media agencies to have the buying clout in the digital world that they have in traditional channels. Hearts & Science is building that influence through thousands of private […]
Big agencies’ inability to quickly change their legacy structures has eroded their value to clients. “We are too passive,” said Nick Brien, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network in North America, on stage at the 4A’s Decisions 2020 conference in Washington, DC on Monday. “We are slow to change. We’re too incremental. We have legacy structures […]
Late last year, Havas Media began formalizing rules for how it works with SSPs and exchanges. The rules required them to shed light on previously non-transparent practices, like publisher fees, supply quality, access to log-level reporting and auction dynamics. Havas wasn’t an outlier. Hearts & Science also runs a 50-point certification process with SSPs and […]
Embattled holding company MDC Partners has a new owner. The Stagwell Group, a new-model agency holding company helmed by former Microsoft chief strategy officer and political advisor Mark Penn, said Friday it will invest $100 million to take a 30% minority stake in MDC Partners. Penn will become CEO and sit on MDC’s board. The […]
To centralize or not to centralize? That is the question holding companies have wrestled with since the advent of programmatic buying a decade ago. While Publicis Media and GroupM have broken up or reassembled their trading desks, others like IPG have kept that expertise at the center. Enter Omnicom, which said Friday it’s taking the […]
GroupM is still trying to be simpler for clients to navigate. To propel that effort, the WPP-owned media buying arm promoted Evan Hanlon to the newly created role of US chief strategy officer on Wednesday. Hanlon, who was previously president of data and technology unit mPlatform, will focus on making it easier for clients to […]
Last year, the GroupM digital agency Essence broke into traditional TV. Now, Essence is working with all of the major TV networks to sell their inventory in a more addressable way, said CEO Christian Juhl. “We’re trying to work with major publishers on changing the way they sell media,” he said. “But the things we’re […]
After two years of stock declines, WPP is finally inching toward progress. The holding company on Friday reported revenue was down 1.3% in 2018 to $2 billion and billings up 0.4% to $7.4 billion, at the upper end of guidance set in October. Shares jumped 8% upon the news. But work remains to be done […]
Another executive with a data and technology background is taking a big leadership role at Omnicom. Erin Matts, former North American CEO of Annalect, was named US CEO of Hearts & Science on Tuesday. Matts will succeed Scott Hagedorn, who was promoted to CEO of Omnicom Media Group on Thursday. Omnicom has not yet named […]
MediaMonks has always focused on high-quality, low-cost creative production at scale. But when the agency’s parent company S4 acquired MightyHive in December 2018, MediaMonks’ value prop expanded to include performance advertising. Together, MediaMonks and MightyHive will put creative, production and performance marketing on one team, rather than siloing them in specialty groups as agencies often […]
At agencies, data-driven talent is rising to the very top. Hearts & Science CEO Scott Hagedorn was named CEO of Omnicom Media Group (OMG) Thursday after 15 years with the company. Hagedorn succeeds Page Thompson, who will retire after 40 years at Omnicom. Omnicom has not yet named a replacement for Hagedorn at Hearts & […]
IPG is still outperforming its peers in a tough market for agencies. Organic net revenue grew 7.1% YoY to $2.41 billion in Q4 and 5.5% YoY to $8 billion in 2018, IPG reported Wednesday. That’s much better than Publicis, which saw organic growth at just 0.3% for the quarter and 0.1% for the year. IPG […]
Remember when WPP CEO Mark Read said he wanted the holding company to be known for creative transformation? That need to evolve has finally hit Triad, a company WPP acquired in 2016 that sells paid media on ecommerce sites. On Tuesday, Triad rebranded from Triad Retail Media and launched a consultancy to help brands increase […]
Consumer goods clients are struggling, and dragging Publicis down with them. The holding company reported weak earnings with just 0.3% organic growth for the quarter and 0.1% organic growth for the year to $2.85 billion, well below analyst expectations of 2.5%. “Let’s be clear,” CEO Arthur Sadoun said on the earnings call Thursday. “Q4 organic […]
Brian Wieser is heading back to the agency world, joining WPP’s media buying unit GroupM as global president of business intelligence, the company said Wednesday. He will report to GroupM CEO Kelly Clark. It might seem like an odd time to jump to an agency, given the volatility of the industry and the epic amount […]
As brands increasingly implement global data strategies, agencies must get creative about collecting data in emerging markets. Outside of data-mature markets, such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, access to data varies. In Latin America, Asia and other emerging markets, programmatic spend is lower and deterministic data sits behind walled gardens, making it […]
Mel Edwards, the newly minted global CEO of Wunderman Thompson, has a huge job ahead of her. When the agency officially launches this year, it will have 20,000 employees in 90 markets across 200 global offices, and eventually, Edwards wants everyone in each market working together. “We need a little more time because of the […]
As clients tighten their belts and put accounts up for review, IPG media agency UM is focused on working strategically with data and analytics to grow clients’ businesses. That often means sitting out a major pitch if it’s clear the focus will be on cost cutting. “It goes against how agencies have been trained, which […]
Every January, agency executives make their annual pilgrimage to CES to check out the latest trends in consumer technology and distill them into business ideas for clients. At WPP, newly merged agencies VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson are taking a wider purview at the show in keeping with their broadened services. Where Y&R and J. Walter […]
Agency cost-cutting and deteriorating trust with clients hasn’t deterred Marla Kaplowitz, CEO of the agency trade organization the 4A’s, from fighting. “[Taking] a business problem and coming up with an incredibly elegant and different creative solution is what the best agencies do,” she said. Agencies have been tarred by scandals around transparency, thanks to the […]
About five years ago, marketers eagerly launched pilots across all kinds of emerging technology. Now that their digital businesses are maturing, they’re growing out of that shiny object syndrome and are looking to turn projects into revenue streams. For design innovation agency Fjord, that has shifted the focus with clients from experimental work to consulting […]
Andy Main, head of Deloitte Digital, is a little tired of hearing people say consultancies are trying to muscle the agencies off of Madison Avenue. “I’d actually say the agencies are trying to copy the Deloitte Digitals of the world,” Main said. “And when someone copies you, I guess you should be flattered.” Unlike Accenture, […]
