The holding company space in the advertising industry was shaken up this week as it was announced Omnicom is to acquire Interpublic Group.
It proves a consistent truth in Ad Land: Expect the unexpected.
With the unexpected, there are bound to be some underdog moments. After talking with a few industry folks this week, this could be major for independent agencies.
Medialink managing directors Mark Wagman and Donna Sharp predicted an uptick in potential client scouting at events such as CES coming down the pipeline in a few short weeks.
“[Independents] are either going to poach or protect so this could be a moment for indie agencies to swoop in and make their pitch,” Wagman advised. “If you think about a brand today looking to stay at the top of the business, do you double down on one of these big [companies] that is now Omnicom and IPG, and hope you save a little bit of money on media?”
Wagman believes the “glass half empty” view from Omnicom and IPG’s clients could evolve into “now I'm going to be lost in a bigger sea of clients” and lead to a resurgence of the mid- to long tail independents that can outservice the bigger agencies.
Another industry voice familiar with this space is Greg Hahn, who left the world of big holding companies in 2020 to launch the now award-winning Mischief @ No Fixed Address. The co-founder and CCO told Campaign: “More and more it appears indies and holding cos are serving different gods. Generalization alert, but for the most part indies are about growth through passion, people, freedom. The holding co model is about math.”
Many things are unknown about how the OmniPub/InterCom deal will impact the industry as it will take time for it to go through, but a ripple effect will be a more even playing field, especially for notable alumni and perhaps even more new shops. Key players like Mischief (founded by a former BBDO’er), Bandits and Friends (formerly from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners), Nice & Frank (formerly Goodby), Flowershop (formerly TBWA) have all come out of Omnicom in the last couple years.
As I told Jen Risi, founder of The Sway Effect, in our LinkedIn chat this week — having worked at both Omnicom and IPG in the past, I am excited to see what comes from these two powerhouses merging together. With brands going in-house and scopes of work constantly being revisited, today’s ad shops are pressured to stay fresh and relevant to remain competitive. We were overdue for a shakeup — we just didn’t know what it would be.
Let the games begin.
