Omnicom Group is to launch a new global organisation, Omnicom Advertising Group (OAG), which will unite its creative networks BBDO, DDB, TBWA, and agencies under its Advertising Collective. These include Goodby Silverstein & Partners, GSD&M, Merkley & Partners, and Zimmerman.
The changes are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025.
The newly formed OAG will be led by Troy Ruhanen as global CEO, Deepthi Prakash as chief operating officer, and Denis Streiff as global CFO.
The individual agency networks within OAG will report to Ruhanen and will have their own leadership: Nancy Reyes as Global CEO of BBDO, Alex Lubar as global CEO of DDB, Erin Riley, who is stepping up to CEO of TBWA\Worldwide from her previous role as TBWA\Chiat\Day US CEO, and James Fenton as CEO of the Advertising Collective.
Omnicom has stated that the new structure aims to retain the unique identities of each agency brand while leveraging shared investments in technology, specialist capabilities, and artificial intelligence.
The holding company has also said existing clients will continue to be serviced by their current agencies and teams.
“OAG will make the best even better,” said Ruhanen.
“One of the most exciting parts of this new division is that we can collectively invest in innovative offerings – such as Omnicom’s recent first-mover partnerships in GenAI.
“This will take our world-class creativity to the next level and keep our clients at the top of their industries. While we are excited to grow together, we will continue to celebrate and protect the uniqueness of each agency’s culture and entrepreneurship.”
The restructure follows Omnicom’s previous efforts to organise its portfolio into specific marketing disciplines, including the formation of Omnicom Media Group in 2000, Omnicom Health Group and Omnicom Public Relations Group in 2016, and Omnicom Precision Marketing Group in 2017.
“Clients want best-in-class talent, innovation and seamless delivery of creative services around the globe,” said John Wren, chairman and CEO of Omnicom.
“OAG will deliver on that promise while allowing our agency cultures to remain strong and evolve through shared investments and best practices. With Troy at the helm of this new division, I’m confident our creative agencies and all our incredibly talented minds will continue to set the bar for the industry.”
The announcement comes after Omnicom reported its second quarter 2024 results in July, showing a revenue of $3.9 billion and organic growth of 5.2%. The growth was primarily driven by its experiential discipline (17.6%), followed by advertising and media (7.8%), precision marketing (1.4%), execution and support (1.2%), and public relations (0.9%). However, it noted a decline in organic growth from branding and retail commerce by 3.8%.
Commenting on the financial results, Wren said: “With the rapid adoption of Gen AI, creativity and talent matter more than ever to address the breadth and complexity of consumers.
He continued: “To serve our clients with the best, most advanced capabilities, we continue to strategically align our agencies and invest in robust data and technology, scaled content and production, e-commerce, and retail and performance media – all embedded in our industry-leading Omni platform.”
Mediaweek has reached out to Omnicom contacts in Australia for further comment.
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