As media agencies become more skilled at programmatic buying, they’re working with fewer demand-side platforms (DSPs) than ever before. According to Pathmatics, advertisers have cut the number of DSPs they work with by 40% over the past two years, to about four per month on average. In part, that’s because the market is consolidating. Big-name […]
MDC Partners CEO Scott Kauffman runs his agency network a bit differently than his peers. While the agency founders’ culture has come under fire recently by some, Kauffman, who has been CEO at MDC since 2015, actively facilitates it. MDC takes a majority stake in agencies and lets its entrepreneurs drive their own growth rather […]
Last year, when Publicis Groupe said it would pull out of the Cannes Lions festival and awards show and reinvest the funds in an artificial intelligence platform, it sparked other holding companies to rethink their presences. Many had become concerned that the festival, which takes place every June along the beach in the south of […]
Kantar is facing a lot of speculation about its future at WPP. Since Martin Sorrell resigned as CEO of WPP in April, analysts and investors have buzzed about how the holding company can unlock value for shareholders in a period of slow growth. Many say selling the Kantar market research business, whose growth has lagged […]
WPP reelected its board with 84.5% of shareholder votes at its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, despite concerns about slow growth and leadership. Reported revenue was down 3.4% for the first four months of the year to roughly $6.4 billion. Some investors, however, expressed concern and discontent about how the company handled CEO Martin Sorrell’s […]
When WPP Group-owned GroupM opens its doors at the brand new 3 World Trade Center building in downtown Manhattan next month, it’ll be more than just a symbolic new beginning. The face of GroupM is changing. In addition to the shocking exit of WPP CEO Martin Sorrell in April, two longtime GroupM executives, Chairman Irwin […]
According to Nate Woodman, the new chief data officer for Havas Media, the media agency’s job is all about controlling data flows. “How do you take information, move it and connect it to activation?” he said. Woodman joined Havas Media in May, taking the reins from North American Chief Data Officer Michael Kaushansky, who now […]
Deloitte Digital is a fast-growing consultant-owned agency making waves in the industry. Deloitte’s agency subsidiary has more than 10,000 global employees from acquisitions such as creative shop Heat, creative agency Acne, Polish agency Digital One, design agency Flow and consultancy Daemon Quest, and grew 31% year-over-year in 2017. With $4 billion in 2017 revenue, Ad […]
As many expected, former WPP Group CEO Martin Sorrell isn’t quitting without a fight after being boxed out of his company in April. Sky News reported late Tuesday that the longtime CEO and industry legend had acquired Derriston Capital, a so-called “cash shell” listed on the London Stock Exchange, with plans to turn it into […]
Varick Media Management said Wednesday that former Xaxis executive Paul Dolan will join the company as its first-ever CEO. Varick, launched in 2008 as one of the first agency trading desks, has always had a president reporting into to senior leadership at parent company MDC Partners. Now with its first CEO, Varick is establishing a […]
It wasn’t a surprise to most in the industry when Accenture Interactive said Wednesday it would formally launch a programmatic services unit as part of its offer to clients. The Accenture subsidiary has been steadily wading into agency territory for years by acquiring creative and design shops. While it hasn’t made any major acquisitions in […]
More brands are bringing the strategic functions of programmatic buying in-house, relegating their agencies to specialized roles. Sixty-five percent of brands are either completely or partially buying programmatic media in-house, according to a white paper released Tuesday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Data Center of Excellence. The white paper surveyed marketers at 119 US […]
IPG Mediabrands is the latest agency network to bust silos to offer clients integrated solutions. The company said Wednesday it folded mobile agency Ansible and social agency Society into search agency Reprise. The combined agencies unified under the Reprise brand because it had the broadest footprint, with 60 offices in 40-plus markets, said Tim Ringel […]
When Marla Kaplowitz took the helm of the 101-year-old American Association of Advertising Agencies (the 4As) just over a year ago, a scathing report about agency rebates had just dropped from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). “There was an erosion of trust when that happened,” Kaplowitz said. “Everyone was guilty without any sort of […]
As holding companies slump, Accenture Interactive grows. The digital experience agency, a subsidiary of the consulting firm Accenture, grew 35% in 2017 to hit $6.5 billion in revenue, making it the biggest digital agency in the world. It’s acquired 20 digital and design agencies since its launch in 2009 to build up its offering. As […]
Martin Sorrell may be out as CEO of WPP, but he’s not done as an entrepreneur yet. “I’m going to start again,” he said at the Techonomy conference in New York City on Tuesday. “I’m not going to go into voluntary, or involuntary, retirement.” So what’s the next act? Sorrell didn’t say, but he noted […]
GroupM’s State of Digital report, released Thursday, predicts a year of CPM inflation and ecommerce growth as the duopoly maintains its stronghold over the digital economy. Marketers in 2017 spent 44% of their digital budgets programmatically, according to the report. That’s up from 31% in 2016, and GroupM predicts it will rise to 47% in […]
WPP reported Q1 earnings on Monday for the first time without its founder and long-tenured CEO Martin Sorrell. Since Sorrell’s abrupt exit from the company earlier this month, former Wunderman CEO Mark Read and former European COO Andrew Scott have taken leadership of the company as co-COOs. Chairman Roberto Quarta has stepped in as CEO […]
After applying zero-based budgeting, CPGs are coming back, said IPG CEO Michael Roth during his company’s Q1 2018 earnings call Friday. Roth said CPGs are among the leading spenders for the quarter, with spend up by 10% across IPG. The growth was in part reflective of new business wins. “I’ll put it out there that […]
Dentsu Aegis-owned 360i said Wednesday that former president Jared Belsky will become CEO. Belsky was promoted to the new role after former 360i chairman Bryan Wiener left the agency to become CEO of measurement firm comScore on Monday. Sarah Hoffstetter, 360i’s previous CEO, is now chairman of the agency. “This was [a] very well-planned succession,” […]
Despite consumer outrage aimed at Facebook, Publicis Groupe’s sentiment about the platform is status quo. “The impact is not material on our business in the short or medium term,” said Steve King, CEO of Publicis Media, on the holding company’s Q1 2018 earnings call Thursday. “Facebook is a very important partner to us. They have […]
No other holding company has had its CEO as ingrained as WPP. Now WPP must keep its massive organization, with so many disparate agencies and pieces, together without Sorrell. “He was important not only as the voice, look and feel of WPP, but he was very much involved in the day-to-day operations,” said Rebecca Lieb, […]
Longtime WPP CEO Martin Sorrell’s abrupt departure Saturday shocked the industry. Sorrell, 73, is the advertising giant’s founding CEO and the only person to hold the title since 1986. But despite his age, WPP’s board never named a possible successor for the company. There are many options to choose from, said Brian Wieser, senior research […]
WPP CEO Martin Sorrell stepped down Saturday from the massive agency holding company he founded in 1985 and where he had served as CEO since 1987. WPP chairman Robert Quarta will be executive chairman until the new CEO is appointed. Mark Read, CEO of Wunderman, and Andrew Scott, WPP’s corporate development director and Europe COO, […]
Facebook’s decision to shut off partner categories and turn down the spigot of data flowing into and out of its platform may be a necessary step to comply with GDPR and improve consumer privacy. But Facebook could’ve given partners more notice, rather than wait until two months before GDPR goes into effect, said Arun Kumar, […]
Brand safety has become such a hot-button issue for advertisers that competing holding companies and agencies are ditching their territorial natures to fight it together. The 4As said Tuesday it has formed an industry consortium called the Advertiser Protection Bureau (APB), a cross-holding company and agency effort to better share knowledge around brand safety incidents […]
Agencies are calling 2018 “Mediapalooza Two” as brands review an inordinate amount of accounts, following a pattern that began in 2015. Since January, brands including Microsoft, Shell, Asda and Mondolez have put a collective $10 billion worth of media accounts up for review, according to research firm ID Comms. But this year, brands are putting […]
GroupM said Friday that global Chairman Irwin Gotlieb will step back from his role to become a senior adviser to the company. Gotlieb was GroupM’s founding CEO in 2003 and ran the company until transitioning to Chairman in 2012. GroupM’s global CEO Kelly Clark will continue to lead WPP’s media-buying unit. Gotlieb has made a […]
Kepler Group, a New York-based agency focused on programmatic, media activation and CRM, revealed Wednesday it has been acquired by kyu, a collective of marketing, consulting and design companies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. kyu operates under Hakuhodo DY holdings, one of Japan’s largest marketing holding companies behind Dentsu. While kyu’s agencies, which […]
WPP confirmed Tuesday that its board has hired an independent counsel to investigate CEO Martin Sorrell for misuse of funds and allegations of inappropriate behavior. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news. The advertising giant issued the following statement regarding the investigation: “The Board of WPP has appointed independent counsel to conduct an investigation […]
