John Wren

Water is wet, the sun sets in the west and Omnicom still says it expects to close its merger with IPG in the second half of this year.

Do Google AI Overviews really bring exposure to more websites?; Meta considered an all-ad Instagram feed; and agencies are cautiously optimistic even as tariff concerns threaten upfronts season.

Why worry about AI replacing jobs when a megamerger might make them redundant?

Antitrust regulation has counterintuitively favored the biggest ad industry players. Plus, another streaming service, anyone?

Rival browsers raise an objection to Google being forced to sell Chrome; ad agencies pivot to software and services; and people are turning to chatbots instead of search, with error-filled results.

Another big ad industry acquisition? Truly, it’s a Christmas miracle. Omnicom’s board of directors has unanimously approved a deal to acquire IPG, itself a major holding company.

While other holding companies are touting their AI roadmaps, Omnicom is focusing more on a different shiny object: retail and commerce media.

Agency holding company Omnicom’s going all in on generative AI – a topic that dominated its earnings call Tuesday.

Omnicom saw 5.2% organic revenue growth, or $178.7 million YoY, in the first quarter of 2023. The agency holding company reported total revenues of $3.44 billion, with net income up by 30.9% to $227.5 million, according to the company’s earnings call Tuesday.

Omnicom mitigated the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business in part by cutting 6,100 jobs across its network in the second quarter, the company said Tuesday during its earnings call. Omnicom also froze hiring, eliminated salary increases, implemented voluntary pay cuts across its agencies and participated in government subsidy programs in 35 markets. […]