Home The Big Story The Ad Agency Washing Machine

The Ad Agency Washing Machine

SHARE:

Ad agencies are under threat, as platforms automate and AI replaces people, leading to massive change: layoffs, reorgs, mergers, new leadership, new tech and new pecking orders.

In the past year, IPG and Omnicom planned a merger to take on Publicis, and Publicis ascended to the top of the ad agency mountain, a process that started several years ago with its rocky acquisition of Sapient.

Meanwhile, WPP, once on top, is fighting back. Its current leader, Mark Read, announced this week he will leave at the end of the year. During his reign, WPP’s stock price declined and it lost clients, and many in the industry see his departure as a sign that he wasn’t right for the job.

On this week’s podcast, we analyze the threats that ad agency holding companies are facing from AI and each other, and how each agency’s strategy has either helped or hurt its ability to adapt to change.

Then, we discuss WPP Media’s midyear ad forecast report and the macro issues reshaping ad spend. Tariff news is better than it was a month ago, but the agency still revised its ad forecast downward, from 7.7% growth to 6% growth. And, strikingly, the report predicted that user-generated content will be the majority of ad spend this year.

Which leaves us with two takeaways on the state of advertising and media: the influencers have taken over, and so have the machines.

Must Read

The Trade Desk’s Auction Evolutions Bring High Drama To The Prebid Summit

TTD shared new details about OpenAds features that let publishers see for themselves whether it’s running a fair auction. But tension between TTD and Prebid hung over the event.

Monopoly Man looks on at the DOJ vs. Google ad tech antitrust trial (comic).

How Google Stands In The DOJ’s Ad Tech Antitrust Suit, According To Those Who Tracked The Trial

The remedies phase of the Google antitrust trial concluded last week. And after 11 days in the courtroom, there is a clearer sense of where Judge Leonie Brinkema is focused on, and how that might influence what remedies she put in place.

The Ad Context Protocol Aims To Make Sense Of Agentic Ad Demand

The AI advertising agents will need their own trade group eventually. For now though, a bunch of companies are forming the Ad Context Protocol, or AdCP.

Privacy! Commerce! Connected TV! Read all about it. Subscribe to AdExchanger Newsletters

OUTFRONT Is Using Agencies’ AI Enthusiasm To Spur Wider Programmatic OOH Adoption

The desire for a data-driven reinvention of OOH inspired OUTFRONT to create agentic AI tools for executing and measuring OOH campaigns and comparing OOH to other channels.

Inside PubDesk, The Trade Desk’s New Dashboard That Shows What Buyers Actually Care About

A peek inside PubDesk, The Trade Desk’s new dashboard that gives sellers detailed info on how buyers value their inventory.

(Photo credit: Samsung Ads on Linkedin)

How To Advertise To Advertisers At Ad Industry Events (Like Advertising Week)

New Yorkers are bombarded by ads at every turn. But targeted ads? For your industry? While you’re on your way to an event for that industry? The surreality of that experience can still pack a punch.