Credit: Alora Griffiths via Unsplash
Omnicom plans to further lift its media business, the largest part of its global advertising business, with data, AI and the integration of IPG post takeover.
The group reported an 8% increase in media and advertising in the June quarter, with advertising mostly flat but stronger outside the US.
“Media is a very, very strong area, which continues to grow,” CEO John Wren told analysts in a briefing.
He said there are opportunities in terms of products to process media transactions and to increase margins.
“I'm very optimistic about that and its continued growth,” Wren said.
Media and advertising represented more than 57% of Omnicom’s business in the June quarter, and at 8% organic growth is well ahead of the company’s overall 3%.
OMD worldwide won Media Network of the Year at Cannes Lions this year.
“Our ability to excel in both creative and media underscores the strength of Omnicom's end-to-end capabilities and the outstanding work we deliver for our clients,” said Wren.
Omnicom also has been working, ahead of the IP integration, on data and AI through the Omni platform.
Chief technology officer Paolo Yuvienco said the focus initially was using generative AI for ideation in content creation and copy generation as well as distilling insights from audiences.
“While these delivered immediate productivity gains, they represented only the first phase of our AI strategy," Yuvienco said.
“What is driving the latest phase of our continuous transformation has been the development and deployment of our agentic framework.
“Over the last year, we have been aggressively and systematically rolling out AI agents throughout our workflows, where we can deploy multiple AI agents that collaborate seamlessly to deliver comprehensive solutions.
“Rather than isolated AI tools addressing individual tasks, we can now orchestrate intelligent agents across campaign life cycles, simultaneously analysing data, optimising strategies and refining creative elements.”
Wren said the unique attributes in the platform allows Omnicom to gain insights to help target how clients spend their money and how to optimise that.
From July 1, Omnicom reorganised its data and technology assets, Omni, Omni AI, ArtBot and the Flywheel Commerce Cloud, into an end-to-end platform.
“This move is designed to directly support our clients' marketing and commercial ambitions while accelerating our own growth trajectory,” said Wren.
“With the proposed acquisition of IPG, our new platform will be significantly enhanced by the addition of KINESSO and Acxiom recognized as the world's highest fidelity data platform, as well as Real ID, the most comprehensive customer identity solution available.
“Our long-standing strategy has always been rooted in the belief that data and technology supercharge creativity. In today's world, especially with the rise of generative AI, breakthrough creativity is more valuable than ever.”
Omnicom and IPG have dedicated teams working closely with merger consultants to ensure a “seamless and successful” takeover.
“We continue to refine our analysis and identification of synergies to achieve our $750 million run rate target following the closing ,” said Wren.
“We are highly confident that we will achieve this level of synergies, and we continue to identify further opportunities beyond our target as we move forward with the evaluation.
“We've also taken steps to align our existing portfolio, ensuring that we can immediately deliver the benefits of the combined company to our clients, particularly in relation to our operating platform strategy.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.