Beyond the OMG/IPG merger, we have recently witnessed the purchase by Publicis Groupe of Australia’s largest independent media agency, Atomic 212.
These changes determine that approximately $7 billion of media spend is controlled by three major buying Groups, i.e. OMG ($3+ billion), Publicis ($1.5+ billion) and GroupM ($2.0+ billion).
GroupM is not without change either.
Recently it has been announced that “Global advertising group WPP is poised to restructure its GroupM media division and rebrand as WPP Media.”
In a ‘don’t scare the horses’ response in The Australian (12th May 2025), the local leaders of GroupM agencies were quick to hose down any speculation that the change will impact local operations:
“The Australian understands GroupM’s agency brands EssenceMediacom, Wavemaker and Mindshare will remain in place, as will the leaders and teams servicing clients within those agencies. However, the changes and consolidation from the restructure will have a larger impact on the back-end operations of these agencies, with a push to adopt centralised resources across WPP Media.”
While this may be the case, we expect that “centralised resources” will extend beyond the traditional accounting, research and non-client specific functions.
A hint of what may be on the horizon appeared in AdNews (13th May 2025) where reports regarding the US WPP merger stated that “… (US) Staff were told “about 40% to 45% of our entire workforce would be affected in North America, according to a report by Adweek. This did not refer to role cuts but rather to reorganisation … Multiple employees across WPP’s media buying units were abruptly laid off.”
With “multiple employees across WPP’s media buying units” being laid off, we question whether media buying will become a “centralised resource” in the future world of Holdcos?
With Holdcos already funnelling a significant share of buying through their own programmatic offering, plus the allocation of inventory media through third party companies within their group, it is only a small stretch to move all buying into a centralised Holdco buying unit.
Over the next few years programmatic buying will encompass a significant and growing share of television, radio and outdoor buying. Introduce AI into the mix and it’s not hard to understand the economies a Holdco can realise by centralising media buying in this manner.
The volume of expenditure through these consolidated groups will likely see buying implemented by specialist media units i.e. radio, television, outdoor etc. specialists as opposed to a traditional client team structure.
The above model must give rise to client confidentiality concerns with the same client category data combining in consolidated hands.
Holdcos will (correctly) argue that confidentiality is mostly paramount in the development of media strategy. This will allow them to manage competitive conflicts, of which there are many as Holdcos merge and acquire, but there is good reason for clients to pause for thought.
Enth Degree foresees a model in the near future whereby strategy, planning and account management are the core services offered by the individual agencies within the Holdco, with all other services administered by ‘bots and buyers’.
This will leave clients with a stark choice – adapt to the new world order of the Holdco, or shop around for a more client focussed provider!
