• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, February 26, 2010

Even as the auto industry struggled, General Motors remained among Interpublic's largest clients in 2009. IPG said in its annual report that its largest clients were GM, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Unilever and Verizon -- in no particular order.

GM has traditionally been number one, but may have dropped a peg as it went through bankruptcy.

Nonetheless, the unnamed largest client appeared to dramatically reduce spending last year, as it contributed about $100 million less to the holding company. The client accounted for an estimated $241 million in global IPG revenue in 2009, down from $348 million the year before.

IPG's business with GM includes Campbell-Ewald handling creative duties for Chevrolet and McCann Worldgroup working with GM internationally. IPG CEO Michael Roth did say the business had been picking up.

"We are seeing positive impact particularly from General Motors," he said on an earnings call Friday.

Still, in the fourth quarter of 2009, CFO Frank Mergenthaler -- while not speaking about GM specifically -- said: "Auto continued to weigh on domestic results."

In 2009, Roth indicated that clients in general -- pressured by their procurement departments -- looked to pay lower fees, particularly for media services, which was a factor in selecting agencies during reviews.

"Obviously, 2009 was a very difficult year from (a) pricing (standpoint), most evident in the media pitches that were going on, and the demands by our clients in the media arena," he said. "And that sort of feeds on itself, which is why you start seeing clients looking at putting their media business up for review, because they think they can capture savings and efficiencies."

"And I think that's going to continue into this year. Until we have a real robust recovery," adds Roth, "we're going to see a lot of emphasis on pricing and certainly procurement is sitting at the table at all our negotiations."

Broadly, Roth struck a positive tone about the economy improving, which he said should benefit the holding company this year.

"I would characterize the tone of the business as one of tempered optimism, especially for the second half of 2010," he said.

IPG did benefit financially from workforce reductions in 2009. The company trimmed its staff by 11% last year and now has 17,000 employees in the U.S. and 40,000 globally. For the year, it paid out $166 million in severance costs.

In the fourth quarter, Mergenthaler said the company had "more extensive head count reduction than we anticipated."

Overall in 4Q, organic revenue was down 8% globally, due to a reduction in client spending -- half because of declines in the auto, technology and telecom sectors -- and lost assignments, the company said.

Overall, revenue was down 5% to $1.8 billion. In the U.S., it was down 7% to $910 million. Earnings dropped 38% to $129 million.

Still, IPG's stock price was up about 11% in midday trading Friday to the $7.50 range.