• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, January 7, 2015

After the much ballyhooed but failed Publicis Omnicom merger, 2014 saw some significant M&A action with Publicis acquiring Sapient and Lake Capital acquiring London's Engine Group. What does 2015 have in-store mergers and acquisitions-wise? Writing in The Drum, Barry Dudley, partner at finance advisory firm Green Square, says we'll see action in outdoor, PR, market research and data.

Of outdoor, Dudley writes: "I think the new breed of outdoor ad is real 'event' advertising -- a bit like Super Bowl ad breaks -- bringing a sense of scale and theatre back into marcomms. The most awarded campaign of the year was OgilvyOne’s brilliant digital outdoor campaign for British Airways, “Magic of Flying”. Unlike linear broadcast TV, digital outdoor taps into the zeitgeist and is difficult for punters to ignore -- especially if they’re stuck in a traffic jam, in a shopping or airport queue or waiting for a train. And digital technology is making it more interactive and visually interesting than even the best old posters."

Of PR's outlook, Dudley says: "Advertising and marcomms have always offered decent margins, but these have been squeezed in recent years by the march of digital and demands from clients. However PR, which has adapted to the demands of the 21st century perhaps better than any other discipline, still offers good margins because it is closer to consultancy -- the best outfits offering strategic insight and advice as well as securing media coverage and managing relationships with journalists and broadcasters -- which is very hard to commodify (in contrast to, say, media buying). PR firms have also arguably been quicker in seizing the initiative in the use of data and owning the social media space than rivals in other disciplines."