Commentary

Omnicom Folding Programmatic, Search Specialists Into Main Media Brands

Omnicom Group CEO John Wren told financial analysts today that the company is integrating its specialist agencies Accuen and Resolution Media into its three main media agency brands: OMD, PHD and Hearts & Science.

Accuen is the group’s programmatic shop. Resolution Media specializes in search and social media. As a result, 600 specialists from those shops will be moving to the broader media agencies.

Wren noted that both Accuen and Resolution were formed about a decade ago, when programmatic and search/social were relatively new disciplines that needed dedicated units. That’s no longer the case. Instead, they “are at the core of how we work with our media clients.” He said the move would add speed, agility and quality of service to the group’s media offering.

The Resolution Media brand will still exist to serve clients requiring just search or social-media service.

Wren made the disclosure during the company’s first-quarter earnings call earlier today. The firm posted a 4.4% drop in revenue to $3.46 billion, largely due to the impact of foreign-exchange rates and a decrease in acquisition revenue.

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Organic revenue growth (which strips out M&A and currency impact) was 2.5%, including a 5.1% gain for advertising and media and 6.8% for the firm’s healthcare-focused agencies.

Company shares were up about 5% on the news.

Wren said the company would still make acquisitions, even as it continues to shed what it sees as non-core assets, several of which it made in the first quarter. But added he doesn’t foresee making a huge acquisition in the near term, such as Publicis Groupe’s deal over the weekend for precision marketing firm Epsilon.

Omnicom has developed an in-house platform called Omni designed to provide “mass personalization at scale.” “If I or my team felt threatened,” from a competitive standpoint, Wren said, the firm would do a big deal to fill a major capability gap. “I simply don’t feel that way now.”

 

 

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