• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, April 11, 2022

In a first for a holding company, Omnicom has entered a partnership with Firework, the livestream commerce and shoppable video platform provider that enables brands to establish live commerce capabilities on their own websites.

The partnership will give clients across all Omnicom agencies access to Firework’s enterprise suite of proprietary short-form video and livestreaming technology. Omnicom will also have first-look access to Firework beta products and research.

The holding company said the deal was important for clients given the growth of live commerce, which thanks to providers like Firework is quickly expanding beyond social media platforms to brand sites.

Omnicom noted research projecting that live commerce (which adds interactive abilities like chat functions to product purchase capabilities) will be a $25 billion business by 2023. It also said that McKinsey has found live commerce conversion rates to be up to10 times higher than conventional ecommerce.

“Brands today are in a race with the market to build the best commerce value proposition, while at the same time racing against the clock to build direct relationships with customers that will not simply replace cookies, but actually be more effective,” says John Schorr, Managing Director, Commerce for Omnicom Media Group North America, which facilitated the partnership.

“This agreement opens up a wide lead for Omnicom clients in these races, giving them technology that makes their websites and other owned destinations more shoppable, and helps them deliver the more personalized and relevant experiences that build stickiness.”