Media marketing consultant and auditing firm ID Comms is out with a review of the big media-related events, people and trends that mattered in 2024 via its podcast, MediaSnack, hosted by its two CEOs David Indo (London) and Tom Denford (New York).  

Topping the list is the proposed Omnicom-IPG tie-up announced earlier this month, which Denford noted would provide unrivaled capabilities across data, technology, media bargaining power and other benefits. The potential downsides, however, would be massive layoffs and conflicts that could spark brand defections.  

Elon Musk also made this year’s list in part for his taking on the World Federation of Advertisers, claiming the group urged members and others to boycott X. “Love him or loathe him you can’t ignore him,” said Indo.  

A continuing trend is the deteriorating trust among advertisers and agencies, particularly on issues related to the advertising supply chain. Advertisers are “designing for greater transparency,” and they are increasingly doing it in-house, noted Denford. 

Principal buying continues to gain momentum, and clients have to be mindful of the transparency issues that will never fully go away, said Indo, because many agencies will not disclose markups. “There’s nothing wrong with it,” he added. But clients need to be aware that its “impossible to audit.” 

On the AI front Denford opined that marketers and agencies are well advised to leverage the “effectiveness” potential of the technology versus the “efficiency” potential. The latter, he said, is problematic given the risk of ad fraud and other bad behavior in a race to the bottom on costs.   

Striving for effectiveness, he added, implies utilizing AI in a race to the top for competitive advantage by making smarter buying decisions.  

See the firm’s full year end wrap-up here.