Agencies
State of Play
Revised Nov 1, 2026The moment. The holding companies reported, and the gap between them is the story. Campaign’s Elena Lewis has Omnicom’s organic revenue up 7.2% in Q3, from 6.1% in Q2 and 3.9% in Q1, with core revenue up 7% to $6.01 billion. Adweek’s Alison Weissbrot has WPP’s revenue less pass-through costs down 2.1% to $3.2 billion, narrower than Q2’s 2.8% decline, with WPP Media back to 0.3% growth for the first time in six quarters. Omnicom took Coca-Cola’s North America media account, which leaves Coke and PepsiCo having effectively swapped agencies in that market; WPP Media won Transport for London’s account, worth about fifty million pounds. The executive moves ran the same direction: McCann made Andrés Ordóñez global chairman, Publicis named Scott Hagedorn the first CEO of its Marcel AI platform, and Stagwell bought Freestar and put James Denton-Clark in charge of Europe.
The tension. The holdcos are moving onto the other side of the trade. Digiday’s Ronan Shields reads Stagwell’s Freestar deal as putting buying and selling under one roof, and Publicis now owns LiveRamp under an FTC firewall, so the firms that audit media are increasingly the firms that sell it. The way business is won has fragmented too: Digiday’s Seb Joseph finds no common pitch shape left across the earnings calls. Buyers are pushing Q4 money into social, video and retail media, and Digiday’s Sam Bradley has NBA linear and streaming inventory all but sold out across Peacock, Amazon and Disney for the 2026–27 season, which sends brands toward creators by default rather than by plan.
Who’s moving. Omnicom, at 7.2% organic. WPP, narrowing its decline to 2.1%. Coca-Cola, moving North America to Omnicom. WPP Media, on Transport for London. Stagwell, buying Freestar. James Denton-Clark, to Stagwell Europe. McCann’s Andrés Ordóñez, to global chairman. Publicis’s Scott Hagedorn, to Marcel. Skydance’s Jay Askinasi, on a unified ad organization. Media buyers, on an NBA season all but sold out. The American Entertainment Alliance, backing a 20% federal production incentive as a first step. Walmart, building its Q4 around a Muppets parody.
What the desk is watching. Whether Dentsu lands nearer Omnicom’s 7.2% or WPP’s 2.1%, and whether Stagwell’s clients ask which side of the Freestar trade they are on.
VCCP overtakes BBH atop Q3 2026 global creative agency rankings
Campaign’s Jamie Rossouw reports that VCCP has displaced BBH at the top of the Q3 2026 global creative rankings, a shift in the industry’s benchmark league table.
Independent Talent to rep Outernet London for commercial strategy
Variety’s K.J. Yossman reports that Independent Talent Group has been named creative commercial agency for Outernet London, pairing its artist and creator roster with the venue’s immersive screens to build programming, branded entertainment and co-created IP.
Svedka crowdsources its 2027 Super Bowl ad after AI backlash
Adweek’s Brittaney Kiefer reports that Svedka is returning to Super Bowl 61 with a public contest handing creative control of its next ad to fans.
Anomaly wins Alaska Air Group’s creative AOR
MediaPost’s Fern Siegel reports Anomaly won Alaska Air Group’s creative account after a review, displacing Mekanism, covering Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Atmos Rewards.
T-Mobile overhauls agency roster, taps Highdive and Anomaly
Ad Age’s Brian Bonilla reports that T-Mobile named Highdive its lead creative advertising agency and Anomaly its strategic brand transformation partner, replacing its prior creative setup.
Ad Age previews Super Bowl LXI ad lessons: clarity, cautious AI, social
Ad Age’s Parker Herren reports that as marketers look toward the 2027 Super Bowl, they shouldn’t forget the lessons from Big Game campaigns that ran earlier this year.
Publicis closes $2.2 billion LiveRamp acquisition
Adweek’s Alison Weissbrot reports that Publicis has closed its $2.2 billion all-cash acquisition of LiveRamp, its largest deal since Epsilon in 2019, after the FTC cleared it with five years of neutrality conditions.
WPP Media posts first growth in two years as turnaround holds
Marketing Dive’s Peter Adams reports that WPP Media’s revenue rose 0.3% in Q3, its first quarterly gain in two years, as the broader group’s like-for-like revenue decline narrowed to 2.1% and executives pointed to Elevate28 progress toward 2027 growth.
MediaPost’s Mandese: retire the word “traditional” in media
MediaPost’s Joe Mandese argues the industry should stop labeling radio, TV and out-of-home as “traditional,” citing Guideline data that digital passed 80% of U.S. ad spend and Borrell Associates data showing digital nearing 75% of local spend.
Dana Maiman exits Omnicom Health; Tom Schwenger named to lead marketing unit
Campaign US’s Jameson Fleming reports that Dana Maiman is leaving Omnicom Health after 11 months as CEO, with her last day set for November 6.
WPP’s Rose slams ‘pitch-less CEO handshake’ agency deals
Campaign US’s Shauna Lewis reports that WPP chief executive Cindy Rose criticized “pitch-less CEO handshake deals” on WPP’s Q3 investor call, warning clients against bypassing due diligence.
Stagwell posts record quarter, eyes government deals under Penn
Adweek’s Christopher Cicchiello reports Stagwell posted its best quarter in five years as a public company, with Q3 net revenue up 8% year over year to $664 million and EBITDA up 25% to $145 million.
Stagwell posts $816M Q3 revenue, up 10% year over year
Campaign US reports that Stagwell logged $816 million in third-quarter revenue, a 10% increase from the prior-year period, as part of its weekly roundup of agency moves and client wins.
Holdco production hubs squeeze independent studios
Adweek’s Brittaney Kiefer reports that WPP’s new 34,000-square-foot Devon’s Point hub, following February’s WPP Production launch, combines AI-powered, virtual, and human-led production under one roof.
Ad Age tracks 12 agency and marketing job moves at BBDO, Liquid I.V., Lego
Ad Age rounds up twelve notable executive moves this week across agencies and marketing departments, including changes at BBDO New York, Liquid I.V. and Lego, as part of its ongoing weekly leadership-change tracker.
Ragu reunites with Gerry Graf as Joan wins Mizkan creative account
Ad Age’s Jon Springer reports that Joan has won the Mizkan creative account, reuniting Ragu with Gerry Graf, the creative behind its memorable 2012 ad.
Modern Retail: brands plan to shift 2026 holiday marketing tactics
Modern Retail’s Catherine Wolf reports that a survey of 90 brand and retailer professionals, plus interviews with marketing executives, found brands and retailers plan to change their holiday marketing tactics for 2026 versus what they used in 2025.
Stagwell’s Penn: scale without the holdco bloat
Adweek’s Christopher Cicchiello reports that Stagwell posted 8% year over year net revenue growth to $664 million in Q3, its best quarter in five years as a public company.
Stagwell buys Freestar as ad industry doubles down on AI bets
ExchangeWire’s Sheila Obeng-King reports that Stagwell acquired publisher monetisation platform Freestar for its Owned Media division, while Anthropic’s IPO filing showed ad spend quadrupling to $147 million in 2025, and Meta seeks $95 billion to fund AI expansion.
Canva hands creative to Omnicom’s Goodby Silverstein, no pitch needed
MediaPost’s Steve McClellan reports that Omnicom’s Goodby Silverstein & Partners won Canva’s creative account without a competitive review, launching a new brand platform, “What Will You Canva Today?”
Broadcast execs push multi-platform ad sales to fight streaming’s gains
The Desk’s Matthew Keys reports that at NAB Show New York, Fox’s Tom Fleming and Sinclair’s Del Parks said broadcasters must modernize ad sales, bundling broadcast, cable and streaming inventory.
Alaska Air Group names Anomaly creative AOR, dropping incumbent Mekanism
Ad Age’s Ewan Larkin reports that Alaska Air Group has named Anomaly its creative agency of record, tasked with showcasing the airline’s global reach. Incumbent Mekanism, which had held the creative and strategy account since 2016, did not participate in the review.
Amazon joins the Q3 ad-spend pullback chorus
The Ankler’s Sean McNulty reports that Amazon’s contribution to advertising spend pullback signals adds a third major player flagging caution about 2027, after similar signals elsewhere.
Campaign’s Pitch Update: Lidl, Coca-Cola, Virgin Atlantic, TfL, B&Q, Williams F1 in review
Campaign reports that its Pitch Update roundup tracks live agency reviews including Lidl, Cushelle, Coca-Cola, Virgin Atlantic, Tour de France, TfL, B&Q and Williams F1.
Omnicom Media takes lion’s share of Lidl’s $1bn European media account
Campaign’s Shauna Lewis reports that Omnicom Media has won the majority of Lidl’s European media account, estimated to be worth $1 billion, following a competitive review.