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.
Askinasi to lead Skydance ad sales as WBD sales chiefs exit
Adweek’s Bill Bradley reports that Paramount CRO Jay Askinasi will lead ad sales for the combined Skydance after its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, with David Decker and Ray Hopkins named presidents of content sales and distribution, while WBD’s Ryan Gould and Bobby Voltaggio exit.
Havas exec: Total TV infrastructure is ready, brands aren’t
VideoWeek’s Dan Meier interviews Havas Media Germany’s Ellinor Klier, who says agencies, publishers and tech platforms have already built the infrastructure for Total Video, but brands still need to adopt the unified buying approach across linear, CTV and digital video.
WPP names McCann’s Tyler Turnbull global CEO of WPP Creative
Adweek’s Christopher Cicchiello reports that WPP has tapped McCann global CEO Tyler Turnbull to lead WPP Creative, citing sources close to the matter.
Movers & Shakers: TBWA\Chiat\Day names new US CEO, Pandora picks 72andSunny
Campaignlive.com reports that TBWA\Chiat\Day named Lea Mastroberti as its new US CEO, while R/GA appointed Hope Nardini executive creative director and MSQ acquired media agency January Digital.
Independent agencies are merging to build scale, Ad Age reports
Ad Age’s Ewan Larkin reports that independent agency M&A is accelerating, producing “super-independent” shops that combine indie agility with holding-company-style capabilities and scale, as marketers look beyond the big networks.
Media buyers shift Meta spend to “Q5" as ad prices climb
Marketing Brew’s Jasmine Sheena reports that Meta’s price per ad rose 12% year over year in both Q1 and Q2, pushing some media buyers to shift client budgets into the “Q5" window from late December into January.
Agencies push agentic media while easing client fears of rogue AI
Digiday’s Michael Bürgi reports that Dentsu’s Carat, Tinuiti and Stagwell all unveiled agentic media systems during Advertising Week, with Carat partnering NBCUniversal, Freewheel and Newton on a planning and buying agent already used by one luxury retail client.
Agencies race to monetize AI as creators reshape media budgets
Modern Retail’s Catherine Wolf reports that agencies are adapting to a media landscape reshaped by AI search and creator marketing, per new Modern Retail+ Research.
Agencies told: specialize or lose to AI generalists, says Apostra’s O’Kelley
AdExchanger’s Allison Schiff reports that at Advertising Week New York, Apostra CEO Brian O’Kelley said agencies can’t keep being everything to everyone as AI models match generalist analyst work.
Opinion: AI is making imperial ads cheaper, not more native
TVREV’s Emanuele Landi argues advertising solved addressing but never language, shipping one imperial message into a thousand fragmented media “duchies.”
Omnicom Media partners with Rembrand on in-content streaming ads
Digiday’s Michael Bürgi reports that Omnicom Media has partnered with Rembrand to let brands identify, plan and activate in-content placements across premium streaming inventory, using Rembrand’s AI-driven VISTA platform.
British Council hands Omnicom Media its £150m global media account
Campaign’s Ida Axling reports that the British Council has selected Omnicom Media Group to handle its £150 million media account, following a competitive pitch process.
Pharma brands borrow the CPG media playbook as OTC sales surge
Digiday’s Sam Bradley reports that consumer healthcare firms like Opella are shifting budgets toward retail media, creator marketing, paid social and search, pulling spend from traditional pharma TV, as OTC sales hit $58.2 billion in 2025.
SAMY buys influencer shop Get Engaged in low nine-figure deal
Adweek’s Mark Stenberg reports that Madrid-based social agency SAMY acquired U.S. influencer marketing shop Get Engaged in a cash-and-equity deal valued in the low nine figures, with Get Engaged’s founders retaining meaningful ownership in the combined business.
Stagwell launches global media agency under Assembly CEO Rutgersson
Campaign US’s Emmy Liederman reports that Stagwell has launched Stagwell Media, uniting its global media capabilities under one roof, led by former Assembly Global CEO Liz Rutgersson.
Digiday podcast decodes agency landscape through sports and sitcom analogies
Digiday’s Kimeko McCoy reports that editors Seb Joseph, Michael Burgi and Tim Peterson used sports teams and The Golden Girls to break down the agency holding company landscape.
Midterm political ad spending on pace to hit $11.6 billion
Digiday’s Michael Bürgi reports that 2026 midterm political ad spending is on track to break records at roughly $11.6 billion per AdImpact, with the White House itself running a “U.S. Government” campaign touting Trump’s accomplishments worth an estimated $20 million.
WARC: planning’s influence with clients rebounds this year
MediaPost’s Joe Mandese reports that WARC’s “Future of Strategy 2026" study found planning’s perceived influence with clients climbed to a net positive score of 35 this year, up from 15, though still below 2022’s 45, even as AI and agency consolidation squeeze the role.
Dentsu becomes a Hollywood producer with ‘Angry Birds 3' investment
Campaignlive.com reports that Dentsu has made a “material capital investment” as producer and global agency of record on The Angry Birds 3, contributing to its $66 million marketing and distribution budget.
Goldman upgrades Stagwell to Buy, cites media division growth
Markets Insider reports Goldman Sachs assumed coverage of Stagwell with a Buy rating and $13 price target, up from Neutral. The analyst cites pitch wins in marketing services and digital transformation, plus upside from the media division.
Havas-Horizon venture struggles for traction one year in
Ad Age’s Ewan Larkin reports that Horizon Global, the joint venture between Havas and Horizon Media, has notched only small wins since its September 2025 debut.
Jon Cook hands VML’s global CEO reins to his best friend, Eric Campbell
Adweek’s Christopher Cicchiello reports that Jon Cook is stepping down after 25 years at VML, handing the global CEO role to longtime friend and partner Eric Campbell.
VCCP co-founder Adrian Coleman to retire at end of 2026
Campaign’s Eszter Gurbicz reports that Adrian Coleman, who co-founded VCCP in 2002 and ran it as group chief executive for two decades, will step back gradually before retiring at the end of 2026.
Digiday’s 2026 report: AI and creators are rewiring agency media plans
Digiday’s Catherine Wolf reports that the outlet’s 2026 Media Agency Report finds clients demanding more flexibility on when and where budgets move.
Digiday’s in/out list for AWNY 2026: AI agents, creator C-suites, fewer chip panels
Digiday’s Seb Joseph lays out what’s in and out for Advertising Week New York 2026, where OpenAI now runs an ad sales team and creators pitch brands directly.