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.
Variety’s Power 25 spotlights ad execs navigating mergers and streaming-linear math
Variety’s Brian Steinberg, Todd Spangler, Jennifer Maas and Cynthia Littleton profile 25 marketers and ad sellers, from YouTube’s Brian Albert to Paramount Skydance’s Jay Askinasi, on fragmentation, creator partnerships and merging ad sales operations.
Five B Corp brands get first TV ads via Channel 4 Sales contest
Advanced Television reports that five B Corp businesses — SURI, Holy Moly Dips, Klyk, Faith In Nature and TOTM — will make their TV advertising debut on October 4th.
Mid-size advertisers scale up AI creative, not just Unilever and L’Oréal
Digiday’s Sam Bradley reports that mid-sized advertisers like Wyndham Hotels, Opella and BetMGM are now building in-house teams to mass-produce AI creative, a practice once limited to giants like Unilever and L’Oréal.
Agencies lean harder into principal-based media deals
Madison and Wall reports that Stagwell is expanding its investment in Real Clear Holdings while WPP Media named Orion Worldwide’s former barter-and-trading CEO as global chief media officer.
Agencies back away from owning agentic AI tools and client data
AdExchanger’s Anthony Vargas reports that agency executives at Programmatic IO NY, including S4’s Sir Martin Sorrell and Horizon’s Bob Lord, say clients should own the data and AI models agencies build for them.
WME launches Creator Labs to turn talent into media businesses
The Hollywood Reporter’s Caitlin Huston reports that WME is unveiling Creator Labs, an in-house digital operations unit that helps creators with channel management, content syndication and distribution on YouTube and beyond.
Jon Cook to exit VML and WPP Creative after 30 years
Adweek’s Christopher Cicchiello reports that Jon Cook is stepping down as global CEO of VML and WPP Creative after three decades, with Eric Campbell succeeding him while keeping his North America CEO title.
Publishers turn AI visibility optimization into a real revenue line
Digiday’s Sara Guaglione reports that GEO has moved from experiment to business, with Future signing more than thirty clients and securing renewals while Ziff Davis and a half dozen other large publishers now sell generative engine optimization services.
MoffettNathanson: agency media-buying fees under pressure as AI reshapes ad market
Inside Radio reports that MoffettNathanson now forecasts the U.S. ad market will grow fifteen percent in 2026 to $471.4 billion, with online advertising reaching $359.6 billion, or seventy-six percent of the total, as AI, streaming and sports drive the gains.
Independent shop Zambezi sells majority stake to private equity firm Manna Tree
Ad Age’s Brian Bonilla reports that Zambezi is selling a majority stake to private equity firm Manna Tree, an unusual deal that has the independent agency helping evaluate deals and bringing marketing expertise to Manna Tree’s portfolio companies beyond its usual client work.
Goalhanger takes ad sales in-house from January 2027
Advanced Television reports that Goalhanger is bringing advertising sales fully in-house starting January 2027, letting brands build cross-platform deals directly with its own commercial team rather than buying podcast ads as a standalone line item.
BBDO NY loses CEO and CCO in post-merger shakeup
Adweek’s Alison Weissbrot reports that Emma Armstrong and Michael Aimette are departing BBDO NY, where they served as CEO and chief creative officer.
Geico quietly moves sports account to Omnicom’s Momentum
Sports Business Journal’s Terry Lefton reports that Geico shifted its sports and experiential account to Momentum without a review, leaving Octagon after a stint that began in 2023.
Shamrock Capital takes majority stake in Saylor, merges it with Mutiny
Adweek’s Mark Stenberg reports that Shamrock Capital made an eight-figure investment in social-first agency Saylor, taking a majority stake and merging it with Mutiny, a gaming-focused creative agency already in Shamrock’s portfolio.
Havas Lynx and JOE.co.uk tackle ED with a singing Viking puppet
Shots’ Jamie Madge covers Listen to Jordic, a stop-motion campaign from Havas Lynx Manchester and director Paul McDonnell at Light Farm Studios for JOE.co.uk’s World Heart Day push.
Stagwell’s Penn: ‘We’re the fourth alternative’ to the Big Three holding groups
The Media Leader’s Jack Benjamin reports that Stagwell CEO Mark Penn is positioning the holding group as a “fourth alternative” to WPP, Omnicom and Publicis.
Clean Creatives’ F-list finds record 1,321 fossil fuel agency contracts
Marketing Brew’s Tricia Crimmins reports Clean Creatives’ 2026 F-list counted 1,321 agency contracts with fossil fuel companies, up nearly 9% from last year, with Omnicom and WPP agencies topping the holding-company rankings and independents holding most of the total.
Ad production spreads beyond California and New York, but not evenly
The Measure’s Eleanor Semeraro reports that XR’s Where Ads Are Made study found states carving out specialized production niches between 2019 and H1 2026.
DoorDash names WPP Media its first global media partner
Marketing Dive’s Peter Adams reports that DoorDash named WPP Media its first global media agency partner after a competitive review, expanding an eight-year relationship into more than 40 additional markets starting next year.
Stagwell deepens stake in Real Clear Holdings, adds two execs
MediaPost’s Steve McClellan reports that Stagwell has increased its investment in Real Clear Holdings, publisher of RealClearPolitics, two years after taking a 37.5% stake, while adding Jared Smith as president and Kristen Elliott as head of commercial.
Stagwell’s new AI chief explains the Palantir bet
Digiday’s Michael Bürgi reports that Stagwell CEO Mark Penn hired John Kahan, a 40-year data and analytics veteran of IBM and Microsoft, as chief AI officer to run the holdco’s Palantir partnership.
Enter the Robots: WFA study shows labor-based agency comp collapses to 17% from 54%
It used to be cushy to land an agency job. Now it’s a manufacturing meat grinder for some. MediaPost’s Joe Mandese reports that a new WFA study, done with Agency Media Solutions, finds labor-based agency compensation has fallen to 17% of the marketplace, down from 54% fifteen years ago.
Beckham’s brand company hits record earnings on World Cup ad blitz
The FT’s Daniel Thomas reports that DRJB Holdings, David Beckham’s brand company, paid him a $51.1 million dividend after revenue grew a fifth to $110.5 million in 2025.
Dave & Buster’s taps Gut, Mediaplus after 13 quarters of falling sales
Adweek’s Christopher Cicchiello reports that Dave & Buster’s named Gut as creative agency of record and Mediaplus as media AOR, replacing incumbents Deloitte Digital and Dentsu X following a competitive pitch.
Agencies swap hourly fees for opaque AI platform and tech charges
MediaPost’s Maarten Albarda writes that labor-based agency compensation fell from 54% fifteen years ago to just 17% today, as AI erodes billable hours.