The Omnicom-Publicis merger has certainly shaken the $500 billion global advertising industry. It’s a classic signal that the threat of agency disruption from technology is upon us. This is a case of the disrupted circling the wagons.
A few large holding companies have dominated advertising for some time. The holding company model drove the separation of creative and media, since holding companies prefer to have a stable of agencies all offering different services. Coupled with the traditional agencies’ slow response to delivering digital services , clients have needed to play the “best of breed” game, where they cobble together a roster of agencies and play the role of referee/manager. As David Jones, Havas CEO, puts it: “Clients today want us to be faster, more agile, more nimble and more entrepreneurial, not bigger and more bureaucratic and more complex.”
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