From The Brooklyn Nets to The Golden Girls, Digiday editors break down the state of ad agencies
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Is Omnicom to the ad industry what The Brooklyn Nets are to basketball? Or maybe Omnicom is more like Blanche Devereaux of The Golden Girls.
On this episode of the Digiday Podcast, the question was posed to executive editor of news Seb Joseph and senior editor, media buying and planning Michael Burgi. The two joined the Digiday’s senior marketing reporter Kimeko McCoy and executive editor, video and audio Tim Peterson to break down the current state of play among major agencies right now using sports analogies and The Golden Girls.
Digiday staffers looked across heavy hitters, including Publicis, WPP, Omnicom and Dentsu, focusing on recent market disruptions, like PepsiCo moving its media business to Publicis without a review, or Omnicom’s $13.25 billion all-stock acquisition of Interpublic Group, creating the world’s largest agency holding company.
Here’s a quick look at Omnicom’s comps:
This interview has been lightly edited for clarify purposes.
Burgi: Omnicom as The Brooklyn Nets New York City basketball team
“I see Omnicom as more of The Brooklyn Nets from a couple of years ago, when (and I’m sorry to say it because it’s really not a nice comparison) they brought in Kevin Durant. They had brought in Kyrie Irving at various points to really make this team compete against the Knicks, which are and have been New York’s team. They tried to build this super team, but it just hasn’t gelled yet.”
Joseph: Omnicom as Chelsea FC Premier League soccer team
“Omnicom is Chelsea [Chelsea Football Club]. So when Todd Burley [owner of Chelsea FC] and Clear Lake Capital [investment firm] bought Chelsea in May 2022, they spent more than a billion pounds on players in like two years. The thinking was that they could assemble a squad big enough to fight for like every trophy at once and still cope with injuries. I feel like Omnicom did its version a year ago. It bought IPG—biggest takeover the agency business has seen.”
Peterson: Omnicom as Ferrari in Formula One racing
“Thinking of the other one I had is [Omnicom as] Ferrari in Formula One—huge team, big legacy, big brand, successful but hasn’t been successful in a minute, but has a lot of promise. Then they acquired [race car driver] Lewis Hamilton a couple seasons ago, and right now they’re number two in the rankings in Formula One, but they haven’t gotten their shit together. They’re still the number two [in the league] though, and there’s always the potential for it to work out next year, so that’s who I’ve got for Omnicom.”
McCoy: Omnicom as Blanche Devereaux in The Golden Girls TV show
“The same way Omnicom collects other agencies is the same way that Blanche collects dates. It’s about extracting the right balance, but it’s also about power. This big merger to be the all-powerful holdco is the same direction that Blanche takes in planning her dates.”
Tune into the full episode for more.
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