In some industries and business ecosystems, collaboration with other companies is widespread and has been proven to be mutually beneficial. Could they work in the advertising and marketing world? Pete Conneely reckons they could.
The global motor industry over the last number of years has seen numerous mergers, partnerships and the sharing of technology, most of it successfully – Is the ‘traditional’ agency group model heading the same way and how will it play out?
If the recent mergers and takeovers in our industry are anything to go by, we could be heading down a similar road as that of the motor industry. In late 2024, the advertising industry saw a major shift with the proposed merger of Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group, creating the world’s largest advertising agency, with combined revenues of nearly $26 billion and a workforce exceeding 130,000 employees.
Similarly, Publicis Groupe are in the process of combining its Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide agencies into one creative network called Leo, and the tech-led BrandTech Group completed its takeover of OLIVER in Q3 of last year. This must raise a lot of questions among clients, brands and the wider industry in general with the ‘Big 6’ potentially becoming the ‘Big 5’; should the merger be approved this year? One big question is, how will it affect creative output for agencies and brands?
In a recent article published by ‘Statista’, the world’s major ad players completed 2024 operating at different paces. On one side, Publicis managed to exceed expectations and finish off the year with higher growth than expected with soaring net income, driven by a chain of strategic purchases and data-powered targeted marketing.
Omnicom, too saw its global revenues climb from the previous year. On the other side, Havas, IPG, and WPP had to deal with decreasing revenues, these downturns partly explained by reduced client spending, account losses, and global economic uncertainties.
The big groups suffering financial woes are already cutting their cloth to meet 2025 expectations. While on the other hand significant monetary and technology investment is required in AI to keep pace. WPP for example, spent $318m on AI in 2024, while Publicis spent more than $100m while Interpublic Group spent almost $80 million.
For brands does this mean less choice, less creative talent, more costs? Or, is it an opportunity to establish better partnerships with agencies, increased collaboration and better use of tech. Can big agencies get around the potential erroneous efficiency drives that may be imposed on them and still achieve successful creative collaboration?
Para-phrasing Alexander Palmer, Creative Entrepreneur and Founder of “Heartbeat of South Bay,” a creative marketing agency empowering small businesses with innovative growth solutions. In the world of entrepreneurship, ideas rise and fall like the sun, but there’s one ingredient that transforms ideas into success: collaboration.
In most cases, the days of geniuses working away, alone in a lock-up are in the rear-view mirror! Big business, agencies and brands alike could learn from the world of entrepreneurship. Palmer makes the point, “the entrepreneurship business landscape is a vibrant tapestry woven with threads of joint ventures, creative partnerships, and shared visions. At the heart of this evolution lies creative collaboration, an art form, which when mastered, unlocks new realms of innovation, productivity, and growth. In the realm of creative entrepreneurship, the ability to effectively collaborate is not just a skill but a superpower. It’s about harmonizing different talents, perspectives, and energies towards a common goal — much like an orchestra where each instrument contributes to a symphony far grander than its parts”.
As 2025 shapes up to be a pivotal year for the world’s big creative agencies, we pose the question; how can they and their brand partners collaborate better, to safely navigate this period of evolution, and deliver on the continued need for success?
Pete Conneely is Partnerships & Growth Director, OLIVER Ireland
