Jonathan L.

Agency Mergers: Build for What Clients Actually Want The Omnicom–IPG merger is being sold as delivering what clients want. The reorg is decisive: legacy brands like DDB, FCB, and MullenLowe retired; 4,000 jobs cut; divisions streamlined. John Wren says the reorg will “create the best commercial terms for our clients, underpinned by a platforms group powered by generative AI.” Clients are definitely interested in AI-enabled outcomes-based models. But is this a new agency model—or just new commercial terms? Is there anything missing from the new offering? What do CMOs say they need? Surveys from Gartner, PwC, ANA, and Forrester are consistent: 1. Outcomes, not outputs. CMOs want contracts tied to sales lift and ROI, not hours billed. 2. Transparency and trust. ANA called out a “fundamental disconnect” over rebates and principal buying. 3. Speed and agility. 63% of CMOs say slow decisions cost them opportunities; they expect agencies to compress cycles from weeks to days. 4. Integrated strategy. CMOs want orchestration across brand, demand, commerce, identity, and measurement—not siloed execution. The Omnicom–IPG playbook ticks some boxes—platforms, identity, outcome-based pricing—but leaves others open. What’s still missing? One set of CMO complaints the reorganization does not obviously address: alignment across functions. CMOs want agencies to: - Fix the operating model so KPIs align across creative, media, and commerce. - Unify strategy across brand, demand, identity, and measurement. - Improve speed-to-market and reduce hand-offs. Is there room in a holdco suite of offerings for another model? Decades ago, agencies split creative and media. It made sense then (and made fortunes), but it’s led to silos and misaligned objectives. With all the new combinations Omnicom has created, why not go further—one integrated creative, production, and media agency for clients who crave simplicity and accountability? To be fair, most marketing departments are just as segmented as their agencies. I’ve worked with plenty of clients where teams for CX, pricing, messaging, and media barely connect. Silos aren’t just an agency problem. There’s value to be generated where an integrated marketing client leader partners with an integrated agency—using customer and performance data to execute a strategy that’s outcomes-based, efficient, and agile. It may not be the solution for every client, but it would be a fresh offering in the market.

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January is quietly one of the most efficient times to be on TV (both linear & CTV), and we actively advise our clients to take advantage. Here’s a breakdown of the media opportunity: 1. Stations have a lot of ad inventory. Demand for ad inventory drops after the holidays as many CPG companies pull back, and when demand drops, rates soften. We’ve just wrapped our Q1 rate negotiations, and the pricing is some of the strongest we’ve seen. 2. Those companies shouldn’t pull back, big-ticket purchases rebound by late January. Yes, the first week of the year is slow as consumers recover from holiday spending. But by week three or four, we historically see that high-consideration categories (mattresses, furniture, major home items) pick up fast. Smaller-ticket categories never really slow down at all. We can say this with confidence because our analytics team sees the sales data of our clients each year. To be top of mind and hit frequency targets - brands can outcompete by continuing to advertise in week 1-3. 3. Canadians are indoors watching a lot more TV in Q1. January weather keeps most of the country inside, and when people are inside, they watch more TV (Linear and CTV). It’s that simple. Linear TV, in particular, benefits from both the attention and increase in viewership.This is supported by ThinkTV studies which show clear increases in watch time during the winter months vs the rest of the year. 4. It’s the perfect time to test. New clients always ask us when to pilot new formats or channels. The answer is almost always the same: Q1. Lower rates + high viewership = efficient learnings that set up the rest of the year. There are exceptional deals to be had in Q1, and most brands are missing them by choosing to dial back or deciding to enter the market when everyone else does. Reach out to our team if you’re looking to start Q1 off strong. TV is not as expensive as you think, and we help brands start as low as $5000/week in ad spend. 

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Maybe the largest glut of quality producers to ever hit the hiring market has just occurred. Omnicom Production's laughably embarrassing decision to remove localized production capabilities from Goodby Silverstein & Partners has laid the industry a golden goose egg. It cannot be overstated how much the creative output of GSP has been, for decades, a function of it's stellar, widely respected production department. They are among the most credible agency producers in the industry. Capable of getting any director alive to pick up the phone for even the smallest projects. All while reliably delivering fair bids for clients, agency, and production partners. Congratulations to our industry, Omnicom Advertising has just made every single one of their competitors better. Good luck hiring them. I'd share names, but I'm forwarding them to our own recruiters, first.

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For years, we've watched retail media continue to fragment often operating on the promise of "closed-loop data" rather than verifiable, standardized results. In 2025, with IAB's new Commerce Media Standards going live, we're seeing the inevitable fallout: brand satisfaction with RMN transparency has plummeted from 66% to 44%. The market is demanding accountability. Brands are done asking for proprietary dashboards; they're demanding shared, IAB-aligned proof. The old JBP (Joint Business Plan) is evolving into something more like the JVP (Joint Value Partnership), where outcomes replace obligations and standardization is the currency. 👉 Read the full perspective : https://lnkd.in/giDQc9jY #RetailMedia #JBP #JVP #CommerceMedia #Transparency #MediaAMP

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I find that large, mature advertising programs and new, underdeveloped ones have opposite problems. The mature advertising programs I see are often over-invested in the bottom of the funnel, and need to move into more awareness channels. They have squeezed every bit of juice out of Google Search and Meta Retargeting, but they aren't doing enough to drive long-term demand. Their costs go up year over year. Leads are flat. And margins get squeezed. They could cut their spend 30%, not lose many leads, and reinvest in awareness campaigns that will drive more demand over time. On the flip side, newer advertisers with smaller budgets waste too much time and money trying to run "awareness" campaigns. They shoot off a few thousand bucks here and there into the void, because they know as marketers they need to try to build "brand awareness". But the targeting is poor. They don't have enough budget to build meaningful reach & frequency. And they have no system of harvesting that demand at the bottom of the funnel. They'd be served better by investing in the bottom of the funnel. Grab hot new leads that are ready to buy your product right now. Optimize your sales process, build momentum, then shift into awareness as you run out of "hot leads" to buy. Start at the bottom of the funnel and then move up. Find where you are over/under invested and reallocate.

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Fast Company’s Brands That Matter 2025 list highlights companies making cultural impact. Read how Marian Lee was named CMO of the Year for fan-first strategies that turn shows into immersive experiences: https://bit.ly/4jtFkxH

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🎥 Brand partnerships deserve consistent rigor. Some sit in Marketing. Some live with CSR or Comms. Some get measured. Others… not at all. That’s where value gets lost. I filmed a quick piece on the four types of brand partnerships, and how to apply a consistent lens across all of them. Video watch time: 2m 41s 👇 Lumency Sponsorship Marketing Association European Sponsorship Association (ESA) SMCC - Sponsorship Marketing Council Canada

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PepsiCo isn’t treating the Super Bowl as a one-off spectacle, it’s using it as a strategic engine for 2026 growth. From multi-brand ad placements for Pepsi Zero Sugar, Lay’s, and Poppi to experiential activations beyond TV, PepsiCo’s playbook emphasizes purposeful storytelling, cultural relevance, and integrated consumer engagement. In Marketing Dive’s breakdown, CMO Jane Wakely highlights how each Big Game moment ties back to broader brand momentum, whether it’s reviving legacy memory structures like the Pepsi Challenge, telling authentic stories about Lay’s farming roots, or positioning Poppi as a social-first lifestyle brand under PepsiCo’s umbrella. Here’s our take at RefractROI: Smart growth doesn’t come from isolated campaigns, it comes from a 360° brand playbook. PepsiCo’s approach is strategic amplification: • Aligning creative with genuine brand narratives • Extending impact across screen, scroll, search, shop, and sense • Leveraging culture and experience, not just impressions That’s exactly the mindset we champion for clients: treating every major moment as a launchpad, not a landing pad. The Super Bowl is a springboard that accelerates narrative, market positioning, and long-term growth. For marketers and strategists aiming to win in 2026, that’s the lesson worth stealing. Read More Here: https://lnkd.in/gcUfnxtP

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What will truly move the advertising industry forward in 2026? 🤔 I recently shared my perspective in an AdForum article, "Shaping the Future: Agency Predictions for 2026," alongside other leading voices. For me, AI will be the indispensable partner, pushing us towards unprecedented Hyper-Personalization, Optimized AI Workflows & Human-AI Collaboration, Invisible Integration balanced with crucial Ethical Governance. Discover all the predictions and see where we agree (or disagree!). Looking forward to your thoughts! https://lnkd.in/ei8w97tZ #MarketingStrategy #AI #AdvertisingTrends #2026 #IndustryInsights #OgilvyParis #AdForum #Ogilvy #WPP

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Interesting news in recent days, with consumer sentiment nearing a 10-year low amid tariff, inflation, and government shutdown pressures. This dynamic has been apparent in all corners of the advertising world -- tighter macro conditions are forcing advertisers large and small to focus more on ROAS efficiency, making sure that every investment is tied to demonstrable revenue. That's a perfectly healthy attitude to take (I'd encourage it even in boom times), but I caution against confusing "ROAS efficiency" with "last-click measurability." Your measurement framework should flow from the investments you make, but far too many advertisers get it backwards, only investing in channels that align with an existing (and often sub-par) measurement regime. The good news -- incrementality testing can bridge these gaps, even for channels without a traditional "click." Whether you hold out audiences, geographies, or even time periods, there are simple approaches to help you understand the true impact of each channel, optimize your investment, and justify your campaigns to stakeholders. Check out Tinuiti's Incrementality Guide for more! https://lnkd.in/eTect8jQ

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The ad industry has a measurement problem and it’s not just technical. It’s strategic. Our 2025 State of Advertising report reveals what’s broken: • 85% of advertisers invest in personalization yet only 28% tailor creative by platform. • Most say they measure “brand and performance,” but only 11% prioritize incrementality. • Frequency management? Largely underestimated, while consumers tune out in droves. At DISQO, we see this not as a critique but a call to modernize. Measurement can no longer be siloed. If you’re not linking message, context, and action across platforms and timeframes, you’re not measuring performance you’re measuring placement. This report is both diagnosis and directive. Let’s move from visibility to actual impact. https://lnkd.in/gnCy-GbM

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Everyone’s suddenly “shocked” that clients care about outcomes? Let’s be real. That’s not new—it’s just louder now. Yes, relationships matter. I’ve built my career on them. But let’s stop pretending they’re valuable on their own. What clients actually value is performance. Solutions. Growth. They want partners who understand their business and deliver against it. This article suggests the industry’s shifted toward an unhealthy obsession with outcomes. I’d argue the opposite: we finally have the data, tools, and pressure to make good on the promises we’ve been making for years. The danger isn’t measuring outcomes—it’s mistaking the fastest route for the best one. Aggressive retargeting, last-click thinking, and buzzwords don’t build lasting value. Strong partnerships + clear strategy + consistent performance = real outcomes. That’s always been the game. It’s not about abandoning relationships. It’s about building them on what actually matters. #AdTech #BrandStrategy #RealTalk

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Want to know marketing’s worst kept secret? Too many people in the room will kill great creative faster than any compliance review ever could. Bloated teams turn brilliant ideas into lukewarm tactics. Slow routes. Zero momentum. That’s why I believe in small, senior, accountable teams — the kind that move fast, make sharp decisions, and protect the original spark of an idea. Read my piece on why right-sized teams win every time, and tell me if you’ve lived the pain of creative death by 1,000 cuts: https://lnkd.in/e6b4n6sd #Leadership #MarketingAgency #HealthcareMarketing #CreativeProcess

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Leadership shouldn’t be surprised by missed revenue. And yet, it happens. Because deals don’t always die loudly. They decay quietly. When activity lives outside the CRM, leaders lose visibility into where intervention matters most. That gap between seller confidence and deal reality is where quarters slip. Strong forecasting starts with clean visibility... not more spreadsheets. Learn more by reading the full blog from LeadG2's Isha Bell. 👇 #SalesLeadership #MediaSales #Forecasting #RevenueGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment https://hubs.ly/Q043pRzc0

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Excited to see the incredible innovation coming from Keurig Dr Pepper, and proud that Brand X Marketing & Sales Solutions continues to partner alongside the Dr Pepper team during such an exciting time for the brand. Bold flavors, nostalgia, and innovation only win when they connect with consumers where decisions are actually made, at retail and in the final moments before purchase. As part of the launch, we’re especially excited to help bring the new flavor to life through in-store sampling, giving shoppers the opportunity to taste, discover, and engage firsthand. Sampling remains one of the most powerful ways to turn curiosity into trial, and trial into loyalty. Congratulations to the entire Keurig Dr Pepper team on this exciting rollout. We’re proud to help support the launch and look forward to introducing shoppers to the newest flavor experience. #BrandXMarketing #DrPepper #KeurigDrPepper #ShopperMarketing #CPGInnovation #RetailActivation #ProductLaunch #Sampling #Last10Feet

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The In-House Agency Fortress has Cracked. Two major Adage articles this week noted in-house agencies are facing significant reductions and shutdowns. Keurig Dr Pepper closed Liquid Sunshine, while Expedia downsized its internal agency, joining PepsiCo and Suntory in similar moves. This comes after years of growth where up to 90% of ANA brands embraced some form of in-housing, believing it would deliver more control and efficiency. This is now about financial pressure and in today's economic climate, replacing fixed costs with variable costs is on every CFO's agenda. And Every 3 in-house employees effectively adds 1 FTE equivalent in G&A costs. So what seemed like a cost-saving strategy initially, has actually led to significant fixed overhead that can't easily be adjusted. The agency model isn't perfect, but it offers something critical: flexibility. When budgets tighten, you can reduce scope, switch partners, or pivot strategies without devastating internal morale or taking massive restructuring hits. It's a challenging time for the entire ad industry - hold co's and indies have been feeling the pressure for years, much of it from work going in-house, and now the in-house shops are feeling it themselves.

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