OMG + Mediabrands To Be Global Leader After Merger: COMVergence Report

The merger of the media buying operations from American advertising holdings OMG + Mediabrands (MB) would result in a giant communication group, becoming the leader at a global, North American and Latin American level, while it would hold the second position in EMEA and APAC, behind GroupM, according to COMvergence’s projected 2024 billing figures.

“In a competitive landscape that is increasingly challenging for the large Holdcos, this consolidation/merger makes total sense, giving birth to a group made up of six global media agency networks (Initiative, Hearts & Science, Mediahub, OMD, PHD, and UM), and benefiting from an unprecedented buying clout that has never been reached before,” says Olivier Gauthier, CEO & Founder COMvergence.

In terms of intra-Big 5 market shares, OMG + MB would hold 32 per cent of the cumulative total billings estimated for the Big 6 Groups (Dentsu, GroupM, Havas Media, Mediabrands, OMG, and Publicis Media). The combination of OMG + MB would position the new entity of the group handling the largest billings of multinational advertisers, Gauthier added.

As per the report, Omnicom Media Group (OMG) is set to close in 2024 with the highest growth rate and largest actual billings increase among all global media groups.

“OMG has outperformed its peers with a 10.5 per cent growth rate based on its 2023 billings of $40.6 billion, adding $4.2 billion to reach projected 2024 billings of $44.8 billion,” says the report, which also forecasts that OMG will hold the highest share of digital billings among all media groups, underscoring its ability to help clients navigate an increasingly digital-first marketplace.

Earlier in December, COMvergence’s Global Media Agency New Business Barometer (Q1-Q3 2024) ranked OMG as the #1 global media group for new business, securing $7.37 billion in net new business, including wins and retention for Amazon, Volkswagen Group, Unilever, Priceline, HanesBrands, and HP. OMG captured 28 per cent of all new business awarded globally while achieving the highest category retention rate (85 per cent).

Commenting on these accomplishments, OMG CEO Florian Adamski stated, “There are four key indicators of true customer obsession in a media agency group: the type of clients retained, new clients’ trust, operational conduct, and industry advancement. In 2024, OMG focused on delivering across these areas, leveraging our ‘Agency as a Platform’ model to drive growth for clients, agencies, and employees in a complex marketplace.”

OMD Leads The Pack

Among OMG’s agencies, OMD Worldwide continues to dominate, with COMvergence projection 2024 billings of $25.9 billion, a 7.9 per cent increase over 2023.

This marks OMD as the largest media agency globally, achieving the highest growth rate and largest billing increase among its peers. OMD also leads in North America and EMEA, with consistent growth across all regions.