On 27 August Omnicom announced the formation of Omnicom Advertising Group (OAG). The new organisation will unite creative networks (such as BBDO, DDB, TBWA) and agencies within the Advertising Collective (including Goodby Silverstein & Partners, GSD&M, Merkley & Partners and Zimmerman).
According to a press release, Troy Ruhanen will take on the role of Global CEO, with Deepthi Prakash acting as Chief Operating Officer and Denis Streiff as Global CFO. Ruhanen commented on the new formation in a statement:
‘OAG will make the best even better. One of the most exciting parts of this new division is that we can collectively invest in innovative offerings – such as Omnicom’s recent first-mover partnerships in GenAI. This will take our world-class creativity to the next level and keep our clients at the top of their industries. While we are excited to grow together, we will continue to celebrate and protect the uniqueness of each agency’s culture and entrepreneurship.’
The new formation will align the creative networks and agencies but they will each retain their own brand, culture and people. On top of this, they will benefit from OAG’s investments in new tools and tech. In this way, OAG will accelerate their growth, unlock opportunities for talent, and enable them to deliver better results.
John Wren, Chairman and CEO of Omnicom, addressed the new formation: ‘Clients want best-in-class talent, innovation and seamless delivery of creative services around the globe. OAG will deliver on that promise while allowing our agency cultures to remain strong and evolve through shared investments and best practices. With Troy at the helm of this new division, I’m confident our creative agencies and all our incredibly talented minds will continue to set the bar for the industry.’
Agencies will continue to work with their existing clients and changes will come into effect on 1 January, 2025.
Featured image: OAG
