This blog is part of a series that explores each of our 10 media predictions for 2026 in more depth.

Omnicom completed its acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG) late last year, after final approval from global regulators and completion of all exchange offers for debt obligations. The $13 billion-plus deal creates the largest advertising holding company in the world by billings and revenue, with industry analysts estimating that their combined revenue could reach between $26 billion and $30 billion – cost synergies are anticipated to hit $750 million. COMvergence puts the combined 2024 spend of the two companies at $73.5 billion.

Integration and industry impact

Omnicom leadership has framed the acquisition as a transformative step toward unmatched strategic scale across media, data, AI, creative commerce, and identity capabilities. The combined organization will leverage flagship platforms including Omnicom’s intelligence systems and IPG’s Acxiom RealID capability to offer advanced identity solutions alongside emerging ID-less alternatives.

While the merger promises greater breadth of capability and scale, large integrative efforts of this magnitude typically take years to stabilize. At the time of writing, it remains unclear how individual clients will be serviced under the new structure and which legacy tools and technologies will remain. 

Workforce and structural changes

Following completion of the acquisition, Omnicom unveiled a broad restructure and new leadership cadences for the combined business. The integration has already resulted in significant job reductions: IPG reported around 3,200 job cuts prior to closing, and Omnicom has announced reductions exceeding 4,000 roles overall tied to the integration.

The company has indicated that roughly 85% of roles will be client-facing or professional and about 15% administrative, though the precise final headcount is still evolving.

Historically brand-led in structure, both organizations are now consolidating agency networks to reduce duplication. Omnicom will operate three global creative agency networks - BBDO, TBWA, and McCann, while legacy IPG global networks such as FCB and MullenLowe are being absorbed into the new structures.

On the media side, Omnicom will retain six global media networks (OMD, PHD, Hearts & Science, Initiative, UM, and Mediahub), but with leadership aligned under global brand presidents rather than independent CEOs. Local market agency CEOs will remain responsible for execution under the broader Omnicom umbrella.

Omnicom has also introduced client success leaders with group-wide accountability across connected capabilities, signaling a shift toward more bespoke, integrated solutions at scale.

The broader market outlook

Although the full impact of this acquisition will unfold over time, early indications suggest it could ignite further consolidation across the advertising and marketing services landscape as other players seek scale, data sophistication and AI-driven solutions to remain competitive against both holding companies and tech platforms.

Implications for advertisers

Florian Adamski, CEO of Omnicom Media Group, has emphasized that the value of the combined media scale lies not only in greater buying power, but in its ability to unlock and operationalize advanced data and intelligence at scale.

Nevertheless, questions remain about whether the consolidation truly drives efficiencies for clients, or instead concentrates market power among a smaller number of large groups. The new capability stack is expected to enable more end-to-end measurement and standardization of tools, processes, and pricing, but reduced competition could exert upward pressure on fees and media costs.

Advertisers should closely scrutinize fee structures and rebate arrangements to ensure that cost efficiencies are shared with clients rather than solely accruing to the holding company’s bottom line. Moreover, with a deeper talent pool across disciplines, there may be opportunities for advertisers to access specialized expertise if new organizational incentives encourage client value over scale alone.

In media trading, the newly expanded entity’s increased scale may accelerate the use of principal media buying, an area where IPG was historically less active than Omnicom. If principal approaches are deployed, they should be governed by robust strategic and legal frameworks and supported by independent benchmarking and audits to preserve transparency.

The combined company’s size also positions it to challenge major tech platforms such as Google, Meta and TikTok by offering alternative marketing frameworks and direct-to-consumer strategies, though this competition will depend on how effectively the group leverages its expanded data, analytics and AI capabilities.

Explore ECI's Top 10 Media predictions for 2026 - including the impact of agency consolidation on the advertising industry. 

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