We’ll increasingly move toward outcome-based compensation: Omnicom’s John Wren on AI disruption

New Delhi: Omnicom Group said that its $20 billion merger with Interpublic Group (IPG) is entering the final lap, with CEO John Wren telling investors the deal could close soon following US antitrust clearance and progress in 13 of the 18 required global jurisdictions.

“We’ve cleared the US antitrust review and are now progressing rapidly through the remaining jurisdictions,” Wren said on the Q2 earnings call. “We expect to finalise the deal later this year, and we’re extremely optimistic about the integration.”

The merger, one of the biggest in advertising history, comes with a bold promise: an estimated $750 million in annual cost synergies. Wren emphasised that the company has already started realigning operations to hit that target quickly after the close.

“We are highly confident that we will achieve this level of synergies, and we continue to identify further opportunities beyond our target,” Wren said. “We’ve also taken steps to align our existing portfolio to deliver the benefits of the combined company immediately, especially in relation to our operating platform strategy.”

As part of that alignment, effective July 1, Omnicom consolidated its technology assets, Omni, OmniAI, Artbot, and the Flywheel Commerce Cloud, into a unified, end-to-end platform organisation. 

Wren added that the IPG acquisition would enhance this platform through the addition of Kinesso, Acxiom, and Real ID, tools he described as “the world’s highest fidelity data platform” and “the most comprehensive customer identity solution available.”

Still, not all regulatory hurdles have been cleared. The company’s Chief Financial Officer Phil Angelastro provided a status update, saying, “The largest one is certainly the EU. Other than that, we’re not going to name names. Each review is progressing at its own pace, but we don’t see any issues that would prevent closing in the second half of the year.”

While the IPG deal dominated headlines, the company also devoted significant airtime to the role of generative AI and its impact on creative services, cost structures, and client value.

One person questioned whether advanced video tools like Google’s V0.3 or Sora, by making content creation faster and cheaper, could erode agency revenues that rely on billing hours for creative work.

“We’re not stuck in time,” Wren replied. “Our compensation models have evolved throughout my career, starting with the industry’s shift from media commissions to fee-based models. Going forward, we’ll increasingly move toward outcome-based compensation, however defined. As tools improve and we deliver better ROI to clients, our models will adapt accordingly.”

To illustrate the strange new terrain creative agencies are navigating, Wren shared a moment that blended AI speed with real-world constraints.

“We generated an ad in minutes using AI. It featured an animal wearing a hat. Everything looked perfect—except the legal team at a client blocked it,” he said, “because apparently, it’s illegal to put a hat on a cat.” With a grin, he added, “I’m not Dr. Zeus, but these are the things we now have to think about.”

Chief Technology Officer Paolo Yuvienco reinforced the company’s AI commitment, describing Omni as the "connective tissue" of Omnicom’s agency brands, bringing together campaign planning, data analytics, commerce, and real-time optimization.

The growing role of AI agents in campaign execution, from creative scoring and influencer selection to predictive media buying, is now central to Omnicom’s operational model. And the stakes are high: the firm is betting on Omni and its AI ecosystem to be the competitive moat in an industry racing toward automation.

From a financial perspective, Omnicom posted solid results. Q2 revenue rose 4.2% year-over-year to $4.02 billion, beating analyst estimates. Organic growth hit 3.0%, right in the middle of the company’s guidance range.

Advertising and media services were the primary drivers, growing 8.2% organically, while precision marketing posted a 5% gain. However, not all sectors were as healthy: public relations fell 9.3%, healthcare declined 4.9%, and branding and retail services dropped sharply by 16.9%.

Net income dropped 21.5% to $257.6 million, largely due to $66 million in merger-related costs and nearly $89 million in restructuring charges. 

Looking ahead, Omnicom reaffirmed its 2.5–4.5% organic growth guidance and expects further margin expansion. 

But the real pivot point is clear: successful closure of the IPG deal, seamless integration of two global giants, and a smooth evolution of the agency business model in the face of AI disruption.

For Wren, the path forward is less about defending legacy structures and more about proving that creativity, data, and technology can co-exist, and even thrive, under new economic rules.

“We’re operating from a position of strength,” he said in closing. “The IPG merger, our AI-powered Omni platform, and our global client relationships position us to lead the next era of marketing transformation.”