Why Omnicom IPG post-merger ‘account review’ buzz may be hiding a different client story

New Delhi: For Indian advertisers, the Omnicom-IPG merger is a two-sided coin: on one side is chatter about clients reviewing agency relationships, and on the other are the promised benefits of greater scale, deeper capabilities and more efficient delivery.

In a conversation with BestMediaInfo.com, a top executive from the network said concerns around disruption are largely misplaced. According to him, the merger has strengthened, not weakened, client trust because the combined entity now offers expanded scale, deeper capabilities and more efficient delivery.

He explained that clients ultimately care about work being done well and on time. “If our media buying strength was at 100 earlier, it is now at 200,” he said, referring to the combined media muscle of IPG Mediabrands and Omnicom. With stronger negotiating power across publishers and platforms, he argued, the merged network can now buy more efficiently and deliver better value for every client.

From the client’s perspective, he said, “Why would they leave?” He noted that the network has long worked with large multinational businesses where brand managers change regularly, yet relationships remain steady because the agency has deeper institutional knowledge of those brands than many new managers do. As a result, clients see no reason to disrupt ongoing work.

The executive repeatedly emphasised that for existing clients, it is “business as usual”. The merger, he said, is happening at a “35,000-feet level,” meaning day-to-day campaigns continue without interruption. Internal reallocations and team alignments will happen gradually over time, but the work continues. 

Even more telling is the response from outside the network. He said two to three large clients currently with rival agencies have already approached them after the merger, showing interest in moving both creative and media business to the combined network.

Without naming them, he added that this inbound interest is coming from key categories such as paints, where the network already works with multiple brands, and automobiles, where it has long experience handling competing accounts.

The executive described these inquiries as “strong early confidence boosters,” suggesting that advertisers view the merged organisation as a more powerful and attractive partner than before. 

The combined strengths of both groups, enhanced digital depth, cross-category learning, creative expertise and significantly larger media scale are seen as advantages, not risks.

“Think of it,” he said. “We have become the number one network globally. We are bigger than Accenture. With this scale, why won’t clients want to work with us?”

As the dust on the merger settles, the early signs point to a clear trend. Rather than pulling away, clients appear more confident, and some who had moved out earlier may now be preparing to return.

At the same time, the other side of the coin cannot be ignored. The Omnicom-IPG merger has fuelled chatter about clients reviewing accounts because of potential conflicts, overlapping mandates and fears of disruption during integration. 

Senior marketers are also watching for any impact from role redundancies, leadership changes and culture clashes inside the combined network, factors that often prompt brands to reassess whether their existing agency partnerships are still the best fit.