Agencies reshape amid regulation talk
Holding companies are reorganising: Publicis reported growth but slowing momentum, WPP has hired advisers as it explores selling Burson and named a chief transformation officer, and Omnicom recently won IBM’s global media mandate. At the same time, the U.S. FTC is reported to be in settlement talks with major ad firms over a boycott probe, a regulatory development that sits alongside those restructurings ( ).
The biggest agency groups are reshuffling at the same time United States regulators are weighing limits on how they handle ad spending around political content. (publicisgroupe.com, usnews.com, wpp.com) Publicis said on April 14 that first-quarter 2026 net revenue rose 4.5% to €3.46 billion, with organic growth of 6.4%, and it kept its full-year target of 4% to 5% net revenue growth. Arthur Sadoun said the group had outperformed the industry for nearly 20 quarters even as clients stayed cautious. (publicisgroupe.com, campaignlive.com) WPP is moving more aggressively. Campaign reported on April 13 that WPP has hired advisers as it explores a potential sale of Burson, its public relations arm, while WPP said on April 10 that it had created a new chief transformation officer role and hired Anne-Isabelle Choueiri to help run its Elevate28 overhaul. (campaignlive.com, wpp.com) Omnicom, meanwhile, has been adding business. IBM awarded its global media account to Omnicom after a review, with Campaign reporting the remit covers the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific including Japan, and COMvergence estimating IBM’s 2025 global media spend at $190 million. (campaignlive.com, socialsamosa.com) The regulatory piece is moving in parallel. Reuters reported on April 12 that the Federal Trade Commission is in settlement talks with major ad companies including Publicis, WPP and Dentsu over whether they coordinated boycotts against platforms including X. (usnews.com, economictimes.indiatimes.com) The reported settlement terms would not force individual brands to buy ads on any site. Reuters said the companies under discussion would instead agree not to steer client budgets away from platforms because of political content, while advertisers would still be free to avoid specific sites. (usnews.com, economictimes.indiatimes.com) That issue has already touched dealmaking. Reuters said the Federal Trade Commission cleared Omnicom’s $13.5 billion acquisition of Interpublic last year on the condition that the combined company not enter agreements to direct ad dollars toward or away from publishers based on political content. (usnews.com, economictimes.indiatimes.com) The court fight around the probe is still active. Bloomberg Law reported on April 13 that Federal Trade Commission lawyer Thomas Byron told the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that the agency was in settlement negotiations and expected public announcements soon, while Media Matters argues the investigation retaliates against protected speech. (news.bloomberglaw.com) The pressure on agency groups is coming from both clients and investors. IBM began its media review in December 2025, Ogilvy exited IBM’s creative duties in March 2026 after 32 years, and WPP chief executive Cindy Rose has framed Elevate28 as a three-year plan to simplify operations and rebuild growth. (campaignlive.com, socialsamosa.com, wpp.com) For now, the industry has three live storylines at once: Publicis defending growth, WPP testing asset sales and restructuring, and Omnicom adding mandates while regulators press agencies on how collective ad decisions are made. (publicisgroupe.com, campaignlive.com, campaignlive.com, usnews.com)
