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Omnicom is bringing many of its advertising agencies under one umbrella with the formation of Omnicom Advertising Group (OAG).
The new global organization will align creative networks BBDO, DDB, and TBWA, as well as leading agencies within the Advertising Collective, including Goodby Silverstein & Partners, GSD&M, Merkley & Partners and Zimmerman.
OAG will be led by Troy Ruhanen as global CEO. Ruhanen has been president and CEO of TBWA\Worldwide since 2014. Erin Riley is being elevated to CEO of TBWA\Worldwide from her previous role as CEO of TBWA\Chiat\Day US.
Ruhanen will be joined at OAG by Deepthi Prakash, who has been named chief operating officer, and Denis Streiff as global CFO.
Omnicom claimed in a statement that bringing these agency brands under one leadership addresses clients’ needs for the strongest creative solutions. Each will retain its own brand, culture, and people, while capitalizing on OAG’s shared and scaled investments in tools, technologies, specialist capabilities, and AI platforms.
The agency networks within OAG will report to Ruhanen and will be led by Riley at TBWA; Nancy Reyes, who was recently promoted to global CEO of BBDO; Alex Lubar, global CEO of DDB; and James Fenton, CEO of the Advertising Collective.
“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,” said Ruhanen in a statement. “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.”
Over the years, Omnicom has aligned its agencies into marketing disciplines to strengthen the depth of its services and enhance collaboration across the group. This includes the formation of practices including Omnicom Media Group (OMG), Omnicom Health Group (OHG), Omnicom Precision Marketing Group (OPMG), and Omnicom Public Relations Group (OPRG). Each area will now benefit from scaled investment and experimentation.
“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,” said John Wren, chairman and CEO of Omnicom in a statement.
The changes will take effect on January 1, 2025. Existing clients will continue to be serviced by the agency and teams they currently work with.
