In 2025, it is ad agencies, not their clients, that are grabbing headlines.
Omnicom’s impending IPG takeover, WPP’s layoffs and impending CEO switch-up, along with Publicis Groupe’s dominance, have been at the forefront of ad land chatter.
But while it’s on a high, Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun told ADWEEK that clients “don’t care that much” about industry upheaval.
Sadoun said instead, clients are currently “obsessed” with implementing AI-driven advertising models to make their ad dollars work harder in the current economic climate—something Publicis catered to at Cannes Lions in June with a series of closed-door workshops.
This resonated more with brands than any ongoing dramas in the holding company sphere, Sadoun said: “Honestly, our clients don’t care that much about the industry.”
While Publicis has been outpacing its rivals, posting 5.9% organic growth for Q2 and upgrading its 2025 guidance after snagging media briefs for Mars, Paramount, and Coca-Cola North America from WPP in the first half of the year, Sadoun isn’t gloating about the challenges looming over his rivals.
“The noise around Omnicom’s IPG takeover and WPP’s restructuring is hurting our industry,” he said. “This constant news flow around cost-cutting or succession planning isn’t at all what our clients want to hear. They want to know how we can help in this world that is changing so fast and is incredibly uncertain, to improve the efficiency of every dollar or every euro they’re spending.”
A confident outlook
As CMOs tighten their belts and President Trump’s tariffs bite, marketing intelligence company WARC has downgraded its full-year advertising spend growth forecast from 6.7% to 6.2%.
However, Publicis is riding high after securing 15 new business wins and advancing its M&A strategy, with $800 to $900 million earmarked for 2025 acquisitions including data firm Lotame and influencer marketing platform Captiv8.
Its most recent financial results, posted on Thursday, July 17, stand in stark contrast to those of WPP, which last week issued a surprise profit warning days before appointing Microsoft exec Cindy Rose as its new CEO. Omnicom, meanwhile, is holding steady, predicting organic growth of 2.5% to 4.5% for 2025.
