$3.6 billion and counting: Who has won the biggest holdco pitches of 2026 so far?
Jaguar Land Rover, Netflix, Heineken and more have all been in play this year — but which holdcos have come out on top?
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Ex-global EssenceMediacom chief Nick Lawson lands indie role
Lawson says industry “strongly favours” independent thinking currently.
Jaguar Land Rover appoints WPP on an outcome-based remuneration model
Initially, the car retailer was reviewing only its creative and marketing account, but late last year, it was confirmed that the remit had been expanded to include media planning and buying.
Arthur Sadoun to earn potential €10.5 million package after 20% salary hike
Salary rise follows Publicis’ finding that its chairman and CEO was lowest paid among rivals WPP and Omnicom.
X kicks off global overhaul of ad platform
Rebuild follows a period of challenges between X and advertisers.
Stagwell backs The Trade Desk's addition of AI agents to media planning and buying
Network’s backing follows recent pushback from other holdcos.
Havas grows 2.5% in Q1 as acquisitions make initial impact
Yannick Bolloré says the group has started the year “on solid footing”, organic growth slipped across APAC and Africa.
Adidas reviews £377 million global media account
WPP Media’s EssenceMediacom is the incumbent.
WPP Media’s global chief strategy officer retires
Damian Blackden leaves ad industry after 37 years in media.
WPP launches AI editor for media clients’ YouTube ads
New tools co-developed with Google as part of WPP’s $400m AI partnership with YouTube.
Microsoft appoints global media agency
The account has been with Dentsu since 2014.
WPP hikes Cindy Rose’s potential package to $14.66 million a year to close pay gap on rivals
WPP also found 'disparity' inside its own company as some US-based colleagues on executive committee earned more than CEO.
Ikea contacts agencies about global media review
The retailer’s global media planning and buying account is currently with Dentsu’s iProspect.
Heineken holds review to “streamline” global creative and media
Campaign understands the media and production review is being run together, and creative is being run separately.
WPP Media agencies shift to pitching together
Agency brands EssenceMediacom, Mindshare and Wavemaker are appearing less frequently on pitch lists.
Estée Lauder to launch global £500m media review
The cosmetics giant works with multiple agencies across different regions.
Comcast taps Snap sales chief for global Universal Ads push
New hire follows the platform’s US launch in 2025.
Magnum Ice Cream Company confirms £332m global media appointment
Move will support brand's integration of 'advanced AI' in its marketing.
WPP defers some pay reviews to 2026
It is understood the deferral affects all WPP networks.
Omnicom closes Interpublic acquisition for final purchase price of $9 billion
Acquisition creates largest holdco based on revenues for the first nine months of 2025.
EU clears Omnicom-IPG $26 billion mega merger
Omnicom passes final regulatory hurdle in acquisition of Interpublic Group.
Former WPP boss Mark Read announces next move
Read announced his departure from WPP in June.
M&C Saatchi rejects ‘undervalued’ Brave Bison bid for performance arm
Agency group confirmed it received an ‘unsolicited approach’ to buy M&C Saatchi Performance.
Havas raises 2025 outlook after 3.8% Q3 growth
By region, APAC and Africa saw the strongest year-on-year growth at 8.2% for Q3 – returning to positive growth after a negative Q2.
Spotify expands access to its ad inventory with Amazon and Yahoo
Streamer confirms rollout following its upfronts earlier this year.
BBC assigns $401 million media planning and buying business
Broadcaster concludes media review after a six-month process.
WPP Media global growth strategist Shaun Frazao departs
The head of data and technology, global growth, exits the business after seven years.
Mark Read calls WPP Media restructure ‘disruptive but necessary’
Read was speaking on the investor call on August 7 following WPP’s H1 financial results.
IPG cuts 2,400 jobs in first half of 2025 ahead of Omnicom takeover
Cuts come on top of last year's 4,100 headcount reduction.
X retires ‘unnecessary’ ads hashtag to help eradicate spam
Ads on X will be processed by AI.
Mars to switch $1.7 billion media account out of WPP
Review concludes after an eight-month competitive process.
Creative agency shake-up at WPP: Grey to move into Ogilvy Group
Grey will split from AKQA as part of the move.
History of GroupM 2003-2025: The world's largest media investment arm
Campaign charts the WPP media arm's history amid ongoing change under global chief executive Brian Lesser.
AKQA co-founder Tom Bedecarré dies, aged 69
'Silicon Valley’s favourite ad man' is honoured by friends and colleagues.
LinkedIn picks network for $97 million global media account
The appointment follows a closed process across several global markets.
Heineken extends global media relationship with Dentsu for two more years
Substantial planned media investments will be made in over 100 markets including Southeast Asia, South Korea, and India among others.
Financial Times initiates a global media review
EssenceMediacom X was the incumbent agency.
IPG predicts 1-2% revenue drop for 2025
The holding company is eying savings of $250 million ahead of its merger with Omnicom.
Omnicom 'incredibly well prepared' for IPG merger; registers 5.2% growth in 2024
In Q4, Omnicom spent $14.6 million on 'acquisition transaction costs' related to its impending merger with IPG.
MediaSense appoints global CEO to succeed Graham Brown
Brown moves to a new role after 15 years as CEO.
Campaign expands into Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Launch of Campaign Germany follows Canadian expansion earlier this year.
Publicis upgrades global forecast as it reports 5.8% growth in Q3
Organic growth tracks above 5% for a third quarter.
Amazon splits global media between GroupM and OMG after a decade with IPG
Account is valued at $5 billion by Comvergence.
EssenceMediacom X brand is axed and CEO departs in UK shake-up
UK agency to be absorbed after fewer than two years in operation.
WPP appoints new global CEO of GroupM as Christian Juhl steps down
GroupM leadership shake-up to be effective from September this year.
Media buying among 'first areas to go' with rise of AI, says MediaMonks co-founder
Wesley ter Haar likens media buyers to “early 2000s travel agents”.
Big Brother is watching you: Audible stages 1984 takeover of The Guardian
George Orwell 'returns' to The Observer in new ad campaign.
Publicis organic growth jumps 5.3% in Q1
Groupe says growth driven by 'new business tailwinds' with a 'clear rebound in the tech sector'.
Havas posts 4.4% organic growth for 2023
Results include global income for Havas Media, Havas Creative and Havas Health & You
Global adspend to grow by 4.6% to $753 billion in 2024: Dentsu
As a proportion of GDP, Japan's adspend leads the world
Brands 'wasting $73 billion of ad spend on unsuitable digital ads' during festive period
The average global percentage of waste is 61%
Group M to shift agencies to country-level profit and loss model from 2024
Global CEO Christian Juhl confirmed the move this week