Omnicom consolidates agencies under Omnicom Advertising Group; Troy Ruhanen becomes Global CEO, OAG
OAG aligns BBDO, DDB, TBWA and the Advertising Collective under one leadership and the ad group plans to accelerates investments in innovative tools, technologies, and AI platforms.
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Omnicom announced the formation of Omnicom Advertising Group (OAG), a new global organization aligning world-class creative networks BBDO, DDB, 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, Deepthi Prakash as Chief Operating Officer and Denis Streiff as Global CFO.
Bringing these agency brands under one leadership addresses clients’ needs for powerful creative solutions like never before. Each will retain its unique brand, culture and people, while capitalizing on OAG’s shared and scaled investments in innovative tools, technologies, specialist capabilities, and AI platforms. This foundation will enhance agencies’ ability to deliver world-class creativity and accelerate growth, as well as unlock greater opportunities for personal and professional growth for their talent.
The agency networks within OAG will report to Ruhanen and will be led by:
Nancy Reyes, who was recently promoted to Global CEO of BBDO
Alex Lubar, Global CEO of DDB
Erin Riley, who is being elevated to CEO of TBWA\Worldwide from her previous role as TBWA\Chiat\Day US CEO
James Fenton, CEO of the Advertising Collective stated, “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. “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 organized its portfolio by aligning its agencies into marketing disciplines to strengthen the depth of its services and enhance collaboration across the group, stated the company. This includes the formation of Practice Areas such as Omnicom Media Group (OMG), Omnicom Health Group (OHG), Omnicom Precision Marketing Group (OPMG) and Omnicom Public Relations Group (OPRG).
John Wren, Chairman and CEO of Omnicom said, “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. With Troy at the helm of this new division, I’m confident our creative agencies and all our incredibly talented minds will continue to set the bar for the industry.”
Existing clients will continue to be serviced by the agency and teams they currently work with. The changes will take effect on January 1, 2025.
