Advertisers Choose Holdcos In New Ways
Big advertisers are changing how they pick holdcos, with some skipping traditional pitches. This shift matters as the market has been rearranged with mergers and rebuilds.
Original reporting · digiday.com
Original: “Future of Marketing Briefing: Advertisers have more ways than ever to choose a holdco, and free holdcos to choose from”
Read “Future of Marketing Briefing: Advertisers have more ways than ever to choose a holdco,…” at Digiday →
How this was written. GMS Agency Desk wrote this article with a language model from Digiday’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from Digiday’s report
- Big advertisers are changing how they pick holdcos, with some skipping traditional pitches.
- The market has been rearranged with mergers and rebuilds, making the traditional pitch process less necessary.
- Clients are being proactive in thinking about what they want to own and how to be more integrated.
- The decision to choose a holdco often comes down to fine margins, with the holdcos looking similar.
- Pitch management firms are busier than ever, with a wave of launches expected in 2027.
The way big advertisers choose a holdco is changing, according to Digiday. Comments from top executives describe a pitch process that is evolving at the top of the market.
Havas' CFO and COO François Laroze said the business is focused on more integrated pitches. Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun noted more clients are running tighter pitches, putting one or two holdcos against each other.
Omnicom’s John Wren talked about helping clients extract value from their tech investments. These comments suggest a shift away from traditional year-long pitches.
Some big advertisers have stopped treating the year-long pitch process as the default route to choosing a holdco. For example, Coca-Cola had two holdcos competing for its media dollars in North America.
PepsiCo moved its global media account in September without a pitch. Dyson considered all three holdco heavyweights before settling on Omnicom. Jaguar Land Rover looked for a single holdco to build a bespoke unit.
David Muldoon, global managing director of marketing transformation at Ebiquity, said clients are being proactive in thinking about what they want to own. They work with clients months in advance to ensure clarity before going to an agency.
This homework matters in a market that has been rearranged with mergers and rebuilds. Omnicom swallowed IPG, and Publicis has momentum. WPP is mid-rebuild, and Dentsu and Havas have gone more regional.
Coca-Cola’s North American media review is a case in point. The account came loose after Publicis took PepsiCo’s global media. WPP sat the review out, leaving Omnicom and Dentsu to fight over it. Omnicom won.
A field this small means clients often know where they’re leaning before the first meeting. Sadoun noted that clients know exactly what they want for their business and understand the difference between the holdcos.
One media director ran a pitch earlier this year with every holdco in contention, which took 12 months. The decision came down to fine margins, with the holdcos looking similar.
Fine margins make for an awkward basis to uproot a media account. Big clients have turned the exercise around, deciding what they want to run themselves and what they need an agency for. Muldoon said clients look inside their own organizations, deciding what they want to own and how to be more integrated.
A long look in the mirror doesn’t always end with an agency review. Clients often come into the process undecided and work through options with pitch consultants. Having many routes on the table is the new part, and clients seem happy to keep them open.
Those that take the closed route save less time than expected. The capability assessment is shorter, but the negotiation is just as long. Pitch management firms are busier than ever, and 2027 is expected to keep them busy with a wave of launches.
Questions and answers
Why are big advertisers changing how they pick holdcos?
The market has been rearranged with mergers and rebuilds, making the traditional pitch process less necessary. Clients are being proactive in thinking about what they want to own and how to be more integrated.
What is the result of the changing pitch process?
The result is that clients often know where they’re leaning before the first meeting, and the decision comes down to fine margins, with the holdcos looking similar.
What is expected to happen in 2027?
Pitch management firms are expected to be busy with a wave of launches, as the trend of changing pitch processes continues.
