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☆ Omnicom agency Merkley+Partners hit with lawsuit accusing ex-creative director of raping a social-media strategist in the bathroom
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In addition to Diaz, the lawsuit names Merkley+Partners and its parent company Omnicom Group as defendants. Merkley+Partners is a 30-year-old full-service ad firm that has created campaigns for brands including Mercedes-Benz, White Castle, and Florida's Natural. "You went down on me, I went down on you, we had sex," the lawsuit says Diaz told the plaintiff. The lawsuit also says O'Rear was "treated in a cruel and callous fashion" during the firm's investigation. O'Rear's attorney told BI she was no longer working at the ad agency but declined to comment further.

Persons: —, Armando Diaz, Diaz, Merkley, we've, Erin Johnson, Walter Thompson, Mr, O'Rear, I'm, Armando Organizations: Service, New York, Business, Partners, Omnicom Group, Mercedes, Benz, Merkley, WPP, Industry, de Mayo Locations: New York City, Manhattan, White, de

☆ How to find a reasonably-priced and resilient stock amid the rush of earnings reports ahead
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Michael Khouw | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Strong Balance Sheet: A strong balance sheet is often a primary indicator of a quality company. Consistent Earnings Growth: Quality companies usually exhibit steady and predictable earnings growth. Typewriter manufacturing wasn't a sustainable growth industry regardless of whether it adhered to ESG factors or not. Bear in mind that finding a quality company cheap isn't likely, but we would prefer to avoid crowded (i.e. Even without delving into the quality of management and other factors it's clear that AT & T is not a "quality" company as I defined it above.

Persons: Martin Luther King, Walt Disney Organizations: JPMorgan, Good, Sustainable, Sector, Charter Communications, Comcast, Electronic Arts, Fox Corp, Interpublic, Match, Meta, Netflix, News Corp, Omnicom, Paramount Global, Interactive, Verizon, Walt, Warner Brothers, Apple Locations: America

☆ ‘Disappointed Again’: Ad Companies Suffer as Tech Firms Clip Spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ad agency holding companies say they are being hurt by more cautious technology advertising. At Meta Platforms, for instance, outlays for marketing and sales decreased 24% in the third quarter. Photo: kena betancur/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesSome of the major advertising holding companies are still feeling the impact of lower spending from technology clients—with some hit harder than others. Recent quarterly results from Interpublic Group , Omnicom Group , WPP and Publicis Groupe showed that many of their units are seeing more caution from some advertisers, slower project work, delayed starts of new business or other signs of a pullback.

Persons: kena Organizations: Agence France, Interpublic, Omnicom, WPP, Publicis Groupe

☆ Omnicom Buys E-Commerce Shop Flywheel Digital for $835 Million
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ad holding company Omnicom says it expects Flywheel Digital to make it more competitive in e-commerce and retail media services. Photo: Omnicom GroupAdvertising holding company Omnicom said it has agreed to acquire Flywheel Digital for a net cash purchase price of approximately $835 million, in what it says is its biggest acquisition ever. Flywheel is the digital commerce arm of Ascential , a U.K.-based business-to-business media, events and analytics company that owns the Cannes Lions advertising festival. Flywheel offers services designed to help brands sell on digital marketplaces operated by companies including Amazon .com, Walmart and Alibaba .

Persons: Omnicom Organizations: Cannes Lions, Walmart Locations: U.K

☆ UK's Ascential to sell digital commerce, product design units in $1.70 bln deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Information and analytics firm Ascential (ASCL.L) said on Monday it would sell its digital commerce and consumer research units for a combined enterprise value of 1.4 billion pounds ($1.70 billion) as the UK-based company focuses on its events business. London-listed Ascential said it intended to distribute about 850 million pounds to shareholders following the completion of the transactions. The digital commerce business would be sold to U.S.-listed Omnicom Group (OMC.N) for a total enterprise value of $900 million, it said. Ascential said its CEO Duncan Painter would join Omnicom to take on a new role as chief of Flywheel Digital, a newly formed part of the U.S.-based company which will operate the digital commerce business. The WGSN divestment is part of a break-up plan announced in January which originally included separation and a U.S. listing of its digital commerce assets.

Persons: Ascential, Duncan Painter, Philip Thomas, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Rashmi Aich, Jason Neely Organizations: Apax Partners, Thomson Locations: London, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: United Airlines, J.B. Hunt, Interactive Brokers and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

United Airlines said it expects adjusted earnings to range between $1.50 and $1.80 per share, versus the $2.06 per share expected by analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. For the recent quarter, the company topped Wall Street's expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $3.65 per share on $14.48 billion in revenue. J.B. Hunt Transport Services — The transportation and logistics stock lost 2% after reporting third-quarter results that fell short of Wall Street's expectations. J.B. Hunt posted earnings of $1.80 per share, versus the $1.84 per share expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG. Interactive Brokers posted third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.55 per share on adjusted revenue of $1.14 billion.

Persons: J.B, Hunt, Omnicom, FactSet, LSEG, —, Darla Mercado Organizations: United Airlines —, United Airlines, LSEG, Hunt Transport Services, LSEG . Revenue, Interactive, Viking Therapeutics Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel

☆ Regional banks are in focus in the week ahead as third-quarter earnings season ramps up
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Regional banks will be in focus in the week ahead as traders head into the thick of third-quarter earnings season. Regional bank earnings are also expected to be a weak point this season. But a closer look into the sector's sub-industries showed that regional banks are anticipated to have tumbled by 15% last quarter. Traders parsing through regional bank earnings will pay special attention to signs of narrowing net interest margins (NIM). Earnings season underway Many investors anticipate that the third-quarter earnings season will be alright.

Persons: Wells, Kumar, FactSet's John Butters, NIM, They'll, JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, FactSet's Butters, Nancy Tengler, Lauren Goodwin, we'll, Goodwin, Charles Schwab, Lockheed Martin, Goldman, Zions, Kinder Morgan, Lam, McLennan, Philip Morris, Huntington Bancshares, —, Jesse Pound Organizations: Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Sri, Kumar, Silicon Valley Bank, Regional Banking, Dow Jones Industrial, JPMorgan, Hamas, Northern Trust, U.S . Bancorp, T Bank, Citizens Financial, Bank of America, Federal Reserve, Companies, Investments, New York Life Investments, Index, Johnson, Bank of New York Mellon, Goldman Sachs Group, Hunt Transport Services, Omnicom, United Airlines Wednesday, Housing, Elevance, Citizens Financial Group, Procter, Gamble, Abbott Laboratories, Discover Financial Services, Las Vegas Sands, PPG Industries, Steel Dynamics, Tesla, Netflix, Lam Research, Philadelphia Fed, Truist, Alaska Air Group, Fifth Third Bancorp, American Airlines Group, Marsh, Philip Morris International, Union, CSX, Comerica, Regions Financial, American Express, Interpublic, Cos Locations: Wells Fargo, Silicon, Ukraine, Israel, J.B, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Truist Financial, Union Pacific, Freeport, Huntington

☆ Companies double down on AI in June-quarter analyst calls
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Noel Randewich | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

S&P 500 (.SPX) companies that led in discussion of AI during quarterly conference calls with analysts earlier this year have outdone themselves in their latest quarterly calls. Following Intel's (INTC.O) report late on Thursday, executives and analysts on its call mentioned AI 58 times, up from 15 mentions in its previous call in April. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsParticipants on Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) analyst call on Tuesday mentioned AI 62 times, up from 52 times three months ago. The same day, AI was mentioned 58 times on Microsoft's (MSFT.O) call, up from 35 times in its previous call. Technology heavyweights account for the conference calls with the greatest discussion of AI so far this quarter, but businesses not widely viewed as "tech companies" have also talked heavily about AI.

Persons: Aly, Equifax, Noel Randewich, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Artificial Intelligence, REUTERS, Intel, Nvidia, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Nasdaq, Reuters, Technology, Moody's Corp, P Global Inc, Travelers Companies, Omnicom, Digital Realty, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Interactive Brokers, Western Alliance, Omnicom and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Interactive Brokers — Interactive Brokers slid 2.6% after the brokerage firm's second-quarter earnings missed estimates. The firm reported adjusted earnings of $1.32 per share, weaker than consensus estimates of $1.40 per share, according to Refinitiv. Carvana said Tuesday it will post second-quarter earnings results on Wednesday, moving the date of its report up from August 3. The global marketing company posted second-quarter revenue of $3.61 billion, lower than forecasts of $3.67 billion, according to consensus estimates from FactSet. Western Alliance Bancorp — The regional bank stock declined about 5% after Western Alliance posted second-quarter results.

Persons: Carvana, Refinitiv Organizations: Omnicom Group, Hunt Transport Services —, Hunt Transport Services, Western Alliance Bancorp, Western Alliance, Revenue Locations: FactSet, Refinitiv

☆ Omnicom Group to Debut Tool Using Generative AI for Advertising Employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

Musk revealed those plans on Tuesday at the company's annual meeting, an about-face for the celebrity executive who recently acquired social media platform Twitter. Musk told CNBC he did not yet have a "fully formed strategy" for Tesla advertising. Tesla spent $151,947 on advertising in the U.S. in 2022, according to advertising intelligence firm Vivvix, which measured ads across places including TV, social media, Web banners and billboards. Diaz-Ortiz is a former Twitter manager who has written books about the social media company. Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Tesla shareholder Globalt Investments, sees Musk's embrace of advertising as a positive.

☆ Omnicom to Reduce Global Real-Estate Space Even as Employees Return to the Office
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Omnicom plans to reduce its real-estate footprint by more than 1.6 million square feet, Chief Executive John Wren said. Photo: Omnicom GroupOmnicom Group Inc. said it will significantly reduce its real-estate footprint and formalize return-to-office requirements for all U.S. employees as the company said it expects growth to continue through 2023, an indication that executives believe marketers’ continued spending will help the advertising giant largely avoid the economic headwinds that have hit the tech and finance industries. Omnicom, which owns agencies such as BBDO, OMD and TBWA, will require all U.S. employees to return to the office at least three days per week, Chief Executive John Wren said on a call to discuss the company’s first-quarter earnings.

☆ WPP, Like Ad-Company Rivals, Says It Expects 2023 Growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

WPP PLC is the latest major advertising holding company to say it expects continued growth in 2023 as clients keep spending on its services. PREVIEWWPP said like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs increased 6.9% in 2022 and 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Total revenue in 2022 was £14.4 billion, equivalent to about $17.3 billion, while revenue less pass-through costs was £11.8 billion. Chief Executive Mark Read said that consumers have continued to spend, and clients have continued to invest in their brands. Omnicom Group Inc. and Publicis Groupe SA both said they expect organic revenue growth this year of 3% to 5%.

☆ IPG Posts 3.8% Organic-Revenue Growth, Flags Tech-Sector Challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Interpublic Group of Cos. reported organic-net-revenue growth of 3.8% for the fourth quarter, saying that growth continued—albeit at a slower pace—despite a more cautious marketing and media environment due to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors worldwide. Net revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 was $2.55 billion, relatively flat when compared with the fourth quarter of 2021. For all of 2022, IPG reported organic-net-revenue growth of 7%. “As expected, growth slowed in the fourth quarter, consistent with global macroeconomic and geopolitical crosswinds which we are all aware of,” Chief Executive Philippe Krakowsky said on the company’s earnings call Thursday. Earlier this week, IPG competitor Omnicom Group Inc. reported organic-revenue growth of 7.2% for the fourth quarter.

☆ Omnicom CEO Wants to Embrace Generative AI as Quickly as Possible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The company reported organic revenue growth of 7.2% in the fourth quarter, beating the average analyst estimate of 3.7% organic revenue growth, according to FactSet. Organic revenue growth was 9.4% for the full year, the company said, beating the average analyst estimate of 8.4%. The company said it is forecasting organic revenue growth this year of 3% to 5%. Organic revenue growth is a metric that removes the effects of currency fluctuations, acquisitions and disposals. Reported total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 increased 0.3% to $3.87 billion versus a year earlier.

☆ Publicis Reports 9.4% Organic Revenue Growth for Fourth Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Publicis Groupe SA said Thursday that organic revenue grew 9.4% in the fourth quarter as its data and technology services continued to capture a shift in client spending. The growth in the quarter ending Dec. 31 brought Publicis’s full-year 2022 organic revenue growth to 10.1%. The results beat the average analyst estimate of 5.3% growth for the quarter and 8.8% for the year, according to FactSet. Publicis said it expects organic revenue growth of 3% to 5% in 2023. Organic growth refers to the change in net revenue excluding the impacts of acquisitions, disposals and currency fluctuations.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter Politics Add to Pressure on Tesla’s Brand Image
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Patrick Coffee | Rebecca Elliott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Self-identifying Democrats in particular have soured on the car maker since Mr. Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in late October, according to data from research firm Morning Consult. Mr. Musk, who plays a large role in the public image of Tesla and now Twitter, on Nov. 7 urged voters to back Republicans in the midterm elections. Net favorability is the percentage of respondents with positive perceptions of a brand minus the percentage with negative perceptions. Tesla also has millions of active supporters online, as does Mr. Musk. More than 94% of U.S. adults are now familiar with Mr. Musk, up from about 75% one year ago, according to Mr. Marlatt of Morning Consult.

“There’s no such thing as a set forecast right now,” said Sophie Kelly, senior vice president of whiskies at Diageo North America, speaking at the same event. The firm, a unit of Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Mediabrands, cut its growth forecast for next year to 4.8% from an earlier prediction of 5.8% in June. Organic revenue growth is a metric that removes the effects of currency fluctuations, acquisitions and disposals. Airbnb Inc. slashed its advertising spending and invested in brand marketing, lessening its reliance on search-engine marketing. “We knew that people are changing their behavior,” said William White, Walmart’s chief marketing officer.

☆ Complexity for Marketers Has Meant Opportunity for Ad Agencies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Their performance is striking compared with ad agencies’ plight five years ago: Facebook and Google had established direct relationships with marketers and were winning growing portions of their ad budgets before agencies could even offer their services. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CMO Today CMO Today delivers the most important news of the day for media and marketing professionals. PREVIEWSome major owners of ad agencies watched their growth slow or flatten in 2017 and 2018. Agency companies have responded by building practices to help marketers on platforms like TikTok and Amazon. Marketers navigate outside partnersSome major marketers still want to keep a close handle on some of their data efforts.

☆ Major ad firm Omnicom recommends clients pause Twitter ad spend - The Verge
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 11 (Reuters) - Advertising and marketing conglomerate Omnicom Group Inc (OMC.N) has recommended that clients pause their spending on Twitter in the short term, The Verge reported on Friday, citing an internal memo. Omnicom serves over 5,000 clients in 70 countries, including McDonald's Corp (MCD.N), Apple (AAPL.O) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N). "The risk to our clients' brand safety has risen sharply to a level most would find unacceptable," the report added, citing the Omnicom memo. Last month, U.S. automaker General Motors Co (GM.N) said it had temporarily halted paid advertising on Twitter. read moreReporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

But the new era at Twitter could also be an opportunity for the company to redefine its brand for the better. But it remains unclear what Twitter under Mr. Musk will actually be, Mr. Calkins said. Twitter before Mr. Musk weathered a number of controversies that rattled some advertisers and users. But this is a potential inflection point for Twitter, Mr. Miller said. “I think the brand is irrevocably damaged, actually, unless and until Musk finds somebody else to run Twitter,” Mr. Kwittken said.

☆ Marketers’ Continued Spending Makes WPP Latest Ad Giant to Boost Guidance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

PREVIEWLike-for-like revenue less pass-through costs compares net sales at constant currencies and excludes acquisitions, disposals and costs such as expenses billed to clients. The company saw like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs increase 3.8% in the third quarter, compared with the period a year earlier. WPP Chief Executive Mark Read said the company’s clients’ appear to be continuing their spending in the fourth quarter. “We’re not expecting a slowdown in the fourth quarter,” Mr. Read said. In September, Interpublic Group of Cos.’s Magna unit clipped its U.S. advertising growth forecast for 2023, saying a weaker economic environment is likely to cut into spending.

☆ IPG Joins Ad Holding Companies in Raising 2022 Organic-Growth Forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Organic revenue growth, which removes the effects of currency fluctuations, acquisitions and disposals, was at 5.6%. Mr. Krakowsky told investors that the media planning-and-buying group IPG Mediabrands had seen double-digit organic growth. IPG’s more traditional advertising business, which includes its healthcare marketing agency IPG Health, fared better with organic growth of 6.7%. Its communications and experiential businesses, including agencies Weber Shandwick and Golin, posted organic growth of 7.8%. IPG’s organic growth was the weakest in the U.S., the company’s largest market, where it reached 4.4%.

☆ Omnicom Group Raises Its 2022 Organic Growth Forecast Again
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Omnicom Group Inc. again increased its organic growth forecast for the year, as its chief executive said the advertising holding company is “well equipped to handle any economic downturn” even as uncertainty for the ad market lies ahead. The New York-based company, which owns agencies including BBDO, DDB and TBWA, said it was increasing its organic revenue growth forecast to a range of 8% to 8.5% for 2022, up from an earlier forecast of 6.5% to 7%. Organic revenue growth is a metric that removes the effects of currency fluctuations, acquisitions and disposals. Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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