2025 has been a transformative and highly dynamic year for the global marketing and advertising industry. Holding companies and major agencies moved aggressively, reshaping the landscape through mergers, acquisitions, realignments, and rebrandings. Longstanding rivalries ended, reporting structures were overhauled, and global networks expanded its creative and data capabilities in pursuit of scale and efficiency.
The year highlighted a clear trend: scale alone is no longer enough. The world’s largest marketing groups raced to consolidate resources, unify talent, and integrate data, media, and technology in ways that promised smarter, more connected growth. From blockbuster acquisitions to the formation of entirely new creative entities, each agency rethought traditional structures, prioritising collaboration and agility to meet evolving client needs.
Overall, 2025 was a year of consolidation, reinvention, and rapid change, as holding companies and agencies navigated a more complex, competitive, and data-driven marketplace. The pace of transformation signals that the industry is entering a new era, one defined not just by size, but by the ability to integrate creativity, technology, and intelligence in ways that were unimaginable even a few years ago.
Below, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has tracked five of the biggest agency shake-ups this year, highlighting just how fast the landscape is evolving.
Don’t miss: How are industry players coping with the consolidation wave?
Omnicom completed acquisition of IPG
Omnicom completed its acquisition of Interpublic, creating the world’s largest holding group with more than US$25 billion in combined revenue. CEO John Wren described the move as the start of the “next era” of intelligent, connected growth.
The deal united two of the industry’s longstanding rivals under Omnicom. As of this writing, Wren remains as chairman and CEO, with Phil Angelastro continuing as EVP and CFO, while Philippe Krakowsky and Daryl Simm were appointed co-presidents and co-COOs.
Rumours of an Omnicom–IPG merger had circulated earlier in 2025 amid margin pressures, slower global growth, and the need for deeper integration across data, media, and CRM. The merger ended one of the industry’s longest rivalries and shifted the balance of power among the Big Four networks including Omnicom, Publicis, WPP, and Dentsu, creating a scale player surpassing WPP in revenue and headcount.
Read more here.
Publicis acquired HEPMIL
In October 2025, Publicis Groupe signed a definitive agreement to acquire HEPMIL Media Group, the parent company of SGAG, a leading influencer, content, and social agency in Southeast Asia.
The acquisition combined HEPMIL’s expertise in building digital communities and managing local creators with Publicis’ data capabilities, including Lotame and Epsilon’s ID graph covering more than 800 million consumer profiles in the region. The integration strengthened Publicis’ position in identity-driven influencer marketing, offering a unified creator practice across social strategy, influencer management, and data-led content creation.
Read more here.
WPP realigned Grey under Ogilvy
Earlier this September, WPP moved creative agency Grey under Ogilvy, shifting its reporting line from the AKQA group. Grey global CEO Laura Maness began reporting to Ogilvy global CEO Devika Bulchandani.
The move aimed to strengthen collaboration, unlock growth across WPP, and reflect Grey’s creative resurgence and profitable trajectory. Grey continued to operate as a standalone brand within Ogilvy, and existing collaborations with AKQA remained in place.
Read more here.
WPP rebrands GroupM
In May, WPP rebranded its media investment arm, GroupM to WPP Media, marking a significant shift after two decades.
The move is part of a broader effort to deliver more integrated, AI-enabled solutions to the world’s largest advertisers. With more than US$60 billion in annual media investment under management and clients across 80 markets, WPP Media consolidates the group’s media, data and production capabilities under a single, AI-driven operating model.
Mindshare, Wavemaker and EssenceMediacom will continue to exist as agency brands within WPP Media, working closely with clients through dedicated teams.
Read more here.
Publicis merged Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide to form Leo
Kicking off the year, Publicis Groupe combined Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide into a new global creative entity called Leo. The move united 15,000 creative professionals (8,000 from Leo Burnett and 7,000 from Publicis Worldwide) to drive scaled transformation, personalised content, and connected brand experiences.
Leo was co-led by Marco Venturelli and Agathe Bousquet as co-presidents, with Gareth Goodall as chief strategy officer. Andrew Bruce, CEO of Publicis Groupe Canada, also took on the role of Chairman, Leo North America.
The new unit joined Publicis’ creative roster alongside Saatchi & Saatchi, LePub, and BBH, with a redesigned logo symbolising “the firepower of a name with the roar of a lion.”
Read more here.
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