Dive Brief:
- Omnicom Media Group has announced John Osborn as the new U.S. CEO of OMD Worldwide, per a press release. Osborn previously served as CEO and president of Omnicom's BBDO NY agency. He succeeds Monica Karo, who will become the global chief client officer of OMD Worldwide.
- The change could be considered surprising, according to The Wall Street Journal, as BBDO is a creative agency and OMD is a media buying agency. Osborn has no media buying experience, but he has a reputation for building strong relationships with marketers. Daryl Simm, chief executive of Omnicom Media Group, told the Journal that the move is an attempt to bring "freshness of thought and leadership" to OMD and increase client handling capacity.
- Osborn spent 26 years with BBDO initially working on its Pepsi business, reaching the role of account director. He later became the principal architect of the agency's integrated marketing efforts, including digital and social media marketing, experiential marketing, design and more. While Osborn was CEO at BBDO NY, it was named Agency of the Year more than 15 times.
Dive Insight:
Osborn taking the lead at OMD Worldwide is intriguing given his lack of media buying experience, and signals that the agency might be realigning its priorities to better weather rough waters. Traditional ad agencies continue to come under intense scrutiny for issues ranging from a failure to achieve digital transformation to non-transparent business practices, leading brands to drop them for their rosters.
OMD has been losing business over the last 18 months, per the Journal, and has been surpassed by smaller Omnicom ad-buying firms PHD and Heart & Science, which likely influenced the executive change. Osborn's reputation for fostering healthy relationships with brands might help OMD Worldwide retain more client business and climb back to the top of the ranks at Omnicom, which has been hit by disruptions affecting the overall agency space.
Omnicom's net income was up $2.5 million in its Q2 earnings report from July, but revenue was down 2.5%. The ad holding group pointed to uncertainty in Washington, DC for its cautionary note around U.S. business, specifically citing a lack of clarity on regulation, tax policy and healthcare costs influencing brand's ad spending decisions.