AD Agencies
Pumpkin pockets ShopCJ mandate
MUMBAI: Team Pumpkin, a leading Digital Marketing & PR Agency, has won digital marketing mandate for ShopCJ, a teleshopping platform.
Team Pumpkin’s mandate includes execution of several digital activities such as content marketing, social media management and creation of digital assets among others.
Team Pumpkin chief business officer Swati Nathani said, “ShopCJ’s consumer base has a growing percentage of the digitally active audience. Our strategy will be to bridge this gap and bring ShopCJ to its consumers, organically. We aim to deliver most topical content which is a key factor behind successful digital marketing.”
Shop CJ head of marketing & CRM Mahesh Patel said, “In this digital age, we need a team, which is creative and fast-moving. Brand engagement for us will always be at the intersection of content and technology in the digital medium. We are sure that their team will be able to synergise with our marketing efforts.”
AD Agencies
Omnicom to divest $2.5 billion businesses in 12 months: CEO John Wren
Group doubles synergy target to $1.5bn as jobs, brands and markets go
NEW YORK: Omnicom Group is preparing to divest or exit businesses generating about $2.5 billion in annual revenue, stepping up a sweeping portfolio overhaul after its $13.25 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group.
Speaking on the group’s fourth-quarter earnings call, chairman and chief executive officer John Wren said Omnicom had already sold or exited units worth more than $800 million in annual revenue and expects to complete the remaining disposals within 12 months.
The company is also scaling back in smaller markets, shifting from majority to minority ownership in businesses accounting for roughly $700 million in revenue. These markets, Wren said, are no longer central to Omnicom’s long-term strategy.
Following the IPG merger, Omnicom has doubled its targeted annual run-rate synergies to $1.5 billion over the next 30 months, from an earlier estimate of $750 million. Management expects to capture $900 million of those savings in 2026 alone, with around $1 billion coming from labour cost reductions as overlapping corporate, network and operational roles are eliminated.
Further efficiencies will flow from simplified regional and brand structures, consolidated resources, and faster outsourcing and offshoring under a unified operating model. In December 2025, the group said it would cut more than 4,000 jobs and fold several agency brands into larger networks.
Wren also underlined stepped-up investment in automation and artificial intelligence to lift margins and sharpen client servicing amid intensifying competition.
The board has authorised a $5 billion share buyback, including a $2.5 billion accelerated repurchase programme, while committing continued investment in media, commerce, consulting and data capabilities.
Omnicom reported a 27.9 per cent rise in fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue to $5.53 billion, reflecting organic growth and one month’s contribution from IPG, compared with $4.32 billion a year earlier. Wren said the IPG combination strengthened the client roster, citing new or expanded mandates from American Express, Bayer, BBVA, BNY, Mercedes-Benz and NatWest Group.
