AD Agencies
Leo Burnett, BBDO shine at The Epica Awards 2016
MUMBAI: Leo Burnett India has bagged India’s sole gold at the 2016 edition of the Epica Awards for its ‘Reuniting Memories from 1947’ (Dastaan) campaign for OLX.
Excited about the wins, Leo Burnett south Asia chief creative officer RajDeepak Das said, “When we realised that OLX is the no. 1 marketplace for used goods in India and Pakistan, we saw an opportunity to help people reunite with their priceless pre-Partition belongings and memories; we received thousands of stories from both sides in no time.”
Additionally, its work for Bajaj V, ‘Sons of Vikrant’, too bagged a bronze. The Epica Awards celebrate work from advertising, design, media, PR and digital that has been chosen by renowned journalists from the marketing and communications fraternity, across the world.
The work for OLX bagged the Gold under the ‘Native Advertising’ category, while Bajaj V’s campaign won for ‘Films & Series’.
The wins have even played their part in helping Leo Burnett secure the coveted ‘Network of the Year’ title this year, by bagging 49 metals to its name including 12 gold.
On the other hand BBDO New York claimed the agency of the year title with 19 wins which includes a gold.
The Epica Awards were established in 1987, and is the only award that is judged by marketing and communications specialist journalists from over 60 publications, including magazines and websites, globally. The prize attracts entries from over 70 countries, each year. The ceremony was held in Amsterdam on 17 November.
AD Agencies
Omnicom doubles synergy target to $1.5 billion, flags more job cuts after IPG deal
Advertising giant targets deeper job cuts and restructuring by mid-2028
NEW YORK: Global advertising group Omnicom Group has sharply escalated its cost-cutting ambitions following its acquisition of Interpublic Group, doubling its annual synergy target to $1.5 billion by mid-2028, according to media reports.
The bulk of the savings, $1 billion a year, will come from labour costs, according to Omnicom’s fourth-quarter earnings presentation. This signals further job cuts, restructuring and the relocation of roles to lower-cost markets.
The tougher stance comes just months after Omnicom announced 4,000 redundancies in December, immediately after closing the IPG transaction.
Presentation slides show labour-related synergies accelerating over the next three years, rising to $645 million in 2026, $920 million in 2027 and $1 billion by 2028. The company said the savings will be delivered through a mix of headcount reductions, offshoring and near-shoring, alongside outsourcing selected back-office functions.
Beyond payroll, Omnicom expects to extract $240 million from real estate consolidation and a further $260 million from IT, procurement and operational efficiencies.
The revised $1.5 billion target is double the $750 million estimate flagged when the IPG deal was announced in late 2024, underscoring a more aggressive integration push than previously signalled.
Chief executive John Wren said Omnicom aims to deliver $900 million of the synergies by the end of 2026, with the full run-rate achieved within 30 months. On the earnings call, Wren and chief financial officer Phil Angelastro said early integration efforts had focused on eliminating duplicated corporate and operational functions.
“Unfortunately, you couldn’t keep two of everything,” Angelastro said, pointing to executive and structural overlaps created by the merger.
The restructuring has also led to a simplification of agency brands and reporting lines. Legacy networks such as DDB Worldwide, FCB and MullenLowe Group have been dismantled as standalone entities, with the group reorganised around nine “connected capabilities”, including Omnicom advertising and Omnicom media.
Omnicom is also expanding a unified resourcing model built around offshore hubs in Colombia, Costa Rica and India, which are expected to take on a larger share of delivery and support functions.
Angelastro said artificial intelligence was not the primary driver of staffing reductions, though automation and AI are being explored to lift productivity.
Omnicom expects total headcount to settle at about 105,000 employees, down from a combined 128,000 at the end of 2024. Around 10,000 roles will fall off payroll through divestments and exits from non-core agency assets.
Investors cheered the expanded savings plan. Omnicom shares jumped more than 15 per cent to close above $80, buoyed by the higher synergy target and a separate $5 billion share buyback programme. Analysts at Bank of America called the moves “key positives”, though flagged the absence of organic growth guidance for 2026.
The New York–headquartered group reported an annual net loss of $54.5 million on revenue of $17.3 billion, reflecting one month of IPG contribution and heavy one-off costs linked to the merger and restructuring.
Omnicom will host an investor day on 12 March, where it is expected to outline further integration milestones and capital allocation priorities.
