AD Agencies
IdeateLab repositions as “The Outcome People”
Mumbai: In a move to mirror the evolving business & marketing ecosystem, IdeateLab – a leading independent digital-first marcom solutions provider – has repositioned itself as “The Outcome People.”
While most agencies and collaborations stop at output, IdeateLab seeks to go beyond and aim to deliver outcomes that truly matter to its clients.
“In the BANI world, getting the best output is not enough. In order to achieve the best outcomes, businesses need to create and embrace the best outcomes themselves. IdeateLab is partnering clients in bringing this mindset shift – to help reshape their thinking about their products & services in order to achieve business outcomes”, said IdeateLab chairman Dr. Bhaskar Das.
To reflect the new thinking and focus, the company has refreshed its identity and digital assets. IdeateLabs becomes IdeateLab, and dawns a crisper, contemporary logo.
The company has outlined three key pillars to engage with clients, such that ‘outcome’ becomes the currency:
Differentiated approach: IdeateLab starts at the Business Objective level, not just marketing or communication objective. And identifies the role it can play to make a visible and sustained difference to the clients’ business through its CEO (creative & consult, engage & execute, optimise & operate) framework.
Tailored solutions: No two businesses or brands are same. From data-backed insights, deep social listening to nuanced creative & content and advanced media optimization, IdeateLab crafts bespoke solutions that deliver outcomes. It is particularly geared to help MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and home-grown businesses. To the extent, that IdeateLab functions like their outsourced marketing function.
Partnership DNA: Ideatelab’s growth is truly linked to the growth of its clients. The operating model is designed on the principle of shared success – with a hybrid of fixed and variable elements. It’s a partnership based on collaboration, transparency and agreed outcomes.
“Ideate has always prided itself on the ability to adapt to changing times, hence over the last few months the leadership spent a lot of time discussing and brainstorming with our clients as well as Industry Leaders on how can we partner and create a true partnership model with our clients, whether a Startup looking to Scale or an Established Brand looking to diversify. This new avatar reflects that changed thinking that we bring on board,” said IdeateLab director Vrutika Dawda.
“We are looking to expand and sharpen the very definition of the word ‘idea’ in our vocabulary. Moving beyond the ‘what’ of output, at a campaign or social post level, we want to crack the ‘why’ of that outcome at the business level. So that a refreshing & tangible mashup of data, creativity and technology comes into play”, said IdeateLab chief creative officer Raman R.S. Minhas.
IdeateLab believes shifting the focus on outcomes is not only the need of the hour, but also a sure way to become future-ready.
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.
