Omnicom won IBM's global media account and Adidas's reported $512m media account within a week, as IBM also ended a 32-year run with Ogilvy. The story underneath is scale, data and AI winning the work.
The pitch is no longer just media buying. It is data, media and AI sold as one machine, and scale is what powers the machine.
Omnicom has landed IBM and Adidas inside a week, two of the biggest media accounts in the market, and the story underneath is consolidation.
IBM named Omnicom Media its global media agency of record after a competitive review, covering the Americas, EMEA, Japan and APAC and expanding a relationship that started in EMEA in early 2025. A day later IBM appointed Stagwell as lead creative partner, ending a 32-year run with Ogilvy, one of the longest client-agency partnerships in advertising. Separately, Omnicom won Adidas's global media account, reported at around $512 million.
Two marquee wins in days is not luck. It is scale winning work, as the biggest holding groups pitch integrated data, media and AI capability that mid-size shops struggle to match.
Why it matters
For Australian marketers, the direction of travel is clear. Global brands are consolidating media into fewer, larger partners who can run data and AI at scale. That raises the bar for everyone. If a holding group's edge is integrated data and measurement, the question for your own business is whether you have that discipline in-house or through a partner. The winning pitches are built on knowing what works, not on headcount.
The reported value of the Adidas global media account Omnicom just won
What to do about it
The giants are consolidating on data and AI. The lesson for everyone else is the same. Measurement is the edge, whatever your size.