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Global Marketing Companies: The Holding Groups

Updated September 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team

The world’s largest marketing company is a holding company, and holding companies do not do marketing — they own the agencies that do. This page sets out the structure: the groups that own most of the industry, every significant network beneath them and what each one is actually for, the independents and consultancies competing with them, and how to read any of it if you are trying to hire somebody rather than study the sector. The short version of that last part: ignore the group, judge the office.

The short answerScale at the top of a holding company tells you nothing about who would work on your account. The relevant unit is the network, then the office, then the individuals — and networks vary enormously between markets. A client impressed by a group’s global revenue is being impressed by something that will never touch their project.

Ownership in this industry changes constantly: networks merge, groups acquire and divest, and a major combination between two of the groups listed here was announced and progressing at the time of writing. Everything on this page is a snapshot compiled from public knowledge of how the industry is structured, not a ranking and not financial data. Verify any ownership statement before relying on it. Progression Agency is independent and has no affiliation with any group named here. Updated September 2026.

What the structure actually is
The last row is the whole practical point. Everything above it is context.

What does the world’s largest marketing company actually mean?

Almost always the largest holding company by revenue — and holding companies do not do marketing. They own the agencies that do. That distinction explains most of the confusion in this subject.

Somebody searching for global marketing companies is usually looking for one of three different things: the parent groups that own the industry, the agency networks that actually do the work, or a shortlist of firms they could plausibly hire. Those are three different lists and they overlap less than you would expect.

This page sets out the structure: the seven or so groups that own most of the industry, the networks beneath them, what each network is actually for, and how to read all of it if you are trying to hire somebody rather than study the sector.

How the holding company model works

A parent company owns dozens of agency brands that compete with each other, share back-office functions and central data assets, and are bought and merged periodically.

The model exists for two reasons. It lets a group serve competing clients through separate agencies without a conflict, and it consolidates the expensive parts — media buying scale, data infrastructure, procurement, finance — behind brands that stay distinct to the market.

For a client, the practical consequences are worth knowing. The agency you hire may share a parent with your competitor’s agency. Media buying leverage may come from a central operation rather than from the agency on your calls. And the brand you signed with can be merged into another one, which happens regularly and is rarely announced to clients before it is decided.

What the groups are actually ranked on

Revenue, not billings, and certainly not quality. Revenue is what the group earns, while billings is what flows through it — a much larger and much less meaningful number.

Any published ranking of the largest marketing companies is a revenue table. It measures scale, and scale correlates with the ability to serve multinational clients across many markets. It does not correlate with whether a given agency will do good work on your account, which is a different question entirely and is answered by different evidence.

The major holding groups and what distinguishes each
GroupHeadquartersDistinguishing characteristic
WPPLondonThe largest by most measures for many years; broad across creative, media, PR and production
OmnicomNew YorkHistorically the strongest creative networks; announced a combination with Interpublic
Publicis GroupeParisMoved earliest and hardest into data and technology, through Sapient and Epsilon
Interpublic (IPG)New YorkLarge creative and media networks plus significant marketing data assets
DentsuTokyoDominant in Japan, global through the former Aegis networks
HavasParisSmaller, organized around integrated village offices; separated from Vivendi and separately listed
Accenture SongDublinConsultancy-owned; the largest of the non-traditional entrants
StagwellNew YorkA challenger group assembled from independent-minded agencies
S4 CapitalLondonA unitary digital-first model rather than a conventional holding structure

Ownership in this industry changes constantly. Networks merge, groups acquire and divest, and at least one major combination between two of the groups above has been announced and was progressing at the time of writing. Treat every ownership statement on this page as a snapshot to verify rather than a permanent fact, particularly before citing it anywhere that matters.

Bar chart of revenue by discipline within a large marketing holding group.
Creative is what these groups are known for and media is what pays for them. That gap explains a great deal about how they behave.

The seven groups, one at a time

What follows is each major group, then the individual networks beneath them — what each one is actually for, so a name in a pitch document means something.

The networks are the operating units. When a client says they work with a large agency, they almost always mean one of these rather than the parent.

WPP

London-headquartered and for many years the largest of the groups by revenue, with the broadest spread across creative, media, public relations, production and brand consulting.

WPP has spent recent years consolidating a very large number of agency brands into fewer, larger ones — combining creative networks, merging its public relations firms, and unifying its media investment operation under a single brand. Anyone reading an older list of WPP agencies will find many of the names no longer exist as separate businesses.

Omnicom

New York-headquartered, historically home to the strongest creative networks in the industry, and the group with the most awarded creative heritage.

Omnicom has traditionally run its agencies with more independence than some peers, which is part of why its creative brands retained distinct identities for so long. A combination with Interpublic was announced and progressing at the time of writing, which if completed reshapes the top of the industry.

Publicis Groupe

Paris-headquartered, and the group that moved earliest and most decisively into data and technology rather than remaining primarily an advertising business.

The acquisitions of Sapient and Epsilon changed what the group sells: alongside creative and media it offers digital transformation consulting and marketing data infrastructure. That positioning is why its competitive set now includes consultancies as much as other agencies.

Interpublic Group

New York-headquartered, with large creative and media networks and significant marketing data assets acquired through Acxiom.

IPG has a similar shape to Omnicom — strong creative networks, a substantial media operation and a public relations arm — with data as a more prominent part of the offer. Its announced combination with Omnicom was in progress at the time of writing.

Dentsu

Tokyo-headquartered and overwhelmingly dominant in Japan, with an international business built largely from the acquisition of Aegis and its networks.

Dentsu is the clearest example of a group whose home-market position and international position are quite different. In Japan it operates at a scale no competitor approaches; internationally it competes as one large group among several, primarily through media and data.

Havas

Paris-headquartered, smaller than the groups above, and organized around integrated village offices that place creative, media and other disciplines in one building.

The village model is a genuine structural difference rather than positioning language: it is an explicit attempt to solve the coordination problem that separate networks create. Havas was separated from Vivendi and separately listed, which changed its ownership situation significantly.

Accenture Song

The marketing arm of a global consultancy, and the largest of the non-traditional entrants into the industry.

Accenture Song matters because it competes from a different starting point. Where an agency group sells communications and has added technology, a consultancy sells technology and business change and has added creative. On large transformation projects that difference in origin often decides who is invited to pitch.

Stagwell

A challenger group assembled from independent-minded agencies, positioned explicitly against the traditional holding company model.

Stagwell’s argument is that the legacy groups are too large and too slow, and that a smaller collection of digitally native agencies serves modern marketing better. Whether that holds is a matter of opinion; the group is genuinely large enough to be considered alongside the traditional players.

S4 Capital

A unitary digital-first company rather than a conventional holding group, built through rapid acquisition and consolidated under a single operating brand.

The distinguishing idea is the absence of separate agency brands: one company, one profit and loss, digital-only, positioned as faster and cheaper than the legacy structure. It is the clearest structural alternative to the holding model currently operating at scale.

The networks beneath them

Each of the following is an operating network or agency. The parent is given first, then ‘what the network actually does, because the names alone tell a buyer very little.

Reading a pitch document or a press release is much easier once these are attached to a discipline. A group proposing three of its own networks for one brief is proposing creative, media and public relations, not three alternatives.

Ogilvy

WPP — Advertising, brand and public relations.

One of the oldest names in the industry, strong in brand strategy, health and public relations alongside advertising.

VML

WPP — Creative, commerce and customer experience.

Formed from the combination of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, positioned around brand experience and commerce.

Gray

WPP — Advertising and integrated creative.

A long-established creative network, now operating closely alongside other WPP creative brands.

AKQA

WPP — Digital product and experience design.

Digital-native, strong in product, interface and innovation work rather than broadcast advertising.

Hogarth

WPP — Production and content at scale.

Production rather than ideas: adapting, versioning and delivering campaign assets across markets.

Landor

WPP — Brand identity and design.

Identity, naming and design systems, with a heritage in corporate brand work.

Burson

WPP — Public relations and corporate communications.

Formed by combining BCW and Hill+Knowlton; corporate, public affairs and crisis communications.

WPP Media

WPP — Media planning and buying.

The group’s consolidated media investment operation, previously branded GroupM.

Mindshare

WPP — Media planning and buying.

A media network within the group’s media investment arm.

Wavemaker

WPP — Media planning and buying.

Media network focused on the purchase journey and content.

EssenceMediacom

WPP — Media planning and buying.

Formed from Essence and MediaCom; data-led media planning and buying.

BBDO

Omnicom — Advertising and creative.

One of the most awarded creative networks, historically built around the craft of the idea.

DDB

Omnicom — Advertising and creative.

A creative network with a long heritage; strong in brand campaigns and behavioral thinking.

TBWA

Omnicom — Advertising and creative.

Known for disruption as an explicit methodology, and for long-running brand relationships.

OMD

Omnicom — Media planning and buying.

One of the largest media networks globally, within Omnicom Media Group.

PHD

Omnicom — Media planning and buying.

Media network with a planning-led positioning.

Hearts & Science

Omnicom — Data-driven media.

Built around data and marketing technology rather than traditional media buying.

FleishmanHillard

Omnicom — Public relations.

Corporate, public affairs and brand communications at global scale.

Ketchum

Omnicom — Public relations.

Consumer, corporate and food and beverage communications.

Porter Novelli

Omnicom — Public relations.

Purpose and social-impact positioning within corporate communications.

Interbrand

Omnicom — Brand consulting and valuation.

Brand strategy and the long-running brand valuation methodology it publishes.

Publicis Worldwide

Publicis Groupe — Advertising and creative.

The group’s flagship creative network, operating across most major markets.

Leo Burnett

Publicis Groupe — Advertising and creative.

A creative network with a strong heritage in emotionally driven mass-market advertising.

Saatchi & Saatchi

Publicis Groupe — Advertising and creative.

One of the best-known agency names, long associated with bold creative positioning.

Starcom

Publicis Groupe — Media planning and buying.

Media network within Publicis Media.

Zenith

Publicis Groupe — Media planning and buying.

Media network with a research and forecasting heritage.

Spark Foundry

Publicis Groupe — Media planning and buying.

Media network positioned around agility and mid-market clients.

Digitas

Publicis Groupe — Digital marketing and customer experience.

Digital-first, connecting media, data and experience work.

Publicis Sapient

Publicis Groupe — Digital business transformation.

Consulting and engineering rather than advertising; the group’s technology transformation arm.

Epsilon

Publicis Groupe — Data and identity.

Marketing data, identity resolution and personalization infrastructure.

MSL

Publicis Groupe — Public relations.

Corporate and consumer communications network.

McCann Worldgroup

Interpublic — Advertising and creative.

A large creative network with a long history in mass-market brand advertising.

FCB

Interpublic — Advertising and creative.

Creative network with a heritage stretching back over a century.

MullenLowe

Interpublic — Advertising and creative.

Creative network positioned around challenger-brand thinking.

Initiative

Interpublic — Media planning and buying.

Media network within IPG Mediabrands.

UM

Interpublic — Media planning and buying.

Media network within IPG Mediabrands.

Weber Shandwick

Interpublic — Public relations.

Corporate, crisis and public affairs communications at global scale.

Golin

Interpublic — Public relations.

Consumer and brand public relations.

Acxiom

Interpublic — Marketing data.

Customer data and identity infrastructure.

Dentsu Creative

Dentsu — Advertising and creative.

The group’s consolidated global creative brand, formed from several predecessor networks.

Carat

Dentsu — Media planning and buying.

One of the earliest independent media specialists, now the group’s flagship media network.

iProspect

Dentsu — Performance and digital media.

Search, performance and digital media at global scale.

Merkle

Dentsu — Data, technology and customer experience.

Customer data platforms, marketing technology and loyalty.

Havas Creative

Havas — Advertising and creative.

The group’s creative network, organized around integrated village offices.

Havas Media

Havas — Media planning and buying.

Media network operating within the same village structure.

BETC

Havas — Advertising and creative.

A creatively led agency with strong European recognition.

Accenture Song at a glance

Accenture — Consulting-owned creative and experience.

The largest of the consultancy-owned marketing businesses, combining creative, technology and service design.

Media.Monks

S4 Capital — Digital production and media.

A digital-first, unitary model built by acquisition rather than a traditional holding structure.

Anomaly

Stagwell — Creative and brand.

An independent-minded creative agency within a challenger holding group.

72andSunny

Stagwell — Advertising and creative.

Creative agency known for culturally driven campaign work.

Code and Theory

Stagwell — Digital product and design.

Digital product, design and content engineering.

Assembly

Stagwell — Media and performance.

Global media agency within the same group.

Wieden+Kennedy

Independent — Advertising and creative.

One of the largest remaining independent creative agencies, known for long client relationships.

Mother

Independent — Advertising and creative.

Independent creative agency with offices across several markets.

Droga5

Accenture — Advertising and creative.

A creative agency acquired into the consultancy world, an early signal of that convergence.

R/GA

Changing ownership — Digital product and experience.

Digital-native agency whose ownership has changed; verify its current parent before citing it.

Comparison chart showing global scale and senior attention trading off across supplier types.
These two lines run in opposite directions across the whole industry, which is the real trade-off in choosing a supplier at this level.

The independents, and why they still exist

Because some clients want the people who own the business to be in the room, and because independence removes the conflict and the internal-referral pressure a group creates.

Independent agencies compete on a small number of genuine advantages: the founders are still involved, there is no obligation to recommend sister companies, and decisions do not route through a group. What they cannot match is global footprint and media buying scale, which is why the largest multinational accounts sit with the groups almost without exception.

Where independents win

Brand-defining creative work, category challengers, and clients who value the founders’ involvement more than global coverage.

Where they cannot compete

Multi-market media buying, global campaign rollout across dozens of languages, and the scale procurement demands of the largest advertisers.

The succession problem

Independent agencies are frequently acquired when their founders retire, which is how most of today’s networks were originally assembled.

The consultancy alternative

For transformation-led work, a consultancy is now a more likely competitor to a network than an independent agency is.

The production question

Independents typically partner for production at scale, where the groups own dedicated production networks.

Group, independent or consultancy: what each is actually for
Supplier typeBest atWeakest atTypical client
Holding group networkGlobal scale, media leverage, multi-market rolloutSpeed, senior attention on smaller accountsMultinational advertisers
Consultancy-ownedTransformation, technology, service designMass-market brand creativeEnterprises rebuilding how they operate
Challenger groupDigital-native work with some scaleVery large global footprintMid-to-large brands wanting less bureaucracy
Large independentBrand-defining creative, founder involvementGlobal coverage and media scaleCategory challengers and strong national brands
Specialist agencyDepth in one disciplineEverything adjacent to itBusinesses with a known, single problem
Small local agencyResponsiveness and costRange and continuityRegional and mid-market businesses
How to read a pitch from a large group
Most evaluation processes spend their time on the first step and almost none on the last, which is the one that predicts the experience.

How to read all of this if you are actually hiring

Ignore the group. Identify the network, then identify the office, then identify the team. Scale at the top of a holding company tells you nothing about who would work on your account.

This is the practical conclusion, and it inverts how most of these lists are used. A client impressed by a group’s global revenue is being impressed by something that will not touch their project. The relevant unit is the office and the individuals in it.

  1. Establish which network is actually proposing, not which group owns it.
  2. Establish which office would service the account, because networks vary enormously between markets.
  3. Establish who specifically would work on it, and what proportion of their time is committed.
  4. Ask where your budget would rank among that office’s clients. Bottom-third accounts get leftover attention regardless of the group’s size.
  5. Ask whether any sister company is being included, and what that adds beyond an internal referral.
  6. Check whether the group also serves a direct competitor, and through which agency.
  7. Ask what happens to your account if the network is merged, which happens more often than clients expect.
  8. Compare the answers rather than the credentials, because every one of these groups has impressive credentials.
Identify the network — When hiring. Not the group. The group will not touch your work..
Identify the office — When hiring. Networks differ enormously between markets..
Name the team — When hiring. And the proportion of their time committed..
Ask where you rank — When hiring. Bottom-third accounts get leftover attention..
Check for conflicts — When hiring. Groups serve competitors through separate agencies..
Ask about mergers — When hiring. Networks are combined more often than clients expect..

Do you need a global agency at all?

Only if you operate in enough markets that coordination is genuinely the problem. Below that, you are paying for a structure you do not use.

The honest threshold is roughly this: if your campaign runs in one country, a global network offers you very little that a strong national agency does not, and it costs more. If it runs in fifteen, the coordination and the media leverage are worth real money and no independent can supply them.

One market — Do you need scale?. A strong national agency does the same for less..
Three to five markets — Do you need scale?. Coordination starts to have real value..
Fifteen markets — Do you need scale?. A network earns its cost; independents cannot supply this..
Large media budget — Do you need scale?. Buying leverage is genuine and measurable..
One discipline only — Do you need scale?. A specialist beats a network on depth..
Transformation work — Do you need scale?. A consultancy is now the likelier competitor..

Where the industry is heading

Consolidation at the top, consultancies competing for transformation work, in-housing of day-to-day production, and technology absorbing the parts of the business that were once labor.

Four trends are visible without needing to forecast. Groups are combining. Consultancies continue to take work that agencies once owned by default. Large advertisers have moved substantial volumes of production and performance media in-house. And generative tooling is compressing exactly the adaptation and versioning work that production networks were built to do at scale.

What that means for a buyer is that the value of a large group is increasingly in the things that are hard to replicate — global coordination, media leverage, genuine strategic thinking — rather than in production capacity, which is becoming cheap.

Consolidation — Where it is going. Groups combining at the top of the industry..
Consultancies — Where it is going. Taking work agencies once owned by default..
In-housing — Where it is going. Production and performance media moved inside advertisers..
Automation — Where it is going. Compressing exactly the versioning work production networks sell..
Data as the moat — Where it is going. Identity and measurement assets are harder to replicate than ideas..
What survives — Where it is going. Coordination, leverage and genuine strategy..

Creative networks

Make the campaigns and own the brand idea. The reputational center of the industry and a minority of its revenue.

Media networks

Plan and buy the space. The largest revenue line in every major group, and the source of most of their negotiating leverage.

Data and technology arms

Identity, customer data platforms and measurement. The fastest-growing part of the industry and the hardest for a competitor to replicate.

Public relations networks

Earned coverage, corporate reputation and crisis. Steady revenue, increasingly weighted toward the defensive side.

Production networks

Adaptation, versioning and delivery at scale. High volume, thin margin, and the part most exposed to automation.

Brand consultancies

Identity, naming and architecture. Small revenue, disproportionate influence on everything downstream.

Health and specialist networks

Regulated categories with their own rules and their own talent pools, usually run as separate businesses for that reason.

Why networks keep merging

Groups accumulated overlapping brands through decades of acquisition, and consolidating them removes duplicated overhead.

What a merger means for a client

New account leadership, occasionally a new office, and a period where nobody is quite sure who owns what. Ask about it before signing.

Why the names persist anyway

Brand equity in agency names is real and slow to rebuild, which is why groups retire fewer names than the cost case would suggest.

How to check current ownership

Group investor pages and annual reports, not agency websites, which lag reorganizations by months.

What each kind of network actually sells
Network typeSellsPriced asWhere it sits in the group’s economics
CreativeIdeas and campaign platformsRetainer or project feeReputation center, minority of revenue
MediaPlanning and buyingFee or commission on spendLargest revenue line
Data and technologyInfrastructure and licensesSubscription and servicesFastest growing
Public relationsEarned coverage and counselMonthly retainerSteady, defensive-weighted
ProductionAsset delivery at volumePer asset or per marketHigh volume, thin margin
Brand consultingIdentity and architectureProject feeSmall revenue, large influence
Questions to ask about the group, and why each matters
QuestionWhy it mattersA weak answer
Which network is pitching?Determines the discipline you are buying“The group”
Which office services the account?Networks vary enormously by market“Globally”
Who works on it, and for how long?The only thing that determines the workNames on a slide, unnamed in the contract
Where would our budget rank here?Predicts the attention you receiveDeflection
Do you serve a competitor of ours?Normal, and you should knowEvasion rather than disclosure
Is a sister company included?Sometimes value, sometimes an internal referralIncluded without explanation
What happens if you merge?It happens more often than clients expect“That would not affect you”

Ask who owns the contract

The network you meet may not be the legal entity you sign with, which matters if the group restructures.

Ask about the notice period

Long notice suits the agency; it rarely suits you.

Ask where the media buying sits

Leverage usually comes from a central operation rather than the agency on your calls, and that affects what is negotiable.

Ask what happens to your data

Group data assets are a genuine benefit and a genuine lock-in; know which applies to yours.

Ask how conflicts are handled in practice

Not whether they exist, which they will, but what the separation actually looks like day to day.

An agency chosen for the work, not for the parent company

We are independent, and we will tell you plainly when your requirement genuinely needs a global network. Tell us what you are trying to achieve and where.

Talk to us

Judge the office, not the group

Global revenue at the top of a holding company will not touch your project. See how agency rankings are actually compiled.

Ask where your budget ranks

The single most predictive question available, and it is fair to ask directly.

Check for conflicts

Groups frequently serve competing clients through separate agencies. That is the model working as designed, and you should still know.

Scale only where it earns its cost

One market rarely justifies a global network. Fifteen does.

Compare answers, not credentials

Every group on this page has impressive credentials. See what agencies actually do.

Reinvention and experience design consulting

Two consulting labels that sound like everything and mean something specific.

Reinvention services, as a consulting category, describe large-scale change programs that alter what a company does rather than how efficiently it does it — new revenue models, restructured operations, technology replacement, and the organizational change to support all three. The label is a positioning choice by the large firms; the work underneath is transformation consulting with a wider mandate.

Experience design consulting is narrower and more tangible: designing the end-to-end experience a customer or employee has across every channel, then changing the processes and systems that deliver it. The distinguishing feature against ordinary design work is that it takes responsibility for the back office as well as the interface, because most experience failures are process failures wearing an interface.

Global and international agency networks

What a buyer is actually choosing between when the brief spans several countries.

International marketing companies divide into three structures that behave very differently. The holding-company networks own agencies in most markets and coordinate through a global account team. The independent networks are affiliations of separately owned agencies sharing referrals and standards. And a single strong agency with genuine international reach runs everything from one office with local partners for media and language.

Global media agencies are a distinct fourth thing and frequently the largest line in the budget: they buy media across markets, negotiate rates at holding-company scale, and provide the measurement layer. A global advertising agency handles the creative; the two are often separate contracts even inside the same holding company, which surprises first-time international buyers.

Worldwide marketing companies and worldwide marketing company rankings, along with lists of the top 5 marketing agencies in the world and the top 5 advertising agencies in world, are compiled on revenue or billings and describe the holding companies rather than the offices you would actually work with. The rule that applies to every one of these lists: verify that the named work was done by the office that would service your account, because capability varies enormously between markets inside a single network.

An international ad agency engagement lives or dies on one decision made early: standardization or adaptation. Running one creative idea everywhere buys consistency and scale; adapting product, message and channel per market buys relevance and costs margin and management attention. Most programs land somewhere between, and the useful discipline is deciding explicitly which elements are fixed worldwide and which are local rather than letting each market decide for itself.

An international marketing consultancy, as distinct from an agency, advises on market entry and structure without executing: which markets to enter in what order, how to staff them, what the regulatory and channel landscape looks like. Global digital agencies sit at the executional end of the same spectrum. Buying the consultancy first and the agency second is the sequence that wastes the least money, because the entry decision determines what the agency is briefed to do.

Video: agency and marketing practice

A general library on marketing practice. The industry structure on this page stands on its own; these are background viewing on the wider discipline.

Paid media and lead generation

Frequently asked questions

What is the world’s largest marketing company?
By revenue it is one of the holding groups — WPP has held that position by most measures for many years, with Omnicom, Publicis Groupe and Interpublic close behind, and an announced combination between two of them would reorder the top. But holding companies do no marketing themselves; they own the agencies that do.
What is a marketing holding company?
A parent that owns dozens of agency brands. It lets a group serve competing clients through separate agencies without conflict, and consolidates the expensive parts — media buying scale, data infrastructure, procurement — behind brands that stay distinct to the market.
Who are the big advertising holding companies?
WPP, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, Interpublic, Dentsu and Havas are the traditional six. Accenture Song is the largest consultancy-owned entrant, with Stagwell and S4 Capital as challenger structures.
What are the biggest advertising agency networks?
Within those groups: Ogilvy, VML, Gray and WPP Media at WPP; BBDO, DDB, TBWA and Omnicom Media Group at Omnicom; Publicis Worldwide, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis Sapient and Publicis Media at Publicis; McCann, FCB, MullenLowe and IPG Mediabrands at Interpublic; Dentsu Creative, Carat, iProspect and Merkle at Dentsu.
Are holding company rankings based on quality?
No. They are revenue tables. Revenue measures scale, and scale correlates with the ability to serve multinational clients across many markets. It does not indicate whether a given agency will do good work on your account.
What is the difference between revenue and billings?
Revenue is what a group earns. Billings is what flows through it, including client media spend it does not keep. Billings is a much larger and much less meaningful number, and it is occasionally quoted as though it were revenue.
Can two agencies in the same group work for competing brands?
Yes, and that is one of the model’s main purposes. Separate agencies within one group routinely serve direct competitors. It is worth knowing when it applies to you, even though the arrangement is normal and disclosed.
Should I hire a global agency network?
Only if you operate in enough markets that coordination is genuinely the problem. For a single-market campaign a global network offers little a strong national agency does not, and it costs more. Across fifteen markets the coordination and media leverage are worth real money.
What is Accenture Song?
The marketing arm of the consultancy Accenture, and the largest of the non-traditional entrants. It competes from a different starting point: consultancies sell technology and business change and have added creative, where agency groups sell communications and have added technology.
Why do consultancies compete with advertising agencies now?
Because a growing share of marketing work is technology, data and service design rather than communication. On transformation projects a consultancy is now a more likely competitor to an agency network than an independent agency is.
What is Stagwell?
A challenger holding group assembled from independent-minded agencies, positioned explicitly against the traditional model on the argument that the legacy groups are too large and too slow. It is large enough to be considered alongside them.
What is S4 Capital?
A digital-first company built through rapid acquisition and consolidated under a single operating brand rather than separate agency names. One company, one profit and loss, digital-only — the clearest structural alternative to the holding model currently operating at scale.
Why do the big groups keep merging their agency brands?
Cost, and duplication. Groups accumulated many overlapping networks through acquisition, and consolidating them reduces overheads and simplifies the offer. Anyone reading a list of agency brands more than a few years old will find many no longer exist separately.
Are independent agencies still competitive?
In brand-defining creative work, for category challengers, and where clients value the founders’ involvement, yes. What they cannot match is multi-market media buying and global campaign rollout, which is why the largest multinational accounts sit with the groups almost without exception.
Which discipline earns the most within a holding group?
Media planning and buying, by a substantial margin, followed by creative and then data and technology. Creative is what these groups are known for; media is what pays for them, and that gap explains a good deal about how they behave.
What should I actually ask a large agency network?
Which office would service the account, who specifically would work on it and for what proportion of their time, where your budget would rank among that office’s clients, whether a sister company is included and what it adds, and what happens to your account if the network is merged.
Does the parent company affect the work I get?
Indirectly. It affects what data and media leverage are available, whether sister companies get recommended, and whether your agency might be merged. It does not determine the quality of the team on your account, which is decided at office level.
Why do agency names keep changing?
Mergers, mostly. Groups combine networks to cut duplication, and the resulting entity usually takes one of the existing names or a new one. It is disruptive for clients and is rarely announced before it is decided.
Is in-housing replacing agencies?
Partly, and unevenly. Large advertisers have moved substantial volumes of production and performance media in-house. What has stayed with agencies is the work that is hard to staff for internally: genuine strategy, brand-defining creative and multi-market coordination.
What is the single most useful thing to remember from this page?
Ignore the group and judge the office. The relevant unit is the network, then the office, then the individuals — and the most predictive question you can ask is where your budget would rank among that office’s clients.

Sources and further reading

  1. Google Search Essentials — SEO starter guide
  2. Google: creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
  3. Google: intro to structured data
  4. Google: LocalBusiness structured data
  5. Google: FAQPage structured data
  6. Google: Article structured data
  7. Google: Product structured data
  8. Google: title links in search results
  9. Google: control your snippets
  10. Google: robots.txt introduction
  11. Google: sitemaps overview
  12. Google: consolidate duplicate URLs
  13. Google: redirects and Search
  14. Google: JavaScript SEO basics
  15. Google: multi-regional and multilingual sites
  16. Google Search Central Blog
  17. Google: get started with Search Console
  18. Google: how local search results are determined
  19. Google Business Profile: prohibited and restricted content
  20. Google Business Profile: address and service area guidelines
  21. Google Business Profile: review policy
  22. Google Business Profile: add or edit categories
  23. Google Ads: location targeting settings
  24. Google Ads: about negative keywords
  25. Google Ads: about Quality Score
  26. Google Ads: importing offline conversions
  27. Google Ads: about Smart Bidding
  28. Google Ads: about Performance Max
  29. Google Local Services Ads: eligibility and screening
  30. Google Ads: keyword match types
  31. Google Analytics 4: about conversions
  32. Google Analytics 4: attribution models
  33. US Census Bureau QuickFacts: New Jersey
  34. US Census Bureau: American Community Survey
  35. US Census: Statistics of US Businesses
  36. Bureau of Labor Statistics: New Jersey data
  37. BLS: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
  38. NJ Department of Labor: labor market information
  39. New Jersey Business Action Center
  40. US Small Business Administration: New Jersey district
  41. USA.gov: business resources
  42. web.dev: Core Web Vitals explained
  43. web.dev: Largest Contentful Paint
  44. web.dev: Cumulative Layout Shift
  45. web.dev: Interaction to Next Paint
  46. Google PageSpeed Insights
  47. Google Rich Results Test
  48. Google Search Console
  49. W3C Markup Validation Service
  50. Schema.org: LocalBusiness type
  51. Schema.org: Service type
  52. Schema.org: FAQPage type
  53. Schema.org: HowTo type
  54. W3C: WCAG 2.2 quick reference
  55. FTC: CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide
  56. FCC: telemarketing and robocall rules (TCPA)
  57. FTC endorsement guides — reviews and testimonials
  58. FTC: rule on consumer reviews and testimonials
  59. HHS: HIPAA guidance on online tracking technologies
  60. New Jersey Courts: attorney advertising guidelines
  61. New Jersey DCA: construction codes and permits
  62. New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor registration
  63. New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
  64. TikTok for Business
  65. TikTok Creative Center
  66. TikTok Ads Help Center
  67. TikTok Community Guidelines
  68. TikTok Terms of Service
  69. TikTok Privacy Policy
  70. TikTok Safety Center
  71. TikTok Transparency Center
  72. TikTok Creator Portal
  73. TikTok Newsroom
  74. TikTok for Developers
  75. TikTok advertising solutions
  76. TikTok Creator Marketplace
  77. TikTok Business Center
  78. TikTok for Business blog
  79. TikTok Creative Center: top ads
  80. TikTok Branded Content policy
  81. TikTok Shop for sellers
  82. Instagram for Business
  83. Instagram for Creators
  84. Instagram Help Center
  85. About Instagram
  86. Meta Business Suite
  87. Meta Business Help Center
  88. Meta Transparency Center
  89. About Meta
  90. Meta: Instagram platform docs
  91. YouTube Creators
  92. YouTube Official Blog
  93. YouTube Shorts help
  94. How YouTube Works
  95. YouTube Studio
  96. LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
  97. LinkedIn Help
  98. Pinterest Business
  99. Pinterest Business Help
  100. Snapchat for Business
  101. X for Business
  102. Reddit communities
  103. Reddit for Business Help
  104. ASCAP
  105. BMI
  106. SESAC
  107. Global Music Rights
  108. PRS for Music (UK)
  109. PPL (UK)
  110. SOCAN (Canada)
  111. APRA AMCOS (Australia)
  112. GEMA (Germany)
  113. SACEM (France)
  114. SIAE (Italy)
  115. JASRAC (Japan)
  116. IFPI
  117. RIAA
  118. National Music Publishers Association
  119. Harry Fox Agency
  120. SoundExchange
  121. Music Reports
  122. Epidemic Sound
  123. Artlist
  124. Soundstripe
  125. PremiumBeat
  126. AudioJungle
  127. Free Music Archive
  128. Creative Commons
  129. Incompetech
  130. FTC: advertising and marketing
  131. FTC: disclosures 101
  132. FTC: endorsement guides
  133. FTC: consumer reviews rule
  134. FTC: advertising FAQs
  135. US Copyright Office
  136. US Copyright Office: DMCA
  137. US Copyright Office: music FAQ
  138. US Copyright Office: fair use FAQ
  139. USPTO: trademarks
  140. UK Advertising Standards Authority
  141. ACCC (Australia)
  142. Competition Bureau Canada
  143. GDPR overview
  144. California Consumer Privacy Act
  145. COPPA
  146. FTC: children’s privacy
  147. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
  148. W3C: WCAG
  149. W3C: captions
  150. W3C: making audio and video accessible
  151. ADA.gov
  152. WebAIM
  153. Epilepsy Foundation
  154. Pew Research: internet and technology
  155. DataReportal
  156. US Census Bureau
  157. US Bureau of Labor Statistics
  158. Interactive Advertising Bureau
  159. Think with Google
  160. Google Trends
  161. Nielsen insights
  162. Schema.org: VideoObject
  163. Schema.org: SocialMediaPosting
  164. Schema.org: MusicRecording
  165. Schema.org: HowTo
  166. Schema.org: FAQPage
  167. Schema.org: Organization
  168. Google: video best practices
  169. Google: video structured data
  170. CapCut
  171. Adobe Premiere Rush
  172. DaVinci Resolve
  173. Canva
  174. Descript
  175. VEED
  176. Kapwing
  177. Otter.ai
  178. Later
  179. Buffer
  180. Hootsuite
  181. Sprout Social
  182. Google Analytics
  183. Google Search Console
  184. Google Analytics developer docs
  185. GA4: events and conversions
  186. Matomo
  187. Plausible Analytics
  188. Similarweb
  189. UK Information Commissioner’s Office
  190. Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
  191. Australian OAIC
  192. European Data Protection Board
  193. EU data protection
  194. EU Digital Services Act
  195. Ofcom
  196. FCC
  197. AIGA
  198. Nielsen Norman Group
  199. Smashing Magazine
  200. web.dev
  201. MDN: web media
  202. MDN: the video element
  203. ISO 21001 (reference)
  204. Buma/Stemra (Netherlands)
  205. STIM (Sweden)
  206. Teosto (Finland)
  207. Koda (Denmark)
  208. TONO (Norway)
  209. IMRO (Ireland)
  210. SGAE (Spain)
  211. ZAiKS (Poland)
  212. KOMCA (South Korea)
  213. MCSC (China)
  214. CISAC
  215. World Intellectual Property Organization
  216. TikTok: creating videos
  217. TikTok: exploring videos
  218. TikTok: privacy settings
  219. TikTok: growing your audience
  220. TikTok Creator Academy
  221. TikTok Effect House
  222. TikTok for small business
  223. Instagram: Reels help
  224. YouTube: Shorts best practice
  225. How YouTube recommends
  226. Pinterest Predicts
  227. Snapchat for Business
  228. Hootsuite blog
  229. Social Media Examiner
  230. Marketing Week
  231. Adweek

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