Omnicom Media Group, Publicis Groupe, and dentsu Lead Forrester Media Wave Report

Omnicom Media Group (OMG), Publicis Groupe, and dentsu lead Forrester’s media agency Wave report, released today.

The research firm evaluated 12 media agencies, both holding company-owned and independents, based on three criteria: capabilities, strategy, and customer feedback. Agencies were then grouped into three categories based on their score: leaders, strong performers, and contenders. 

OMG, Publicis Groupe, and dentsu came out on top as leaders. Meanwhile, GroupM, PMG, Tinuiti, IPG Mediabrands, and Horizon Media were ranked as strong performers, while Stagwell, Wpromote, Havas Media Network, and DEPT were contenders.

The media agency Wave is renewed every 18 to 24 months. Its last version, released in July 2022, also had OMG leading the pack.

Jay Pattisall, vp and lead analyst at Forrester said OMG scored highest this year due to its tech strategy, use of data, integration of media and content, and audience-first marketing. 

Florian Adamski, OMG’s chief executive officer (CEO), said the agency network has been able to maintain its leader designation by “never standing still.”

“For OMG, [being a leader] has meant creating an offer at the intersection of digital transformation, connected commerce, content and creators, and empowering clients through a constant pipeline of innovation and thought leadership,” he said.

Scale and skills

According to Pattisall, the Wave is ultimately about helping executives find the right agency for their needs. “The Wave is not designed to label the best agency,” he said. “It’s designed so that marketing executives can find the best agency for them.”

His big takeaway from this year’s report is that all of the leaders represent a combination of scale and skill and are offering commercial models that are driven by “mutually beneficial reward.”

“The best providers are thinking about how, in the future, outcomes-oriented remuneration as opposed to a service fee is much more aligned to their clients’ objectives,” he said. 

Another takeaway is that agencies on top are converting their buying power into buying intelligence, as well as connecting audience insight strategies with creative development. “The best agencies are helping to drive creative strategy,” Pattisall said.

Uniting creativity and media through technology is something media agencies must to do to stay relevant today. That’s a shift from the past, when creative and media were separated to enable holding companies to make more money and chase various clients, Pattisall said. 

For Pattisall, the most surprising finding was the strength of the independent agencies in comparison to the holding company agencies. For instance, smaller agencies Tinuiti and PMG were strong performers due to their ability to translate technology and data into buying intelligence. Both were founded in the digital age, in 2004 and 2010, respectively.

The rise of AI

Pattisall and his team started researching the impacts of AI in advertising and marketing in 2018. 

While AI usage factored heavily into this year’s Wave report, Pattisall said that the technology wasn’t at the forefront of Forrester’s evaluation. However, many of the technology platforms Forrester evaluated are powered by AI, whether machine learning, generative AI or otherwise.

“It’s a powerful technology that helps empower [agencies] to make better decisions, strategies, budget allocations, smarter optimization, and more relevant and informed creative content,” he said.