HOLDING COMPANIES LIKE PUBLICUS, WPP, OMICON, ARE CHANGING THE AGENCY BUSINESS MODEL

By Susan Bash and Matt Gill, MICA Consulting Group  

Market Trackers Make Interesting Predictions for 2026 

At the end of every year, the MICA team likes to look back at the last 12 months of the marketing landscape and anticipate what coming year might look like.  We have been discussing articles from leading market trackers and are intrigued by their reports and predictions for the coming year. 

Recent upheavals in Marketing & Communications are having a major impact on the way that agencies are operating and how professionals are collaborating. They are breaking down silos and creating new alignment between functions - and not just at the leadership level.  This shift is redefining the role that agencies play in the market and fundamentally increasing their part in the roll out of new technologies. 

One of our Digitas contacts told us that Publicus Groupe has been organizing its agencies in the same physical space in each of its major locations.  For example, Hudson Yards now houses 10+ agencies in the same building. She noted that this has had a significant impact on the ability for various firms to align specialties and partner to win business. 

Business Insider Lara O'Reilly noted that "Publicus credited its strong financial performance…to its ability to connect paid advertising with commerce, influencer marketing, and AI for its clients." This type of collaboration in the face of AI is changing relationships at the creative and production level. O'Reilly continues, "The shape of ad firms is changing. Talent, which has traditionally been siloed, is collaborating more — the data whiz, for example, is working more closely with the creative strategists." 1 

Furthermore, Jay Pattisol of Forrester predicts that creative agencies will expand their roles to become "marketing purveyors that operate across several business modes: vendors that execute programs; merchants that resell software and media; affiliates that contribute capabilities to larger, matrixed organizations; and partners that deliver client-centric marketing services.  Put simply, your agencies will no longer act solely as your agents but also as owners of products/solutions, resellers of technology partnerships, and developers of emerging capabilities."2 

The trend is expected to continue into next year.  Karen Wong of Marketing Interactive reports, "Private equity is set to reshape the creative agency landscape. Forrester reports that nearly 80% of the top 80 digital media agencies have received private equity or venture capital investment. In 2026, PE firms will double down on data-driven creative shops to enhance their existing portfolios in digital media."3 

In our discussions about these shifts, the question was raised as to what independent agencies, which emphasize their ability to be nimble in times of change, will do in the face of these new models. We are excited to explore and cover that question and many others in early 2026 – especially as to how they will leverage talent in the mix. 

1The ad industry's new pitch: being human is its superpower, Business Insider 

2 Marketing Agencies Resign Their Agency, Forrester Research 

3 Wave of agency reviews, consolidation predicted for 2026, Marketing-Interactive