John Wren on his vision for a bigger, better Omnicom

John Wren, who has led Omnicom since 1997, is preparing his business for its biggest and most ambitious deal yet with the acquisition of rival Interpublic Group (IPG). The deal will create the world’s largest advertising and marketing company at a time when the industry is grappling with AI and technology.

Wren sat down with Campaign Asia managing director Atifa Silk at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to discuss his strategic vison for the business and why he’s extended his contract through to December 2028.

What’s your vision for Omnicom and how will the IPG deal transform business?

First and foremost, you were around so you know this, I tried and failed at this once. Why is this different? Well, for one, it’s an acquisition not a merger of equals so there is no confusion on who leads. If you look at the Publicis Omnicom deal, it was the right idea at the time. A decade later, who are the two prominent players that are still standing? But other stuff got in the way.

In the case with IPG there are many similarities and our cultures are very close. IPG understood the complexity of this marketplace and they needed a partner and we were a receptive partner. We have interrogated their employee base and ours and a lot of people have worked on both places at the top. When we look at the businesses, the geographies, the blue chip client base and the strengths of each, they complement each other. In order to be one of the leading survivors in this space there is a great deal of resource that has to be put into making the business successful and it’s pretty expensive. Separately, each of us would have to make similar types of investments. Together, we get better access to a whole new set of talent. We only have to spend that money once. We have a much larger client base to use these tools with.

What will determine success?

It’s the difference between number one [holding company] or number five. You better be number one or a close number two because number four or five is going to get crushed. Now, at 99 on that list, you may succeed if you are experts in your niche. The advertising industry is going to be drastically redefined. Our job is to create the greatest source of insight and information for our employees so they can make better decisions with user friendly tools for clients. You have to make as much of your population masters of the tools that technology and AI offer. That said, just being number one and number two isn’t a free pass. All it means is that you have entry into the stadium. You still have to deal with different issues and competitors. But allows you to be an important participant in the future; a future in which you can be successful.

What was the risk had you not done this deal for Omnicom? Would it have survived?

Omnicom would have still been one of the survivors and one that made it to the finish line. I think this [acquisition] will just allow us to have an even more robust geographic profile and access to really smart people.

How are you keeping people focused on the day job against the backdrop of this deal?

You can ask anyone in my leadership team whether they have been actively engaged in any part of preparing as we have been planning for the future and the answer is, no, they have not. I haven’t diverted a single leader’s attention to this. Although we have to go through the approvals, I’m confident. I have more consultants in my office right now than I do employees. We are using a very limited number of people to supervise all of the very

intelligent people to do the planning for what’s coming. Anybody on my side that uses the deal as an excuse for anything is completely disingenuous.

Who will be the casualties in this process?

The people who are almost 100 per cent stuck in process type jobs that can be automated or completed using generative AI. Or people that are at the point in their career where they are more focused on recreating the past than the future. Or the people who don’t want to participate in the training and development to advance AI. Those are the causalities.

The individual casualties as such will be in the replication services that each of us provides on management of people and those who really only offering guidance or reporting at the middle to upper management. Even though this is an acquisition, as we integrate the capabilities in staff, the best athlete is going to win the job. You don’t get a pass because you came from my shop. That won’t matter anywhere in the evaluation process. In that process, the best player will lead.

Do your clients want agency brands?

I believe that clients will increasingly hire Omnicom. I may be alone in that belief. The reason they want to hire Omnicom is because of our capabilities. Within Omnicom, each one of our agency brands will have slightly different cultures and those brands are still a place where we attract our best and brightest talent because they are meaningful and better able to define their cultures more specifically to the needs of the most talented people than a big company.

You have committed to staying on at Omnicom until the end of 2028. What does Omnicom mean to you?

I came from a family that was fairly well educated but while I wouldn’t say we were poor, we were close to that threshold. What Omnicom has done is provided me with the greatest palette in the world to be successful, multigenerational successful, and I am grateful for that and the support of incredibly talented individuals that helped me achieve success. Having been in this job for 30 years, I understand that I can’t just take credit for what’s worked, but I also have to own 100 per cent what’s not worked. I believe have a responsibility to leave this place in the best shape that I possibly can for whoever comes next because of all the benefits that it has given to me.

How do you stay grounded?

It's interesting when you wake up every morning and, no matter what the challenges are, you still look forward to your day. I know that whether I want to or not, I’m going to learn something that I didn’t know that day and that’s special. I am very passionate about what I do. Oddly enough, there are two individuals that I won’t name, but who are secretly empowered to walk into my office and tell me from their point of view whether or not I’m losing it or it’s time for me to alter my position because they can’t see any tangible value to what my leadership is bringing. I have those people because I firmly believe that it’s too easy in these positions to start believing your own bullshit. Of course, it doesn’t mean that when they come in I’m necessarily going to agree with them, but they are people who are empowered to come in and say, ‘hey do not forget where you came from and you seem to be drifting a bit’. I’m extraordinarily lucky to have people like that whom I can trust.