The first half of 2025 has been a tale of two halves for the global advertising, marketing and communications industry, as major holding groups reported sharply contrasting financial results, highlighting both resilience and fragility within the sector amid ongoing economic uncertainty.

Publicis Groupe emerged as the standout performer, defying macroeconomic headwinds to post a 10% revenue increase and 5.9% organic net revenue growth in thw second quarter, well ahead of expectations and outpacing industry peers. The company also achieved a record operating margin of 17.4% and raised its full-year organic growth forecast to “close to +5%.”

In stark contrast, WPP downgraded its full-year guidance after reporting a like-for-like revenue decline of 4.2% to 4.5% for the first half, worsening to as much as -6% in second quarter alone. The downturn is attributed to macroeconomic pressures, slower new business gains, and client pullbacks in spending.

Omnicom delivered a 3.0% organic revenue growth in the second quarter, with revenue reaching $4.02 billion—a 4.2% year-on-year increase. Growth was driven by strong performance in Media & Advertising, Precision Marketing and Asia Pacific (+6.5%), but these gains were offset by sharp declines in Public Relations, Healthcare and Branding and Retail Commerce.

The divergence in performance highlights a widening gap between firms that have successfully adapted to evolving client needs—especially around data, AI, and performance marketing—and those still navigating post-pandemic structural shifts and economic slowdowns.

Campaigns of the week

Siebert Financial Corp. is flipping the script on how financial services connect with Gen Z. The firm announced the launch of “Generation Wealth,” a bold, multi-platform campaign built by its in-house creative agency, Gebbia Media, to meet young investors on their terms and in their language.

AXE, the brand known for redefining masculine grooming, has launched a bold new shower gel line—and introducing it with a film ‘The Neighbour’, created by LOLA MullenLowe.

KFC is cooking up something big. As fierce competition continues in the fried chicken wars, KFC—with 75 years of fried chicken legacy—is entering its comeback era and making KFC impossible to resist.

Agencies and accounts

Plant-based meat brand The Vegetarian Butcher has picked DEPT as its Social agency across several European markets. The agency will be responsible for editorial strategy, always-on content, community management, content production and paid social media for the brand’s owned channels in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the U.K.

Tourism New Zealand has appointed Ogilvy PR as its public relations agency of record in Australia, recognising the agency’s capabilities in culturally-led, earned-first communication.

Eurocamp has appointed Squad as its creative agency to launch a bold new campaign designed to shift perceptions of outdoor accommodation holidays and attract a new generation of customers across Europe.

Captains of Industry

This week, Marketing Report had a chat with Stephan Schwarz serves as Executive Creative Director of LePub Singapore and APAC about how the agency is integrating innovation into its creative output in one of the world’s most diverse regions, the key trends in APAC's advertising and creative landscape and how they are shaping LePub's approach.

Partnerships and acquistions

Working together as an international, interdisciplinary team was ultimately the deciding factor: The Plan.Net Group will support Hemtex in its expansion into Germany. Following a soft launch phase, the Scandinavian interior chain’s e-commerce shop is set to be available in autumn 2025.

Merkle, a transformation consultancy globally recognized as a player in digital commerce services, and Shopify, the global commerce company, have announced a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating growth and modernizing commerce platforms for large enterprises and B2B clients.

VIOOH, the premium global digital out of home (DOOH) supply-side platform,has announced a new programmatic partnership with global media and entertainment company, Outernet London.

Appointments

AKQA has appointed Baiju Shah as Global CEO, ushering in a new chapter of innovation and growth. Baiju joins from Accenture Song where he was most recently Global Chief Strategy Officer.

Havas Media Network has appointed Toni Ruotanen as Head of Havas Market for Southeast Asia, effective immediately. Based in Bangkok, Toni will report to Pankaj Nayak, CEO of Havas Media Network Singapore and President SEA – Havas Media, and will be responsible for accelerating the growth and evolution of Havas Market’s commerce and performance offerings across the region.

Ogilvy has named Nicola Dodd as president, Ogilvy PR EMEA, in addition to her role as managing director, Ogilvy PR UK. Her promotion comes as Matt Buchanan leaves Ogilvy PR after more than six years with the agency.

Other major news of the week

Omnicom and Interpublic have announced the Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has granted clearance for Omnicom's pending acquisition of Interpublic.

Through the first half of 2025, streaming is being dominated by the animated import from Australia, Disney+’s Bluey according to the latest report by Nielsen.

Wurl, a player in the streaming TV industry, has announced a new collaboration with Prime Video to support the streamer’s growing portfolio of Live TV channels available for Prime members in Germany.

Bob Koigi is the editor-in-chief of Marketing Report.One

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