Philippe Krakowsky will take over next year as CEO of New York ad giant Interpublic Group, the latest of the world’s big marketing-services conglomerates to enact a succession plan as the industry grapples with seismic changes in the way its business is conducted.
The Department of Justice has informed five ad holding companies that it is no longer investigating any of their subsidiaries as part of a probe into commercial production practices and possible bid-rigging that began in 2016. Interpublic Group, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, WPP and MDC Partners all confirmed the DOJ has notified them that the investigation has concluded with regard to any and all of their respective entities. No action has been taken against the firms or their employees.
Madison Avenue is taking one more step in its ongoing quest to change how advertising is measured. As TV’s annual “upfront” ad-sales season looms, Interpublic Group and Nielsen have struck a wide deal that will give new ballast to the advertising company’s clients as they try to make sure the right sets of consumers see their commercials.
Digital Ad Spend Will Surpass TV By 2017
Global digital advertising expenditures will surpass TV spending by 2017 — and the phenomenon is already occurring in some of the world’s largest ad markets. Speaking at an investor conference last week, Interpublic Group CEO Michael Roth noted that company research shows that one-third of all ad expenditures are currently allocated to digital. Roth said that IPG’s research and marketplace intelligence unit Magna Global is predicting that by 2017, more dollars will be allocated to digital than TV.
