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Media agencies face the uncertainty of a Trump 2.0 presidency and the rise of agentic AI in 2025 - adtechsolutions

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Media agencies face the uncertainty of a Trump 2.0 presidency and the rise of agentic AI in 2025


No one doubts that 2025 will be the year to buckle up.

A new (but also not so new) president known to shake up norms, an expected deregulatory environment, but one that generally discourages pro-social initiatives and the generative adaptation of AI and its performance with each new iteration – the latest buzzword being “Agent” AI.

So what’s next for the world of media agencies? A lot, it would seem. For one thing, news from mid-December that Omnicom moved to get Interpublic Group has observers and analysts who believe this is bound to trigger a wave of acquisitions and consolidation among other agency holding companies — at least most of them. The scenarios usually involve WPP, which was the largest global holding company, or Havas, which has just split off from parent company Vivendi, which now makes it a much easier acquisition target.

One board member of the holding company, who declined to discuss attribution to speak freely, said there was a good chance the next wave of consolidation would involve private equity. Apollo Holdings is a name coming up, as is the Carlyle Group, the board member said. “In all honesty, I would have expected private equity to come together [another holding company]” said the leader. “If the intent is to remain independent, you would have to be a consolidator of that kind of next level of assets.”

“Can WPP and Publicis Merge? Personally, I doubt it — that’s number 1 and 2, which is much harder than number 3 and 4 [which is Omnicom and IPG]” the board member continued. “So what are they doing? They’re probably going shopping, if you will, and they’re looking, you know, a lot harder at Dentsu, Havasu, etc. I actually think that tier will be bought.”

One second-tier holdco that has no intention of getting too big is Stagwell, whose chief executive Mark Penn has been clear about what he sees as the right size. “I’ve always felt that the ideal size in the marketing industry was really closer to $5 or $6 billion, and we’re at $2.5 billion and growing,” Penn told Digiday in early December.

But could Omnicom and IPG be in trouble despite a market-friendly Trump administration? Just before the holidays, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a staunch Trump acolyte and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, registered his concerns about Omnicom and IPG’s participation in the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, which was auxiliary on shutdowndespite his efforts to promote brand safety, as he accused the body of political one-sidedness. Whether this poses a credible acquisition threat remains to be seen. An Omnicom representative declined to comment on Jordan’s grumbling.

This second iteration of the Trump administration is also expected to promote deregulation, including a looser policy on generative artificial intelligence. This has a lot to do with the single biggest influence on the President-elect – Elon Musk and his massive AI ambitions through X and Grok. Agencies should expect to be able to continue to invest in advancements in the field, given its ability to save time, free up resources, and create connections in deep pools of data that humans simply cannot replicate. Its impact on search itself is undeniable, with Microsoft’s Perplexity and Copilot making inroads into search giant Google (which is also innovating in this area). Media agencies are even trying to master agent AI as the small but growing practice infiltrates general search and buying behavior.

But it’s not all smooth sailing, noted Alison Pepper, director of government relations and sustainability at 4As. “When I talk to agencies, they’re really interested in copyright issues. Because copyright matters when you’re creating assets for clients,” said Pepper. “They also care a lot about transparency – they want to better understand what their AI provider is actually doing so they don’t expose themselves to liability in the process.”

Still, the agency world needs to push generative AI, if only to stay relevant in a world where the conversation between brand and consumer is increasingly direct. Steve Boehler, who heads the media consultancy Mercer Island Group, said it was almost a matter of survival.

“Agencies are stupid. [about AI] anyway,” Boehler said. “Big agencies have to reinvent themselves to survive, and for the most part they have the capital to do that. For smaller agencies, there will be tons and tons of tools and capabilities available on the open market, and AI will help them reinvent themselves. AI will change things, but not in a cataclysmic way.”

For Boehler, the bigger concern is the lingering uncertainty that hangs over the agency world — and the broader economy — in this era of Trump 2.0. “It’s been a fascinating four years already because of AI and continued consolidation,” he said. “In a really surprising way, I think this new administration is adding uncertainty to everything, which is not what you would expect from [incumbency]. When a new president comes in, you usually know exactly what they’re going to do.”

And that’s why everyone better buckle up.



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