"What's tripping up the holdcos isn't just economics or technology. It's semiotics. They still call themselves agencies. Once upon a time that label had a clear assignment: you represented the client, you worked the market, you made the introductions and you got paid for it. But the modern conglomerates - Publicis Group, Omnicom, WPP, Havas and Dentsu - don't move like that anymore. They buy media, flip media, own data, rent out software and wholesale inventory."
"Look at Publicis Groupe. Organic revenue for its latest financial year climbed roughly mid-single digits (5.6%), quarterly growth stayed in that same lane (5.5%) and guidance for the year ahead points to more of the same. In a sector where stability has been a rare commodity, that's sturdy. Yet hours after posting those numbers earlier this week, the stock slid sharply (8%)."
Holdcos are suffering from a semiotic mismatch: they still call themselves agencies while operating like platforms that buy and flip media, own data, rent software and wholesale inventory. That label prompts investors and the market to apply an outdated agency mental model, even as balance sheets increasingly resemble platform businesses. Publicis Groupe delivered mid-single-digit organic growth (5.6%), steady quarterly gains (5.5%) and similar guidance, yet its stock fell about 8% after the results. Investors filtering the sector through an AI-focused lens flatten structural differences between firms, treating them as uniformly exposed to AI disruption and compressing sector sentiment.
Read at Digiday
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]