'Moved that drop dead date': Omnicom accelerates LiveRamp exit after Publicis deal

Omnicom planned to let its LiveRamp relationship end in the first quarter of 2028, but Publicis buying LiveRamp moved the separation timeline forward. The acquisition is expected to close by year end, and Omnicom CEO John Wren stated that his holdco’s relationship with LiveRamp will end as well. Wren said the separation date was moved up by a year, with potential investment to honor the remaining contract obligations. He argued LiveRamp cannot deliver value if it remains independent from the rest of the infrastructure. Omnicom’s inherited Acxiom data business has been building its own identity solution, Real ID, to avoid dependence on a third party. Publicis’s deal changes how rivals and partners view LiveRamp’s neutrality.

"Before the deal, the plan was to let the contract with LiveRamp run its course until the first quarter of 2028 and walk away. Publicis changed that. The acquisition is expected to close by year end, and when it does, Omnicom CEO John Wren has made clear so does his holdco's relationship with LiveRamp."

"Because Acxiom, the data business Omnicom inherited when it acquired IPG last year, has spent the last several years building its own identity solution Real ID so that it wouldn't have to be dependent on a third party for something as fundamental as identity. The Publicis deal didn't change that plan so much as speed it up."

""That changed yesterday afternoon," Wren said at the the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference yesterday. "I moved that drop dead date yesterday a year from now when we'll be completely separated, even if we have to invest a little money to honor our contract for the balance of the year.""

"Wren was blunt about why: " I don't see there is any way that you can get any value keeping LiveRamp independent of the rest of your infrastructure." His counterpart at Publicis Arthur Sadoun sent 500 emails to partners and rivals insisting otherwise. Wren, it's fair to say, was not among the convinced."

Read at Digiday