Omnicom charts its next chapter. Monday, 06 Jul 2026 PETALING JAYA: Omnicom Media Group Malaysia believes the biggest payoff from its merger with Interpublic Group (IPG) will be expanding clients' access to marketing capabilities, talent and technology, as brands increasingly demand accountability and measurable business growth from every marketing dollar spent. According to Omnicom Media chief executive officer (CEO) Darren Yuen, the focus is shifting towards measuring marketing investments against business outcomes. "What we are looking at is measuring our marketing investments against business growth, which includes accountability, agility and content creation to scale that growth. "Clients want to move faster and what they are asking for is inherently a deeper set of skills, and how we embrace technology in our marketing execution is an important factor for us as an agency," Yuen said, highlighting that today's technology has led to higher standards for accountability across the marketing sphere. He noted that clients' goals today differ significantly from those of three years ago, with marketers now expected to deliver results at a much larger scale. The CEO said discussions now focus on six key outcomes: connecting marketing investment to business growth, unifying enterprise-wide data, moving faster, adopting artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly, scaling content effectively, and embedding commerce into every consumer touchpoint. "For years, marketers struggled with having too much data and too little clarity. Now, with the evolution of AI, we can better identify patterns, opportunities and signals faster than ever before," he said. According to Yuen, the biggest misconception undercutting AI's value and user sentiment is that the tool is meant to replace creativity, when in reality it is designed to amplify it. "The strongest examples I've seen involve using AI to increase relevance and speed." He highlighted that brands can now produce hundreds of content variations tailored to different audiences, behaviours and contexts, often leading to higher engagement, stronger conversion rates and more efficient media investment. "We've also seen AI dramatically improve content production cycles. What used to take weeks can now be done in days, allowing brands to respond to market opportunities much faster. "However, the most effective work still starts with human insight," he added. Yuen stressed that while AI can help scale ideas, it cannot replace an understanding of culture, emotion and human behaviour - the very elements on which great creativity is built. "The future is not AI versus people. It belongs to organisations that combine human imagination with machine intelligence better than everyone else," he emphasised. Despite the significant benefits expected from the Omnicom-IPG merger, the group has also had to contend with its challenges, including the announced layoff of about 4,000 employees globally. "Our focus is not on headcount reduction, but on capability enhancement, removing duplication where it makes sense, and creating stronger career pathways for our people," Yuen explained. "The reality is that clients are asking for more integrated solutions, more specialist expertise, and greater speed. So in order to deliver, we need the right structure and the right talent," Yuen said. He stressed that the integration ultimately hinges on combining the strengths of both organisations, particularly their talent, client portfolios and market reputations. In Malaysia, the group viewed the integration through the lens of creating the strongest marketing services group in the market. "Our objective is straightforward - to build the strongest marketing services group in the market. That requires investment in talent, leadership and new capabilities. "When I look at the opportunities ahead, I see growth. And growth requires great people," Yuen noted. Following the merger, the group also announced the retirement of several longstanding agency brands globally. However, Yuen noted that the move applies only to Omnicom's advertising agencies. "Omnicom Media in Malaysia has not sunset any brands, and these global integration decisions do not change the local landscape. "Each of our brands here has deep market experience and strong client relationships, rather than being newly established entities without a track record," he said. He explained that the decision to retain certain brands is ultimately guided by one question: Will the structure help clients grow in today's environment? "High-performing organisations understand the difference between heritage and nostalgia. Heritage is valuable because it represents expertise, culture and client trust that have been built over decades. "However, when the conversation centres on underlying nostalgia, it becomes a problem, especially if it prevents clients from evolving," Yuen said. He stressed that marketing agencies with the ability to create, adapt and personalise content at scale will fundamentally change how brands communicate with consumers. "The companies that win will not be the ones with the most data or the most AI tools. They will be the ones that can sense, decide and act faster than their competitors. "That is where the real competitive advantage will come from, and that is what we are demonstrating to our clients through our solutions because the future isn't just about generating insights, but helping marketers make faster and better decisions with greater confidence," he said. In an increasingly complex and trend-driven marketplace, Yuen said clients are under constant pressure to deliver growth while improving operational efficiency. "Historically, many clients had to coordinate multiple partners across media, creative, commerce, customer relationship management, data, performance, influencer, content and technology," he said. The reality is that consumers do not experience brands in silos, and increasingly, neither should marketing. That is why achieving greater integration is so important, Yuen emphasised.

ACC strengthens leadership across People, Culture and operations amid growing momentum. Jun. 11, 2026 Acceleration Community of Companies (ACC) today announced two senior leadership appointments designed to strengthen integration and unify internal operations as the network experiences significant growth across its capabilities and client roster. Josh Kaufman has been appointed General Counsel, responsible for leading the legal function across ACC's portfolio of agencies, overseeing client and talent contracting, employment, intellectual property, privacy, AI governance, corporate development and M&A. Kristena Hatcher has joined ACC's leadership team as Senior Vice President, Head of People, Culture & Inclusion, the senior-most culture and inclusion leader responsible for driving enterprise-wide initiatives across learning, employee experience and inclusion. Michael Nyman, Founder and CEO of ACC said: "The growth of ACC has created new opportunities to bring our agencies, capabilities and teams closer together. Kristena's experience building strong cultures and high-performing organizations, combined with Josh's deep experience supporting complex agency businesses, will help us continue scaling with the right foundations in place for the future." Hatcher brings more than 15 years of experience across talent acquisition, HR leadership and inclusion strategy, including roles at Netflix and Creative Artists Agency. This marks her second stint at ACC; she previously served as Vice President of People & Culture at ACC until 2021. Kaufman joins ACC after more than two decades at Interpublic Group, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President & Associate General Counsel of IPG and General Counsel of its Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions division, supporting agencies including Weber Shandwick, Golin, Octagon, Jack Morton and FutureBrand. These leadership appointments arrive at a pivotal moment for ACC, which now spans 10 business units and more than 650 employees. The network continues to expand its AI, data, creative, experiential, communications and talent capabilities while deepening relationships with a growing roster of global brands. With increased demand for integrated, cross-agency solutions, ACC is continuing to build the operational and leadership infrastructure needed to support its next phase of growth.