New Report: PHD Worldwide Is #1 for Net New Business Performance Among Global Media Agencies

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Nov 21, 2022, 09:00 ET

Future capabilities offer, backed by industry-leading group-level resources, landed $814 million in incremental billings through Q3 2022

LONDON, Nov. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In the latest ranking of the global media agency new business landscape from leading independent research company COMvergence, Omnicom Media Group agency PHD Worldwide is #1 in net new business performance (wins minus losses) during the first three quarters of 2022, adding USD$814 million in incremental billings, outperforming its nearest competitor by more than 40 percent.

The report also reveals that PHD earned a 75 percent retention rate through Q3 - more than twice the 34% average earned across the 19 global media agencies included in the evaluation.

These results reflect a highly successful run at the pitch table through Q1-Q3 that has seen PHD win one of the top five biggest media pitches of the year - Restaurant Brands International, which includes Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Horton; land the global media AOR assignments for Ekaterra Teas and game publisher Take Two Interactive; and take home the Kimberly-Clark account in EMEA.

Complementing its success in incremental growth during the first three quarters of the year, the agency kicked off Q4 with the news that its contract with Volkswagen Group has been extended through the end of 2024.

The agency credits its success in growing and retaining business in 2022 - a year in which economic uncertainty, drastic shifts in the media landscape, and changing consumer behaviours have made it more difficult than ever before for brands to connect with their customers, and convert connections into sales - to its future-focused offer to clients that effectively leverages both PHD's signature strength in comms planning, and the innovation engine of parent company Omnicom Media Group (OMG) to deliver today's results as well as tomorrow's vision.

A platform for growth
At the heart of its winning offer to clients is PHD's 'Shift: Future Capabilities' programme, which helps brands understand how and why the function of marketing is changing, identify the new roles that will dominate marketing teams in the future, and learn how to start developing these skills today.

The programme operationalises ideas first laid out in Shift | A Marketing Rethink, PHD's latest thought leadership publication.

"Advances in data and tech will continue to change how people consume media – so it's vital that we can assure that our clients aren't just reacting to these changes, but are anticipating and proactively planning for them," says Philippa Brown, Worldwide CEO at PHD. "Our 'Shift: Future Capabilities' programme has been designed to help our clients do just that – leveraging our best talent to help them understand new media channels, restructure to achieve the best results, and stay on the forefront of innovation. It has been a key part of our proposition this year, and, as our new business performance suggests, is resonating with clients."

Worldwide Chief Strategy Officer Mark Holden added: "Brands are increasingly looking for a media agency that does more than just the basics. They want a partner who understands their business and can add value beyond just getting great media rates.

"That's what we offer at PHD. Alongside our Omni Studio planning platform, which is supported by the Omni open operating system that orchestrates better outcomes for Omnicom clients and allows our 6,000+ people share knowledge and generate campaign ideas, our 'Shift: Future Capabilities' programme is helping our clients identify the skills and capabilities they will need to connect with consumers in the future and start developing them now. It's helped us achieve real cut-through this year."

Powering the future
PHD also cut through by pairing future-focused planning with future-forward activation capabilities, tapping into the tools, technology and capabilities provided by parent company OMG, which in 2022 was recognised by research and analyst firm Forrester for its industry-leading offers in retail and commerce media, audience intelligence capabilities, optimisation, and operations automation.

In addition to leveraging Omni to power a global community for innovation and collaboration, PHD backs it offer to clients with the wide range of industry leading solutions – encompassing areas such as supply chain management, programmatic point-of-sale, distributed analytics, diverse media marketplaces, livestream commerce, marketing tech stack management, in-housing models, new measurement currencies and first-mover retail media partnerships that OMG has developed to optimise media investment and enable more relevant and enduring relationships between brands and their customers.

"Our success in 2022 can be attributed to a very straightforward approach - in every pitch, we challenge clients to push their boundaries beyond what they know today towards what they must be ready for tomorrow," says Brown. "To accept that challenge, they must be confident that we know - and can help them navigate - what lies beyond those boundaries. The combination of PHD strategy powered by OMG resources is fuelling that confidence and it's that confidence that is driving our growth."