Omnicom Prepares for Major Reset in Indian Advertising Ahead of 2026 Integration

As 2025 draws to a close, Omnicom’s integration with Interpublic Group (IPG) is poised to reshape the Indian advertising landscape as it enters operational execution in early 2026, moving beyond announcement into real-world impact.

From January 1, new leadership teams will begin steering the merged entity, which is expected to compress more than a dozen agencies from both Omnicom and IPG into a leaner, more concentrated operating ecosystem—potentially under one roof in Mumbai. 

The initial focus will be on creative agency integration, where leadership structures are already outlined, while media agency alignments remain less clear, leaving clients and staff alike in a wait-and-watch mode. 

Industry observers predict that the combined Omnicom-IPG group will emerge as India’s second-largest agency network after WPP, commanding significant scale across media, creative, digital, data, and specialised services—and intensifying competition among the country’s major advertising players. 

With ad spends in India crossing the ?1 lakh crore mark and continuing to grow, the consolidation could see advertising dollars concentrated among just a few major networks, notably WPP, Omnicom and Publicis. 

While senior leadership appointments are underway, headcount rationalisation and team realignments are expected to be focal and sensitive elements of the transition, particularly as overlapping functions are reviewed. 

Advertisers are adopting a cautious stance, balancing optimism about scale and integrated service offerings against concerns about account leadership continuity, reporting lines and execution clarity during the transition

Success in 2026, according to industry insiders, will hinge on whether Omnicom can convert structural consolidation into operational clarity and client confidence without undermining service stability.