Publicis chief Arthur Sadoun criticises WPP and Omnicom strategies as Q1 growth hits 4.5%

Arthur Sadoun, chief executive of Publicis Groupe, has accused rival holding companies of driving advertising’s “most negative news cycle since Covid” and said Publicis will not adopt their “playbook” of cost cuts, share buybacks and disposals.

His comments came as Publicis reported first-quarter organic net revenue growth of 4.5% and held its forecast for the year at 4-5%. Sadoun said he felt he had to respond to competitors after twelve months of “unprecedented” upheaval among the holding groups.

“We have seen more disruption in the last 12 months than in the last 12 years,” he said, citing Omnicom’s takeover of IPG, the restructuring at WPP, Dentsu’s difficulties outside Japan and a deteriorating economic backdrop, particularly in the Middle East.

“We are in an environment where the noise is very negative. We felt that we needed to take a stand to reassure our people of the fact that, actually, our strategy is the polar opposite of our peers. We don’t want anyone to think that we are in the same place as our competition.”

‘Squeezing to please Wall Street’

In a video sent to staff, Sadoun went further, saying rivals were “squeezing to please Wall Street” by making redundancies, buying back shares and selling assets.

In February WPP set out plans to save £500m a year under a turnaround plan led by its new chief executive, Cindy Rose, and its PR agency Burson has since been put up for sale. At its own investor presentation the same month, Omnicom said it would achieve $1.5bn in savings after completing the IPG deal, with $1bn coming from staff reductions. Chief executive John Wren also unveiled a $5bn share buyback programme.

“There has been a lot of noise around those two investor days,” Sadoun said. “We stayed away in terms of communication, because I think it was important for both companies to lay the ground about their own strategy. But this has led to so many questions and so much bad noise about what our industry stands for, which is basically cutting jobs, buying back shares and selling assets.”

Publicis, he said, would do the reverse. “We’re going to continue to invest in our people, we’re going to continue to invest in new capabilities, and we’re going to drive client transformation.”

Recent acquisitions include content measurement specialist Adge.AI and the sports and culture agency 160over90, both reflecting the group’s preference for expanding its offer over returning cash to investors.

Rivals’ counter-arguments

WPP and Omnicom have their own case to make. Having lost out to Publicis in many of the largest media reviews of 2025, WPP has pointed to stronger new business momentum, citing estimates in JPMorgan’s Q1 2026 New Business Review that placed it first for Q1 new business for a second consecutive quarter. Omnicom, meanwhile, overtook Publicis to become the largest holding company in advertising when it bought IPG.

Sadoun played down the threat. “I think that there has been a recent acceleration of what I call the PR game and trying to make small news big news, to show some momentum,” he said. “But at the end of the day, the only thing that matters and shows the strengths, the uniqueness and the dynamic of your model is organic growth. The rest is poetry.”

Regional performance

Every major Publicis region grew organically in the quarter. The US, its biggest market, rose 4.7%, Europe was up 4% and APAC grew 6%. In the Middle East & Africa, net revenue dropped 5.1% because of the conflict in the region.

Sadoun said the main effect on Publicis had been ongoing hesitancy over large transformation projects, especially in technology. The company’s Q1 statement said its technology practice, which accounts for 14% of net revenue, was slightly down as visibility on bigger capex-heavy projects weakened.

“First of all, I learned since Covid that you should not try to manage the unmanageable,” he said. “So we are staying heads down, serving our clients, taking care of our people, winning market share and trying our best in the context that is increasingly difficult.”

Demand across the group’s core marketing services is holding up for now, he said, though how long the Middle East conflict lasts and how it affects clients is unclear.

“Now, the big question mark is how long the conflict in the Middle East will last and what real impact it will have on our clients. It is too early to say.”

He said guidance of at least 4% organic growth for the year remained “rock solid, which means that even if things get worse, we know how to handle it.”