Troy Ruhanen says ‘relevance, not legacy’ drove Omnicom’s decision to retire DDB

Troy Ruhanen, chief executive of Omnicom Advertising, says the decision to cut the group’s creative networks to BBDO, TBWA and McCann became clear once it assessed where each agency brand was strongest and most relevant to global clients.

He was speaking on the day staff began finding out what would happen to their agencies and jobs after Omnicom completed its takeover of IPG. He said the final structure came together quickly as leaders measured the Omnicom and IPG creative networks against a set of criteria across the world’s biggest advertising markets.

Broadly, those criteria were presence in the markets that matter most to Omnicom’s global clients and how clearly each network’s proposition was defined.

“You do that analysis pretty quickly. You come to a conclusion,” Ruhanen said. Meeting agencies around the world reinforced the choice. “There are lots of good things happening inside agencies in different parts of the world. But with that criteria, it starts to reveal itself.”

Why BBDO, TBWA and McCann survived

Commentators have noted that DDB, FCB and MullenLowe have almost 300 years of agency history between them. Ruhanen said heritage played no part in the decision.

“McCann’s 113 years old. BBDO is 97 years old, and TBWA is 55 years old. If you want experience, we’ve got more than enough,” he said. “So it is not a question of age and legacy. It is just a question of relevance. And I believe that those brands [McCann, TBWA and BBDO] are just more relevant to where we want the world to go.”

He described the three as the most consistently present networks in key markets and the most sharply positioned. McCann has its long-standing ‘truth well told’ positioning, TBWA its global ‘disruption’ philosophy, and BBDO has recently refreshed its proposition with ‘we do big things’, a move Ruhanen considers successful.

Why DDB and FCB missed out

The retirement of the three agencies has prompted an emotional reaction across the industry. DDB was named Cannes Lions Network of the Year in 2025, and FCB New York was named the world’s most-awarded creative agency in this year’s World Creative Rankings.

“It’s pride in the jersey. Some people have been working for those companies for a very long period of time, and I admire that,” Ruhanen said. “I want people to feel passionate about the brands that they are working for. But it does not meet the criteria that we were looking for. Winning at Cannes is one thing. Winning in the market is another.”

A more contentious question was whether to keep the old names alive through combined brands, as other holding companies have done after mergers. “Some people were very eager to keep those names alive,” he said. “And to be very frank, it was me that was pushing hardest back that no, we want to be very clear about which brand you’re working for. We don’t want confusion for incoming employees about which brand was the one and what was going to be the guiding philosophy.”

“I can understand their pride in those organizations and wanting to see the history continue, that name continue. But I think we’ve seen from our competitors that that really didn't serve them very well when there was brands being put together and a little bit of confusion about who’s in charge.”

Moving by 1 January

Omnicom has said the full consolidation will be completed by mid-2026, but Ruhanen wants to go faster where possible. “We really want to move on January 1. We want to move people into spaces and get them there,” he said. “The truth is, we expect some people to start acting that way today.”

He said the simpler structure was designed to limit distraction. “The trick with these scenarios – and I have been through a few mergers in my life – is we’ve got to very quickly be on [clients’] business and not about us,” he said.

Having a settled brand and methodology meant staff would not get caught up in working out a new platform, how to describe themselves or “what is the new design system”, which he said is “when you see agencies get very heavily distracted.”

Clients ask about their teams

Ruhanen said Omnicom has been “very upfront” with clients about how the changes affect them. “Their number one concern always has been, ‘What happens to my team?’” he said. “We have made sure we have done a very strong analysis. Sometimes we cannot bring everyone over because it is so obvious, particularly at the senior levels, where there is duplication. But then you offer them something better, and you talk to them about that.”

Client conflicts have not been a significant issue, he said, but advertisers have stressed data sensitivity. “They are sometimes wanting to make sure their information is being managed appropriately. We understand the sensitivity of information. For us, that is paramount.”

A ‘sad day’ for staff

The interview took place on Monday, as many US staff were learning whether they were among the 4,000 employees to be laid off before the end of the year.

“Today is a sad day, but it is a day in which people – as many as we possibly can – we are able to tell them what the future looks like,” Ruhanen said. He acknowledged the timing so close to the holidays was unfortunate but said it was unavoidable because the deal closed on the eve of Thanksgiving. “People worked all weekend, all night, etc, so that we could really make sure that we can get to these people quickly.”

He noted that turnover is part of agency life regardless of mergers. “On average, we lose 17% of our workforce during a given year. There is going to be turnover regardless,” he said. “But I think our chances of recruiting the next best level of talent get even greater because of what we have on offer now at Omnicom.”

He also acknowledged rivals were already trying to poach staff. “Our competitors are always trying to take our people out… they do not have anywhere near the depth that we have. We are not afraid of that, because there is plenty more behind us.”

Boutiques and Adam&Eve

Omnicom will keep a range of boutique agencies within the Omnicom Advertising Collective. “We really are able to provide, at a moment’s notice, lots of options,” Ruhanen said. “There are certain clients that are very attracted to Lucky’s that are not attracted to TBWA or BBDO or McCann. When you can say all three of your agencies are growing and they meet different needs, it tells you that you have the right formula.”

Adam&Eve, previously part of DDB, will merge with TBWA\London, a notable move given its distinctive brand and reputation for emotional advertising. Ruhanen said Omnicom considered keeping it standalone. “Of course. I mean we go through that analysis and say, OK, what should we do with that? Should we just leave it in London by itself?”

Its experience of working inside a network, and the fit between its ‘feelings first’ platform and TBWA’s disruption philosophy, decided the matter. “They have already been attuned to working within a network,” he said. “They have been part of a network. They have not lost their identity while doing that.”

“They have a platform called ‘feelings first’ and inside of that platform, you know, that is a way of being disruptive,” he added. “We felt like that was something they could marry quite well together. And we are actually seeing whether there is an opportunity to extend that further in other places.”

Ruhanen remains positive about what comes next. “I think there’s a more secure and promising future here than there is in other places,” he said. “We focus on how we’re bringing the teams together, and we stay on our clients.”