On Sunday, Publicis and Omnicom rocked the advertising world when they announced their plan to merge and form Publicis Omnicom Group. The consolidation of the two “big five” global advertising agencies establishes Publicis Omnicom Group as the world’s largest agency, stealing WPP’s long-held title of strongest performing global advertising and marketing agency.

“This is a new company for a new world; the world of today and the world of tomorrow,” Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Levy declared triumphantly at a July 28th media briefing in Paris. “…at the closing of this deal, we will have succeeded in doing something quite extraordinary.”

Extraordinary indeed. Publicis Omnicom Group will have a market capitalization of  $35.1 billion, employ 130,000 employees, and include big-name agencies like Proctor & Gamble, GM, Coca-Cola, and Boston’s own Digitas LBi. The impact of this seismic partnership is sure to reverberate throughout the globe.

So what exactly does this mean for the advertising industry here at home? We solicited the feedback of some of Boston’s premier advertising agencies. Check out what these local industry leaders had to say about the Publicis and Omnicom merger.

On the merger’s impact on the advertising industry overall:

• Fred Conover, President of Conover Tuttle Pace: “With a $35 billion market cap and $22 billion in revenue, the merger will probably affect their shareholders more than our industry. It’s not going to change what mid sized agencies like CTP do for our clients or how we connect with consumers.”
• Steve Connelly, President of Connelly Partners: “Some mergers tend to affect shareholders and some mergers affect clients… we’ll have to wait and see which type this will be-either one having its obvious impact.”
• Travis York, President of GY&K Antler: “It seems that these types of mergers typically lead to talent flooding the market (because they were laid off or leave on their own terms) with many spawning new specialized or boutique agencies that eventually get gobbled up and the cycle continues.  Clients also reconsider their positions on conflicting agency partnerships as well as whether they are a cultural fit with the new entity leading to many jumping to other shops.  I trust that savvy shops are waiting for the talent and client fallout to try and capitalize on it.”

On the joint venture’s massive size and whether or not it will work against them:

For PJA Advertising+Marketing and Antler Agency, striking a balance between large and small is the key to success.

• Phil Johnson, CEO of PJA Advertising+Marketing said to AdAge: “Clients want agile agencies with an entrepreneurial spirit that can move fast and respond to change in real time. Small agencies have been selling this point hard for years. On the other hand, large brands also want global agencies that can reach every corner of the world, harness the power of new digital technologies, create every imaginable form of content, ride the wave of mobile advertising and tame the black box of media-buying algorithms… To be effective, we all need to make peace with that contradiction between agility and global scale.”
• York, GY&K Antler: “In my opinion, a mid-sized agency–large enough to offer a full range of services with subject matter experts but small enough where every account matters–is ideal.  It is much easier for people to collaborate with each other than companies so the end result is that much more integrated and tailored to the client’s needs.”

For most of these local players, size isn’t what’s important. Company culture and values will always trump scale.

• Michael Roth, Chairman and CEO of Interpublic Group (Mullen and Hill Holliday’s holding company) in a memo to employees: “…there’s nothing about being bigger that makes for better creative ideas or leads to better integration of marketing disciplines…Nothing is as important in our business as deep client focus, which has nothing to do with whether an agency is large or small, or how it’s organized, and everything to do with a culture which values and promotes service.”
• Connelly, Connelly Partners: “People on the agency side are always comparing small agencies vs. big agencies. Rather than size of company, the real focus should be on small ideas vs. big ideas and which agencies are providing what kind.”
• Conover, CTP: “There is certainly a place for firms of all sizes. The mid-size model works well for us. We can put together a nimble team of people, including some of our most senior folks, who collectively offer our clients all they need: digital strategy, social, creative, media, PR, brand planning. At larger agencies it can be tough to provide that level of access without enormous cost.”

On foreseeable challenges regarding restructuring and merging company cultures:

• Connelly, Connelly Partners: “I think the real challenge here is how are these companies going to find enough efficiencies in their merger to satisfy their shareholders.”
• Conover, CTP: “Anyone who watches Mad Men knows how challenging an agency merger can be. Omnicon and Publicis have very smart people and I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Their clients will be more focused on how it affects work on their account, including some apparent conflicts.”
• Andrew Graff, CEO of allen & gerritsen: “While the merger gives Omnicom-Publicis greater scale for innovation–will it be possible for the holding-company agencies to create cultures of innovation? And an innovation culture is every bit as important as scale… Investments in innovation today will determine which agencies earn the right to work with great clients tomorrow.”
• York, GY&K Antler: “Although  I can’t speak to their cultures, in my experience a company culture is just as important as its skill set to producing great work. Without a top-down effort to establish an appropriate combined culture and employee participation this merger could cause a dip in morale while the uncertainty lingers.”

On whether or not the increasing consolidation of agencies is detrimental to the industry:

• Graff, a&g: “For those of us who measure our tenure in the advertising industry in decades–it’s no surprise to see the industry once again consolidating. Consolidation brings scale. Scale is more efficient. And, even more importantly, scale is necessary to have the resources to finance Research & Development. It is the clear driver in this kind of deal. The question is whether or not a holding company model can support an environment conducive to fostering that innovation.”
• Connelly, Connelly Partners: “Yes I do believe it is detrimental to the industry in that large firms tend not to cultivate entrepreneurial spirit and ideas which are needed at a time when entrepreneurial solutions are needed to the global economy.”
• York, GY&K: “I believe this trend is detrimental to the industry as it destroys true innovation and the ability for smaller shops to mature into successful business. Those that buck the trend and stay independent I believe will ultimately have better success working in a rewarding environment long-term and thriving by constantly evolving.”

Share your thoughts about the Publicis Omnicom Group in the comments below, and let us know if you’d like to be a part of the evolution of advertising with a BostInno Channel.