The news: Centralized holding company solutions accounted for a notable share of major media business in H1 2026, with Publicis Media leading new business wins among the big 5 holding companies, per COMvergence data.

• Centralized solutions—offerings managed directly by holdcos that unite multiple capabilities under a single client relationship—represented 26% of H1 total reviewed media spend.
• 69% percent of WPP’s total new wins were attributed to its standalone group unit; a large portion of Publicis’ wins (47%) and Omnicom’s (34%) were also attributed to a standalone, centralized model.
• Publicis secured $3.24 billion in new business value in H1, a measure that includes client wins, losses, and retention. Omnicom was close behind at $3.15 billion in new business value, followed by WPP at $2.98 billion, the latter of which had the highest retention.

COMvergence CEO Olivier Gauthier described “a clear shift towards the consolidation of media business within bespoke, centralized solutions operated directly by the big 5 holding groups” outside of global agency brands.

Why it matters: The move toward consolidated, centralized solutions matters for several reasons.

• These solutions mean fewer agency relationships to manage and tighter coordination across areas like data, media, and creative.
• Agency professionals face persistent operational challenges including inefficient processes (44.1%) and siloed systems (40.4%), per Basis. Centralization could help agencies address issues by integrating services and automating complex processes to keep agencies competitive and responsive to client requests.
• Consolidated solutions could also strengthen holdcos’ ability to compete with tech platforms and in-house teams by pooling AI and data capabilities across agency brands. Nearly 90% of members of the Associate of National Advertisers, for example, already report having in-house agencies.

Implications for marketers and agencies: The findings point to an agency landscape where more business is being consolidated into centralized solutions that draw on capabilities across a holding company rather than being managed solely through individual agency networks. For agencies, the shift puts greater emphasis on building integrated offerings and demonstrating the value of capabilities that work across agency disciplines.

Marketers, meanwhile, will need to weigh the value of a centralized model against the benefits of maintaining specialized partners, particularly as holdcos take on a larger role in coordinating a broader set of services.

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