Omnicom is merging two of its legacy agency brands: Omnicom’s Hearts & Science and Interpublic’s Mediahub.
This means that a new agency brand will be revealed in the coming months as operations, leadership and respective teams combine.
In Australia, however, there will be no change to the way either agency operates, B&T understands.
In this market, Mediahub is partly owned by Omnicom and the independent Attivo Group, a joint venture ownership arrangement that Omnicom inherited when it acquired Interpublic Group last year.
This means that Mediahub operates quite separately to the other media agencies within the Omnicom tent: OMD, PHD, UM, Initiative and Hearts & Science. Post global merger, the Mediahub brand will prevail in this market only.
An Omnicom spokesperson told B&T the decision to keep Mediahub and Hearts separate “reflects our unique Australian operating model, where both agencies operate independently”.
”The only change locally is that Hearts & Science will adopt a new brand identity next month. Beyond that, it is very much business as usual,” the spokesperson added.
“Our clients will continue to be supported by the same teams, the same leadership and the same capabilities they know and trust.
“This evolution reflects the strength of our global network, while preserving the local model that continues to serve our clients successfully in Australia.”
In Australia, Hearts & Science is led by Liz Wigmore and the agency has undergone two separate waves of consolidation in the past two years.
In 2024, it merged with stablemate Foundation to create an agency with around 100 staff. Last year, Hearts & Science grew its headcount to around 140 after Resolution Digital was folded in. Check out Hearts & Science’s latest B&T Agency Scorecard.
Mediahub, on the other hand, is a smaller agency with 34 staff in Sydney, Perth and New Zealand.
It was initially set up as the media division of 303 MullenLowe’s, but became a standalone agency in 2019 and retains an alliance with 303, a sister agency at Attivo.
Today, Mediahub is led by Sue Squillace, and has had one of its strongest years to date, according to its B&T Agency Scorecard.
