The ramifications of Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG are still shaking out, despite us being nearly 10 full months from the day it completed.
In the latest update, Omnicom is set to end the affiliate arrangement that IPG had organised in 2021 with Weber Shandwick and Jack Morton Australia by CEO Helen Graney on 20 November. Jack Morton was acquired by a private equity business earlier this year.
Much of the Weber Shandwick Australia leadership is set to leave the business, announcing that they have launched new independent agency called VOCAL. It is, to all intents and purposes, a continuation of the pre-acquisition affiliate Weber Shandwick.
“Following Omnicom’s acquisition of Interpublic Group, Weber Shandwick will transition from an affiliate arrangement to a Weber Shandwick operation within Omnicom Oceania from 20 November 2026,” an Omnicom Oceania spokesperson told B&T in a statement.
“As part of this transition, Weber Shandwick will operate within Omnicom Oceania’s earned media capabilities business, providing clients with access to a broader integrated team spanning PR, social, creators and activation.
“The transition marks the next chapter for Weber Shandwick in Australia, bringing the brand into Omnicom Oceania while building on the success of the existing affiliate partnership. The existing Weber Shandwick Australia affiliate arrangement will conclude, and the Australian business will continue to operate independently under a different brand, separate from Omnicom.
“Our focus remains on ensuring continuity for clients and our people throughout the transition. We will share further details closer to the transition date.”
Among the top brass departing are Angela Malkin and Jami Gandha, who will both serve as managing partners of the new VOCAL. Addie Freyne and Akina Taniguchi also join as head of strategy and client director, respectively.
“Jami and I have spent the past three years building the Weber Shandwick business together. In that time we’ve grown year on year, done some brilliant, award-winning work and, most importantly, built a team and culture that means a lot to us,” Malkin told B&T.
“VOCAL is our chance to take all of that experience and energy and put it into something built specifically for this market and around what we consistently hear our clients need – senior people closer to the work, fewer layers and the ability to move faster as communications keeps changing.
“It’s a pretty rare opportunity to take what worked, leave behind what didn’t, and build the kind of agency we’d want to work with ourselves. We’re going to run at it with everything we’ve got.”
The new agency launces with foundation clients across corporate, technology, healthcare and consumer sectors.
“The Weber Shandwick I walked into is a very different agency to the one I’ll walk out of, and I’m really proud of that. I’m grateful for everything that chapter has given me – particularly the opportunity to meet Ange and build the partnership we have today,” Gandha also told B&T.
“We’re a little yin and yang in how we work, but there’s a huge amount of trust between us and we’ve had a lot of fun building this business and team together.
“To now create VOCAL feels like the best possible next chapter. At the end of the day, what more could you ask for? Good work, good people to do it with, and a culture that makes you genuinely want to turn up every day.”
VOCAL’s new proposition believes that brands can no longer rely on awareness alone. They need to earn authority by becoming sources that people trust, journalists quote and AI systems reference.
To help clients measure that impact, VOCAL has developed the Earned Authority Index, a proprietary framework that tracks how discoverable, trusted and influential a brand is with both people and AI, creating a clearer link between communications and commercial impact.
Built around a senior-led model, VOCAL combines strategic counsel, earned media, creative campaigns and AI-enabled methodologies, with clients working directly with experienced specialists rather than layers of management. The agency uses AI to remove repetitive work and give its practitioners more time to develop ideas, build relationships and solve business problems.
