NEW YORK: Omnicom Group’s PR firms achieved a 4.4% organic revenue increase in the third quarter of 2016 to $347.6 million, outpacing advertising and CRM, which grew by 3.6% and 1.6%, respectively, in the quarter.
The third-quarter numbers were up on a Q3 2015 in which Omnicom’s PR revenue was down 1.5% compared with the year prior. Omnicom’s PR revenue was flat in the second quarter of this year and down 0.9% in the first quarter.
Omnicom’s PR firms include FleishmanHillard, Ketchum, Porter Novelli, Marina Maher Communications, and others.
The holding company’s overall revenue increased 3.2% organically in the period to $3.8 billion. Advertising was up 3.6% to nearly $2 billion, CRM increased 1.6% to $1.2 billion, and specialty communications increased 6.2% to $266.9 million.
The holding company reported $453.1 million in operating income and $253.8 million in net income in the period.
Omnicom Public Relations Group CEO Karen van Bergen said she was pleased with "positive momentum" in the third quarter.
"Omnicom Public Relations Group is still relatively new, but we’re already seeing the benefits of this new structure, particularly when it comes to collaboration and cross-agency new business wins," she added. "We see this continuing into the fourth quarter and contributing to a strong 2017."
Omnicom agency CEOs reached by PRWeek declined to provide specifics about their firms’ performance during the third quarter but cited other achievements.
Ketchum CEO Rob Flaherty noted via email that his firm won business from Dawn Food, Splenda, CoolSculpting, and International Baccalaureate and launched the Ketchum Influencer service for clients.
His counterpart at FleishmanHillard, John Saunders, said his agency is "very happy with our progress in Q3 and look forward to carrying that momentum into Q4 and 2017."
"Q3 was another strong quarter for Porter Novelli with organic growth among our pharma clients as well as new client gains in our technology and food practices," said Porter Novelli CEO Brad MacAfee. "It was also a quarter that brought much collaboration among Omnicom PR Group companies creating new teams for current clients and entirely unique structures and approaches for prospects."
Omnicom’s North American revenue lagged behind other regions in the quarter, increasing 1.7% to $2.3 billion. U.K. revenue was up 5.2% to $347.9 million, other European revenue increased 2% to $590.7 million, and Asia-Pacific revenue jumped 8% to $418.9 million. The holding company’s Latin American operations saw a 11.9% revenue increase in the period to $112.5 million, and Africa and the Middle East were up 15.6% to $67.2 million.
(Organic growth represents change in revenue without taking into account the impact of acquisitions or disposals).
This story was updated on October 18 with quotes from Flaherty, Saunders, and MacAfee. It was updated on October 19 with quotes from van Bergen.
