The Big 6 Advertising Agencies: Who are They and What Do They Do?

For a long time, the “big six” of advertising have been the main players in the industry. These six companies, WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, Dentsu, Interpublic, and Havas, have been dominating the market for years. However, the landscape is changing and these companies are struggling to keep up. Havas Creative Group is a major player in the industry, with Havas Creative, Arnold Worldwide, and other agencies under its umbrella.

Last year, four of the Big Six – Dentsu from Japan, Publicis and Havas from France, as well as WPP – experienced a drop in revenues. The only two that managed to stay afloat were US giants Omnicom and Interpublic. The Interpublic Group of Companies is a publicly traded American advertising company that operates in more than 100 countries. It is one of the largest advertising and communication groups in the world and ranks fourth on BizVibe's list of the 10 largest advertising agencies in the world.

Dentsu is Japan's largest advertising agency and one of the oldest in the world, with a history of more than 120 years. It is part of Dentsu Aegis Network, a multinational media communication and digital marketing company headquartered in London, UK. Global advertising spending exceeded $563 billion last year, which has greatly benefited the 10 largest advertising agencies in the world and the industry as a whole. Publicis Sapient is one of them – a digital business transformation company led by Arthur Sadoun.

Its agencies offer digital and traditional advertising, media services, and marketing services to domestic and multinational clients. Publicis Groupe is another major player in this market. It is a French multinational advertising and public relations company that is one of the oldest marketing and communication companies in the world. As digital advertising grows, brands are ready to invest in big projects to stay competitive as they prepare for the “new normal”.Dentsu Kabushiki-gaisha Dentsū (or Dentsū for short) is another Japanese international advertising and public relations corporation headquartered in Tokyo.

It's home to the largest and most complex advertising market in any nation, and it's the birthplace of almost every modern aspect of the advertising industry.