Omnicom Lands Adidas’ Global Media Account in Deal Worth Up to $559 Million

The network beat out WPP Media and Publicis following a competitive pitch in April, ending eight years of WPP stewardship over one of sportswear’s biggest ad budgets

Omnicom Media Group has won Adidas’ global media account, according to multiple industry reports, capping a worldwide review that pitted the newly enlarged holding company against WPP Media and Publicis Groupe. Estimates of the account’s value vary by source — Campaign, citing tracking firm COM vergence, puts the business at roughly $559 million, while Adweek and other outlets citing sources familiar with the matter put the figure closer to $512 million. Either way, it ranks among the largest media reviews decided so far in 2026.

A Long-Held WPP Relationship Comes to an End

The account has changed hands only once in the past two decades. WPP’s media network has held the Adidas business since 2018, when MediaCom won it away from Dentsu’s Carat, which had run the account for the previous 20 years. MediaCom’s 2023 merger with Essence folded the account into Essence Media com, which defended the business as incumbent through the latest review. In the UK market alone, COMvergence estimated Adidas billings to EssenceMediacom at around $26 million this year. Both EssenceMediacom and Omnicom Media Group have so far declined to comment on the outcome, and Adidas has not issued a public statement.

PHD Takes the Reins

Within Omnicom’s structure, the business will be steered by PHD, the agency network responsible for handling the day-to-day planning and buying. PHD’s existing client roster includes Volkswagen, Google and 7-Eleven, and the Adidas win arrives on the heels of a strong industry moment for the shop PHD recently took the Media Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions festival for Uber Eats’ “Build Your Own Super Bowl” campaign. The mandate is expected to cover global media strategy, planning and buying, along with insights and cross-market coordination for one of the world’s largest sportswear marketers.

Part of a Broader Winning Streak

The Adidas assignment is the latest in a run of new-business wins for Omnicom this year. In April, the network landed IBM’s global media account, worth an estimated $190 million and spanning the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific including Japan, beating Publicis and Dentsu for that business. In March, Omnicom successfully defended Dyson’s roughly $500 million global media account — a former IPG Mediabrands relationship — against challenges from WPP Media and Publicis. Dyson’s planning and buying business, excluding Hong Kong and mainland China, had also been named to Omnicom’s roster earlier in the year.

The Nike Wrinkle

The win carries a notable twist given Omnicom’s scale following its acquisition of Interpublic Group. Because of that deal, Omnicom now counts both Adidas and its longtime rival Nike among its holdings — Nike currently runs its global integrated media business out of Initiative, alongside PMG, which serves as its North American digital capabilities partner. Having two of the biggest names in sportswear under one holding-company roof is likely to raise fresh questions about how Omnicom manages client conflicts across its network of agencies as it continues integrating IPG’s brands.

Why the Timing Matters

The review lands as Adidas ramps up marketing spend ahead of a packed global sports calendar. The company’s own disclosures show marketing and point-of-sale expenditure rose 8% to €3.079 billion in 2025, representing 12.4% of salesThat investment has powered global campaigns such as “You Got This” and “The Original,” alongside a number of market-specific product pushes, and comes as Adidas increases its global marketing efforts ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament in which both Adidas and Nike-sponsored teams and athletes will compete for visibility.

Context: Omnicom’s New Scale

The Adidas win is also a signal of how quickly Omnicom has moved to consolidate its position as the world’s largest advertising holding company. The company closed its $13.5 billion all-stock acquisition of Interpublic Group in late November 2025, a deal that gave Omnicom shareholders roughly 60.6% ownership of the combined group and IPG shareholders the remainder, with the merged company trading on the NYSE under the OMC ticker. Regulatory clearance came from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority without conditions, while the US Federal Trade Commission cleared the deal on the condition that the combined agencies not restrict advertising placement based on political content.

Since closing the deal, Omnicom has been actively reshaping its agency portfolio — merging or retiring more than 20 agency brands, including legacy creative names MullenLowe, FCB and DDB, and targeting roughly $3.2 billion in annual revenue equivalent from planned asset sales as part of a broader push toward $900 million in cost synergies in 2026 and $1.5 billion by mid-2028. Winning a marquee account the size of Adidas, at the same time the company is still digesting its biggest-ever acquisition, underscores that the integration has not slowed its ability to compete for — and win — major global reviews.

What Comes Next

Formal transition timelines have not been disclosed, and neither Adidas nor Omnicom has commented publicly on when PHD will take over day-to-day management of the account. Given the scale of the business and the number of markets involved, transitions of this size typically unfold over several months. With the 2026 World Cup approaching and Adidas positioning itself as an official partner and kit supplier for multiple national teams, the pressure on the new agency relationship to hit the ground running will be immediate.

Sources: Campaign, Campaign Asia, Campaign India, Adweek, Marketing-Interactive, Storyboard18, Social Samosa, Marketing Week, Ad Age, Marketing Dive, and Omnicom Group SEC filings.