News broke this morning of the largest corporate advertising merger in the history of the industry, bringing giants Omnicom and Publicis under the same roof to form an advertising behemoth unrivaled in size and power. But there’s a potential hitch in the merger. Omnicom counts Pepsi as one of its biggest clients, while Publicis does work for Coca-Cola. That’s the greatest brand war of modern times, right there, in the same house.

Indeed, the brand conflict has analysts, and a few investors worried. For the sake of the merger, the new company can’t afford to lose either client without risking substantial devaluation. Which is why the top execs and Omnicom and Publicis have tried extra hard this last month to be the perfect picture of a functional marriage, singing from the same hymn sheet for the press, and the clients.

“We’re going to work extremely hard with our clients over problems and try to come up with creative solutions,” said Omnicom CEO John Wren. “But at this point, if the deal is completed, there is – I don’t believe, a significant client … no single client would be significant enough to disturb the deal.”

“We had not lost, at the time of the merger, one single large client. Not one single large client,” Levy responded about his past mergers. “I had to say and to say it loud and clear.”

Both Wren and Levy have hammered hard on the point that they’re not the first modern form to play host to competing brands. The changing face of the advertising industry means fewer agencies, and more brand conflicts.

Will the clients jump ship?

It all depends – do they truly feel that their ad agency has to believe them to be the best product in the world?

[Source : WSJ]