Issue #20: Mark Ritson completes agency sale, OMG-IPG deal cleared

☕ Hello there adtech artisans

With a steaming mug of tea in hand, catch the week’s highlights as you sip.

🗞️ Top Stories

1. $13.5bn Omnicom–IPG deal cleared by FTC

   The US regulator has signed off the all-stock deal that will create by far the world’s largest agency group, with politics related caveats. The Media Leader

2. Retail media networks face battle to win brand spend

   DoorDash, Walmart and other retail media networks have launched CTV extensions and other initiatives, signalling a pivot away from pure performance. Digiday

3. Meta rolls out gen AI tools with early tests delivering 22% ROAS lift

   New Advantage+ features let advertisers generate branded images and convert stills, while Business AI expands to Reels and Stories. PPC Land

4. Netflix extends programmatic buys to Yahoo DSP in 12 markets

   Yahoo joins The Trade Desk, DV360 and Microsoft as an approved path to Netflix’s ad tier, with full roll out later this year. Adweek

5. Brave Bison completes acquisition of Mark Ritson’s Mini MBA

   The social-first agency group will fold the renowned online marketing course into a new skills & capabilities practice. The Drum

💭 60-Second Take - Brave Bison planning to transform a marketing course into its next growth engine

Brave Bison has snapped up the Mark Ritson’s Mini MBA for £19 million, folding one of the industry’s most respected online courses into its agency stable. The deal represents a signal of how agency groups are diversifying their offering and doubling down on digital and social channels as the fulcrum of modern brand building.

• By owning the curriculum the agency can embed Mini MBA frameworks into client strategy and content plans, whilst up-skilling clients and creating stickier relationships.

• A well renowned, in-house training scheme helps Brave Bison attract talent who see the Mini MBA certificate as career currency.

• As CPMs rise and AI creative gets cheaper agencies increasingly need a strategic hedge against commoditisation. Owning a respected education product lets the agency sell expertise, not just execution.

• The course already serves +6k paying students a year, meaning Brave Bison have added a defensible, high-margin, recurring income stream that isn’t tied to media budgets.

Agencies are racing to build diversification into their business models. Brave Bison’s move indicates that marketing education, especially with a narrative grounded in digital and social, could become a strategic asset in the fight for future growth.

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See you next time,

Access Adtech