The Additive Effect of Ad Agencies

"WPP Group's agreement to buy Grey Global Group solidifies ad industry power in the hands of four big firms," reports the Wall Street Journal. "The takeover also will give WPP access to Grey's long relationships with such clients as Procter & Gamble, one of the world's biggest advertising spenders. ... During the past decade, ad holding companies rushed to gobble up agencies to serve more clients. ... As a result of the buying binges, the big four ad holding companies are WPP [of Britain]; Omnicom and Interpublic Group, both of New York; and France's Publicis Groupe" - all of which, except for Publicis, have their own PR firms.

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