MAM
Ogilvy ends 32-year IBM creative partnership
WPP agency opts out of review amid broader group restructuring.
MUMBAI: Ogilvy just closed the longest chapter in advertising history because after 32 years, even the best client relationships sometimes need a clean page break. Ogilvy has ended its 32-year partnership as IBM’s creative agency of record, a relationship that began in 1994 when IBM consolidated its then-$500 million advertising business with the agency. The split was confirmed after Ogilvy chose not to participate in IBM’s upcoming creative agency review, according to a Campaign US report published on 14 March 2026.
The decision is understood to be commercial rather than creative, stemming from longstanding balance-of-trade tensions between WPP and IBM. In December 2025, IBM had initiated a media review in which WPP Media, the incumbent, also declined to participate.
The move aligns with WPP’s wider transformation under CEO Cindy Rose. The group is reshaping into four operating divisions WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and Asia-Pacific. The three-year “Elevate28” strategy aims to reverse revenue declines, reduce internal fragmentation and shift away from the traditional holding-company model toward a more integrated, technology-led operation.
Central to this shift is WPP Open, a platform connecting data, media and creative workflows at scale. The changes reflect intensifying pressure from consulting firms, tech companies and investor demands for durable growth in an AI- and automation-driven industry.
Despite the structural evolution, Ogilvy remains a cornerstone of WPP’s creative network, with reorganized capabilities spanning advertising, PR, customer experience and consulting through Ogilvy One. The agency continues to hold major global accounts while adapting to a market that increasingly favours fewer, more capable partners.
In an advertising world where partnerships once lasted decades, Ogilvy and IBM’s parting isn’t just the end of an era, it’s a quiet sign that even the strongest creative bonds can’t outrun the industry’s relentless rewrite.
ITV News
Schbang puts India on Cairns map with twin finalist teams
Four young creatives make Asia-Pacific shortlist, take on UN brief in a live showdown
MUMBAI: A Mumbai-born agency with no global network backing is punching above its weight. Schbang has landed two teams in the finals of Cairns Hatchlings 2026, sending four young creatives to compete at the Cairns Crocodiles festival in Australia this May.
The Asia-Pacific competition, a proving ground for emerging creative talent, has shortlisted 30 teams from across Australia, Japan and India. Two of those teams come from Schbang alone, a rare feat for a homegrown independent.
The finalists include Priyanka Gohil and Aman Aragonda in the digital category, and Beverly Coutinho and Sneiden D’souza in publishing. They will face a high-stakes, live brief from the United Nations Foundation, unveiled on stage by CMO David Ohana, with just 24 hours to respond. Flights and accommodation for all 60 finalists will be covered by the festival.
For decades, the global creative spotlight has centred on Cannes. But Cairns Crocodiles, now in its second year, is fast redrawing that map. This time, India is not just watching, it is competing at the table.
“What makes this moment remarkable isn’t just that Schbang has two teams in the finals,” the company said. “It’s that four young creatives from India earned their place at Asia-Pacific’s biggest creative table, backed not by a legacy global network, but by an agency that was born in Mumbai just a decade ago.”
Dipshika Ravi, national creative director at Schbang, said, “We are thrilled and excited to see our young Schbangers representing us at prestigious global events such as the Cairns Crocodile Awards. This completely aligns with Schbang’s goal of taking India to the global stage.”
She added, “When I saw the ideas, I knew they had merit and the potential to take them places. I am glad that not one, but four people from Schbang will get to experience the adrenaline-pumping energy of the industry, connect with great minds, and showcase their talent to the world while working on the 48-hour brief. Kudos to them, and here’s wishing them all the very best.”
The finalists, for their part, are already eyeing the global stage. “We believed in our work and seeing it stand tall on its own has been incredible,” said Gohil and Aragonda. “Representing India at a stage this big, on a brief from the United Nations Foundation, is something we never imagined when we started our careers. We’re ready for Cairns.”
Coutinho and D’souza struck a similar note: “Publishing is often overlooked for the role it plays in big brand campaigns, shaping how stories are understood and remembered. With our idea leading the way, the opportunity to fly to Australia and work on a live UN brief in 24 hours, that’s the kind of creative pressure we thrive on. Here we come, with one eye on the brief, and one on the crocs.”
Schbang, founded in 2015, has grown into a 1,200-strong creative, media and technology outfit with offices from Mumbai to London and Amsterdam, working with brands from Jio and Britannia to Philips and ASUS.
From a Mumbai startup to a double finalist on Asia-Pacific’s biggest emerging stage, the signal is unmistakable. The centre of gravity in global creativity is shifting, and this time, India is not on the sidelines.
