10 Biggest Advertising Agencies In The US

The US advertising industry is a global powerhouse, given the strong presence of media in the country, and this 10 biggest advertising agencies in the US list attests to that strength. Five of the top 10 agencies in the US rank among the top 10 advertising agencies in the world, and all 10 top-performing US ad agencies are among the top 20 ad agencies globally.

Some people say that culturally speaking, America’s biggest export to the world is its entertainment juggernaut. And indeed, few other US industries can brag about worldwide reach and influence as much as the media industry. Almost all of the top companies in the world, especially those that sell products directly to the public, recognize that power. That’s why these industry titans are willing to spend billions of dollars to get some airtime and publicity wherever media is shown, either in the US or elsewhere in the world. You’ll soon see the advertising industry’s greatest  bets in the upcoming Super Bowl and other big sports events in the coming weeks and months.

And about half the time, these huge companies (some of which were among the 11 Biggest Facebook Advertisers in 2015) trust US advertising agencies, although most of the other ad agencies based abroad also have significant expertise and operations in the US. There’s a big chance that most of the catchy (or annoying) ads you see on TV, radio, the Internet, and elsewhere are offered by the creative minds (and fat wallets) behind these leading advertising agencies in the US.

This list of advertising agencies that performed the best: Accenture Interactive, owned by Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN); Deloitte Digital, owned by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, DJE Holdings, Epsilon, owned by Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE:ADS), Experian Marketing Services, owned by Experian plc (LON:EXPN), IBM Interactive Experience, owned by International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG), MDC Partners Inc (NASDAQ:MDCA), Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC), and PwC Digital Services, owned by PricewaterhouseCoopers, have combined worldwide revenues of $35.80 billion dollars, as compared with the $51.13 billion raked in by the top 10 ad agencies in the world.

Insider Monkey has compiled full-year data on the worldwide revenues of each advertising agency. All monetary values indicated on this list are as of 2015, as companies have yet to complete their annual reports for revenues during 2016. But rest assured, the top 10 companies stayed in that range for at least two years, with a couple of minor movements here and there. Hence, the list of the top advertising agencies based on 2016 revenues will likely be similar to this list of the 10 Biggest Advertising Agencies In The US.

10. Experian Marketing Services, owned by Experian plc (LON:EXPN)

The company that just showed you your credit score might have also shown you an ad in the past few hours. Experian, whose main business credit services, also has a unit that offers targeted display ads, advanced TV advertising, and online ads. The New York-based ad agency raked in $870 million, with $432 million coming from the US.

9. DJE Holdings

DJE Holdings is the parent company of Edelman, the world’s largest independently-owned public relations agency. The company had resisted multiple acquisition attempts over the decades, which proved to be a good move, because it can enjoy its haul of $902 million in revenues ($558 million from the US) without the need to share.

8. PwC Digital Services, owned by PricewaterhouseCoopers

One of the two ad agencies in the list that is a unit of an established accounting firm, PwC Digital was recently called the world’s largest mobile marketing agency. Not bad for a sideline of an accounting giant. The $1.12 billion in revenues ($624 million from the US) that the unit takes in isn’t bad either. No wonder it’s on our list of biggest advertising agencies in the US.

7. MDC Partners Inc (NASDAQ:MDCA)

MDC Partners is not an ad agency itself, but it holds significant stakes in about 52 advertising and marketing firms, including Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Redscout, and 72andSunny. Through these partnerships, the company was able to earn revenues worth $1.33 billion ($1.09 billion from the US).

6. Deloitte Digital, owned by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

It appears that big accounting firms can also be masters of the ad game. Take for example Deloitte Digital, the number 6 on our list of biggest advertising agencies in the US, which touts itself as a creative digital consultancy and counts Showtime, TOMs, and Intel as some of its clients. Those lucrative deals netted $1.65 billion for Deloitte’s ad unit, with $865 million coming from the US.

The next five companies in our list of 10 Biggest Advertising Agencies In The US has each earned at least $2 billion. Click to know about these companies.

5. IBM Interactive Experience, owned by International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)

With the increasing shift of advertising into the digital sphere, it’s no surprise that tech companies are trying to get a slice of this growing pie. And it looks like IBM is one of the early movers, through IBM Interactive Experience, which counts VISA, US Open, and Air Canada as some of its clients, from which the ad agency earns $2.13 billion ($797 million from the US).

4. Epsilon, owned by Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE:ADS)

Alliance Data Systems is the company responsible for a lot of private label credit cards, coalition loyalty programs, and direct marketing services. An ad agency specializing in email marketing would be a natural extension of its operations. And that’s what Epsilon, next in line on our list of biggest advertising agencies in the US does. And the unit does it so well that it earns $2.14 billion, including $2.05 billion in the US.

3. Accenture Interactive, owned by Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN)

Professional and technology services company Accenture has a unit that provides services such as marketing strategy, customer experience, and omni-channel commerce. Recently named as one of the biggest digital agency networks, Accenture Interactive, one of the biggest advertising agencies in the US, raked in $2.92 billion ($1.23 billion from the US).

2. Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG)

Amid all the buzz about digital and analytics in the advertising space, the best ad agencies are still the ones who have been around for ages. Interpublic owns McCann, the ad agency behind Coca Cola’s “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” ad of the 1970s and the “There are some things money can’t buy” ads of MasterCard. With that clout, it’s unsurprising that the company earned $7.61 billion, including $4.48 billion in the US.

1. Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC)

While Interpublic has one iconic ad agency, Omnicom has two: BBDO (whose clients include GE, Lay’s, and ExxonMobil, among dozens of others, as well as Pepsi in the past) and DDB Worldwide (whose long client list includes McDonalds, Volkswagen, and Chlorox). Omnicom has the largest US revenues, at $8.53 billion, and would have been the largest ad agency company in the world if its ill-fated merger with Publicis Groupe of France had pushed through. On its own, Omnicom raked in $15.13 billion, putting it on top of our list of the 10 Biggest Advertising Agencies In The US.

Disclosure: none