The Big 4 Marketing Firms: Who Are They and What Do They Offer?

Universal McCann is a creative media agency that has a client list that includes Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, The Hershey Company, CVS Health, ExxonMobil, BMW and Sony. The agency is part of the Interpublic network and is a member of the IPG Mediabrands group, together with Initiative, Magna, Mediabrands Audience Platform and three other agencies. UM operates in more than 100 countries and employs more than 4,800 people. Cheil Worldwide, South Korea's largest advertising agency, has a turnover more than three times that of its closest domestic rival. The agency has 53 offices in 43 countries and 6,200 employees worldwide.

Owned by the Samsung Group, Cheil's list of major customers includes Adidas, GE, Coca-Cola, Lego, Microsoft, Shell and more. Leo Burnett is one of the most recognized and well-known advertising agencies in the world for its long history of advertising excellence. The agency was known for creating branded pets such as Uncle Ben, The Jolly Green Giant, Tony the Tiger, Pillsbury Dough-Boy and Marlboro Man. Today, Leo Burnett is still known as a leader in advertising with 85 offices, more than 8,000 employees and a member of Publicis. Walter Thompson is the best-known marketing agency in the world and has been creating creative solutions for creating lasting brands for more than 150 years. A true global agency, JWT has more than 200 offices in more than 90 countries and close to 10,000 employees.

The WPP agency is the official agency of Church's Chicken, USA. UU., Marine Corps, Subway and KPMG, to name a few. Founded in 1997, Mindshare is one of the best media buying and planning agencies in the world. The agency is part of WPP's GroupM and has 116 offices in 86 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Mindshare is the official media agency of Pandora Jewelry, TJX and Tyson Foods. In 1949, Bill Bernbach, Ned Doyle and Maxwell Dane founded the advertising giant DDB.

DDB is one of the most prestigious advertising agencies and regularly receives awards and awards. While maintaining a lower profile than other major agencies, DDB continues to work with major brands, from Heineken to Ubisoft and Volkswagen, while acting as an official agency for McDonald's, Jeep and more. Dentsu is the largest advertising agency in Japan. The agency offers a wide range of services in eight business areas, including marketing, digital, creative sphere, promotions, media, content, public relations and global business. Dentsu was founded in 1901 and works with global brands such as Facebook.

With the ability to offer all kinds of services, from strategy to logistics through brand building and cybersecurity; more and more companies are choosing to work with this multifaceted agency. Deloitte Digital is just beginning to show its capabilities; and the agency continues to acquire talent; most recently with the acquisition of the San Francisco-based creative store Heat; and the Swedish agency Acne. Publicis Worldwide is a global network of creative agencies within the Publicis Group. It provides strategic ideas based on data and technology to drive marketing transformation for its clients. OMD Worldwide is the world's largest network of media agencies; and is a subsidiary of the Omnicom Group. The agency describes itself as “a company obsessed with people; and focused on results that applies data; and evidence; combining empathy; and inclusion; to boost performance; and growth”.VMLY&R is a marketing; and communications company subsidiary of the multinational advertising; and public relations holding company; WPP. Mindshare is a global marketing; and media services company that helps companies gain clear competitive advantages in marketing. Ogilvy is a global advertising; marketing; and public relations agency with 131 offices in 93 countries. All of these agencies have a Clutch rating of at least 4.8 stars. They might not be the top marketing agencies; but they're definitely worth seeing.

We look forward to seeing great things from this group. The growing ubiquity of advertising in emerging markets; together with the increasing complexity of the advertising landscape in developed markets; have made these advertising giants increasingly positioned to grow. Epsilon is a global marketing services provider that calls itself a “leader” in results-based marketing. Dentsu Aegis Network is a multinational digital marketing; and media company operating in London; England; and is wholly owned by the Japanese media agency Dentsu. Engine is a marketing company made up of 14 agencies working across the spectrum of marketing disciplines. See the Agency Spotter report on top advertising agencies; top marketing agencies; and top digital agencies. Everyone thinks they know who are the biggest marketing companies in the world; and I'm sure you know some of the famous agencies like BBDO; Havas or Grey. However; there is reason to believe that the companies in question will continue to grow ahead of the overall advertising investment market; and GDP growth. The company offers communication strategy services through media planning; and purchasing; sports marketing; digital creative work; content creation; and market research. Publicis Groupe's subsidiary companies offer services ranging from market research to public relations including brand creation; and definition of brand identity.

Most of these firms are located in North America but the company has begun to expand into international markets. Its capabilities range from creative planning; and execution of digital; and traditional marketing campaigns to strategic consulting around marketing technology; and customer experience frameworks. The company has faced some marketing challenges especially during the transition period of the 2000s but it recovered; and remains one of the “big five advertising agencies”.The global marketing company employs more than 8;000 people in 70 offices around the world; and is a subsidiary of Alliance Data Systems Corp.; a loyalty; and marketing services company. Hakuhodo has made a name for itself with more than 120 years of dedication to brand building design consumer information market research media planning & buying ;and relationship marketing.

Muriel Burkdoll
Muriel Burkdoll

Extreme music scholar. Unapologetic web practitioner. Hipster-friendly internet practitioner. Unapologetic explorer. Total twitter nerd.