IPG unifies Kinesso and Acxiom to combat streaming ad fragmentation

This move positions IPG to capture a larger share of the U.S. Connected TV market, which is projected to reach $38 billion in 2026. By bundling Acxiom’s data with Kinesso’s activation tools, IPG reduces the friction of stitching together third-party tech, a key pain point for 33% of advertisers currently struggling with deduplicated reach. As the industry shifts toward outcome-based pricing, this unified stack helps brand agencies prove incremental lift in the highly fragmented streaming ecosystem. Watch for IPG's ability to maintain these distinct capabilities following its late-2025 merger with Omnicom.

The integration of Kinesso and Acxiom comes at a pivotal moment for agency holding companies fighting for data supremacy. Per COMvergence (May 2026), bespoke, centralized solutions operated directly by holding groups now account for 25% of all media spend in reviewed accounts, the highest proportion ever recorded. This shift reflects a broader trend toward consolidation where big-six firms are sunsetting individual agency tools in favor of unified intelligence platforms like Publicis’ Epsilon and Omnicom’s Omni. In fact, Omnicom completed its acquisition of Interpublic Group at the end of 2025, specifically to inherit Acxiom as a competitive counterweight to Publicis' Epsilon, according to industry reports from afaqs (December 2025).

The market environment for these platforms is increasingly driven by a demand for performance over simple reach. eMarketer projections indicate that U.S. Connected TV (CTV) ad spend will grow 14% year-over-year in 2026, outpacing nearly every other channel except social media. However, fragmentation remains the primary barrier; 70% of CTV advertisers surveyed by Advertiser Perceptions (March 2026) plan to increase spending but cite cross-provider planning as their biggest operational challenge. To address this, competitors are also leaning into contextual solutions; IPG Mediabrands launched a contextual CTV tool powered by IRIS.TV in August 2025 to enable content-level targeting without relying on personal identifiers.

While IPG and its new parent, Omnicom, utilize Kinesso and Acxiom to streamline operations, they face stiff competition from a resurgent WPP. Per MediaPost (May 2026), WPP’s media arm led global new business rankings in Q1 2026, generating $1.5 billion in new client billings through its own consolidated performance unit, GroupM Nexus. As holding companies continue to pursue billion-dollar cost-saving synergies through 2026, the success of these integrated data engines will determine which firms can offer the “measurable business outcomes” now expected by major global advertisers.