Ever since some media-buying shops started merging to become giants and others sold controlling stakes - both to become parts of gargantuan, ever-increasing, global networks - analysts have tried to understand the moving force behind the game plan.

Today media-buying (strategy to execution) is an autonomous activity, parallel to creative strategy & execution - amongst most large advertisers.

Meanwhile the consolidation juggernaut rolls on relentless, notwithstanding the overall global slowdown in advertising. The WPP Group (which controls the world's largest clutch of ad agencies & media shops) was declared as the world's most acquisitive group in 2002 by a U.S. research firm. And Paris-based Publicis Groupe has been trying hard to stay in the "size matters" race by acquiring BCom3 (Leo Burnett, Starcom Mediavest) Group.

Sometimes the results are unplanned. London headquartered Cordiant Group (world No 5) which borrowed heavily to acquire agencies around the world - is today forced to 'sell' its acquisitions to service its debts. Or take the other London-based giant WPP Group hiked 2002 dividends based on threadbare profits - declared by not providing for goodwill charges; charges which would colour their 2002 balance sheet deep red. (Incidentally, this is also in direct contravention to the British accounting guidelines.)

And sometimes the investment strategy is not clear - as in the case of the giant Dentsu: Japan's No 1 ad agency which has minor (but significant) shareholding in competing groups Y&R (now a part of the WPP stable) & Bcom3 (now merged with Publicis).

And so we re-present the following article & chart with a few editorial adjustments & updates.

Read: Mega Media Buying Shops - An Industry Survey : April 05, 2002
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Global Advertising Groups with their Indian Networks : Last updated January 31, 2003