Omnicom Media North America CEO Ralph Pardo on integration and disintermediation

Omnicom leadership has taken its share of lumps since closing on the acquisition of Interpublic Group at the end of 2025. But it didn’t stop Ralph Pardo, CEO of Omnicom Media North America, from speaking at Digiday’s spring Media Buying Summit, which is wrapping up today in Nashville.

Although careful with his choice of words in describing Omnicom’s integration of the IPG agencies and assets (particularly data giant Acxiom) into the mothership, Pardo said progress has been steady, in part because moving slowly simply isn’t an option anymore. (The need for speed was expressed generally across virtually all sessions at the summit.)

Omnicom Media NA CEO Ralph Pardo

For now, the IPG Media brands will stay alive and active alongside the Omnicom brands, which was a “purposeful conscientious strategy,” he told attendees — but that may not last forever. The integration itself will take time, no matter how much speed can be applied.

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Why one brand reimbursed $10,000 to customers who paid its ‘Trump Tariff Surcharge’ last year

This story was originally published on sister site, Modern Retail.

Dame is refunding customers who paid its “Trump Tariff Surcharge” last year, becoming one of the first brands to proactively return money tied to President Donald Trump’s now-invalidated tariffs.

The sexual wellness company began adding a visible $5 line-item fee at checkout in 2025 as the Trump administration’s trade war pushed up costs and squeezed brands’ margins. After the Supreme Court struck down many of those duties, Dame co-founder and CEO Alexandra Fine announced on LinkedIn that the company would automatically reimburse shoppers who paid the surcharge, rather than wait for clarity on whether the federal government will issue refunds to importers.

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