NEWNEW YORKYORK An IPG Solution An Interview with Michael I. Roth, Chairman and Chief Executive Offi cer, Interpublic Group EDITORS’ NOTE In July 2004, opportunity among our disciplines, and opportunities. This triggered the acquisition run Michael Roth was appointed we provide a full array of digital capa- in terms of creating holding companies, because Chairman of IPG, and he became bilities. Digital is part of everything we we needed disciplines and confl ict shops. That is CEO in January 2005. He had been do, be it PR, experiential marketing, the premise of the holding companies today; we a member of Interpublic’s Board creative, or media. If we’re not talking can have multiple offerings in certain segments since 2002. Prior to this, Roth was digital to our clients, then we don’t get a without having confl icts. Chairman and CEO of the fi nan- seat at the table. From a branding point of view, do you cial services holding company, Most recently, we bought a com- independently promote the brands or is it The MONY Group. He sits on the pany called Profero, which has a global important that the Interpublic tie-in be boards of directors of Pitney Bowes, digital capability that we utilize as part well-known? Ryman Hospitality Properties, the of our Lowe network. It was a capabil- More and more, we’re getting requests from Committee Encouraging Corporate ity that Lowe needed to enhance their clients to provide what is called an “IPG solution.” Philanthropy, the Baruch College Michael I. Roth global offerings. We also have specialty Our approach to those solutions is different from Fund, the Partnership for New York global agencies like Huge, R/GA, and our competitors. Some of our competitors create City and the Enterprise Foundation. Roth is a cer- MRM//McCann, which are dedicated digital agen- dedicated agencies as part of the holding com- tifi ed public accountant and the recipient of an cies that anyone in the IPG family can tap into. pany that may be somewhat inconsistent with LL.M. degree from New York University Law School Plus, each of the agencies has its own capabilities. their brands. Our approach is that the strength is and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. So we cover the geographic issues and spe- in our brands, and IPG is a resource. We create cifi c capabilities in terms of growth. what is known as open architecture, and that is COMPANY BRIEF Headquartered in New York, Is Asia-Pac much broader than China an IPG solution that brings to the table the best Interpublic Group (interpublic.com; IPG), is one of and is Latin American much broader than IPG has to offer, and we pick and choose which the world’s largest advertising and marketing com- Brazil for you? of those agencies can provide the solution. These panies. From global communications networks like Australia is a key growth market for us, and agencies then work together on behalf of the McCann Erickson to domestic advertising agen- has provided very nice growth for us over the brand. cies like Hill Holliday in Boston, Massachusetts, to past quarter. India is an important growth oppor- For example, we recently won Microsoft. global specialists like the events marketer Jack tunity. Japan not as much, but it’s still important. Although it was principally a McCann offering, Morton, sports marketer Octagon, and public rela- China provided double-digit growth, but we see Erwin Penland is also part of the team, as is Lowe tions experts Weber Shandwick, Interpublic agen- that leveling off. in China. So we had an open architecture offering cies span the globe, employing 46,500 people in In Latin America, it’s not just Brazil – we see that the client felt met their needs and that repre- more than 100 countries, working with clients like it in Mexico, Colombia, etc. sented the best of IPG. L’Oréal, Unilever, and MasterCard. Is the African market advanced enough Having a strong brand like McCann was to take advantage of the capabilities you offer? key to our success in this case. But I don’t think What type of growth has Interpublic man- The largest growth in mobile happens to be we would have been as successful without the aged and what is your outlook for growth go- in Africa. They don’t have the landlines so mobile strength of the other brands that were part of the ing forward? is key for communication. Mobile is also how the mix. These were a key differentiator from the cli- One of the benefi ts of being a global orga- Internet is accessed in that part of the world; re- ent’s perspective – the ability to tap into other nization is that some markets are growing faster search and buying is done with phones. So we networks. than others, and we take advantage of that. need to have a strong presence in Africa, and we With the range of brands you have, is The emerging markets are currently pro- do. there a sweet spot for IPG? viding, in some cases, double-digit growth – for People don’t immediately think of Africa and IPG is a brand. But what the brand IPG example, Asia-Pac and Latin America. We have Turkey when it comes to current growth, but in stands for is different than what a McCann, FCB, strong capabilities within those markets and they the future, there is no question that Turkey and or Lowe stands for. IPG has to stand for fi nancial are part of our mix of revenue. Africa will be very strong markets and global hubs. strength, multiple disciplines in all the different On the other side, the U.S. – which makes Do your various brands both comple- markets, and a reputation for diversity and corpo- up more than 50 percent of our revenue – is still a ment and compete with each other? rate social responsibility. These have to permeate growth environment, but a mature market doesn’t That’s the nature of holding companies. On all of our brands throughout the organization. grow double digits. However, constant growth in the one hand, it’s strange to have two of your IPG is a brand, but it’s not in the marketplace the U.S. is also an important factor in terms of agencies competing for the same work. of brands that clients have to necessarily view as our ability to deliver the needs of our clients. It’s The other side is that, if you put them alto- their agency of record. We do have IPG offer- still the world’s largest economy, so we have to gether, you may have a better chance at success. ings that technically our agencies have under their provide all the resources to support our different If you go back to the history of the holding brands – they’re comprised of the best of IPG. capabilities. companies, this is what the holding companies Without the strength of the brands and all The expertise is interesting because ev- started out with – FCB was a large organization that they bring to the table, you’re missing the eryone knows that digital is the fastest growing but because of confl icts, they were kept out of strength of our overall organization.• 96 LEADERS POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. VOLUME 37, NUMBER 4.