Omnicom Media Group Names Former Forrester Analyst Joanna O'Connell NA Chief Intelligence Officer

Former Forrester analyst Joanna O'Connell is joining Omnicom Media Group (OMG) as its first chief intelligence officer in North America. At the helm of the group's marketplace intelligence team, O'Connell will continue her work as a media analyst to provide the group's clients insight into market trends and changes. O'Connell began her career in 2000 at the agency Avenue A, and now joins OMG after taking a hiatus from the agency side of the business. She most recently was vice president of innovation at the marketing consultancy R3. Before that, she covered omnichannel advertising research as a principal analyst at Forrester Research and led marketing for ad-tech firm MediaMath. Ben Hovaness, a senior vp of marketplace intelligence at OMG, previously curated its Future Signals educational program, which helps agency employees and clients prepare for industry changes like cookie deprecation. Hovaness is now stepping down from OMG to assume the global chief media officer role at the group's largest agency, OMD. Traditionally, agencies wait for a project brief before digging into work. That's changing, though, as agencies lean into more consulting projects and become involved with their clients' business or growth goals. Industry analysts like O'Connell have advisory backgrounds and are used to guiding brand marketers' decisions. "I think we're putting intention behind that spirit that's been so consistent for us over the past two and a half years—really positioning ourselves as a modern media consultant, and modern marketing consultant, and bringing in those resources to help us do that," said OMG North America CEO Ralph Pardo. The Driving Force Behind Omnicom Media Group’s New Expertise and Products? Its Centers of Excellence Industry analysis and a consultative approach O'Connell will develop and expand the Future Signals series, and join OMG agency leaders, clients and media partners on the group's Council for Accountability Standards in Advertising (CASA). "Some roles you do end up shaping for the people that you speak to. I think this is a real good example of that," Pardo told Adweek. Marketplace intelligence has evolved, he added, and simultaneously, clients expect more from their agency partners than they used to. To address that, O'Connell will expand OMG's research beyond media-oriented challenges to include bigger industry trends. Clients, Pardo said, are asking about more complex questions, like where AI fits in their strategies. With O'Connell in the new role, Pardo hopes OMG will "bridge the gap" between its understanding of media trends, and its thought leadership and primary research objectives. O'Connell is "able to really understand what it means to be a modern media practitioner, but also understand how to thread the divide that exists for many marketers today," Pardo said. She will become a close partner to the group's leadership team, illuminating OMG client issues, barriers and concerns, he added. Converging practice areas Industry research is paramount, given how many vastly different practice areas today's marketing leaders must oversee, and how quickly media trends evolve. O'Connell comes to the role prepared to advise brand marketers, having researched topics for the CMO throughout her career. "A role like this one that allows me to partner with the whole ecosystem of OMG and be able to help shape how clients experience the world around them. There are tiny little things that they need to worry about on the day-to-day, and then there are big giant things that they need to worry about, and big giant opportunities that exist around corners," O'Connell said. Figuring out what's around those corners is what excited the analyst, who said she's prepared to tell clients hard things when that's necessary. "Being able to ground [the role] in the practical reality of what brands are struggling with and trying to achieve every day is actually the best-case scenario, because it means that it feels real to them. It feels truthful and honest and helpful," she said. In OMG, O'Connell saw an opportunity to continue her industry research and simultaneously develop a better understanding of agencies' relationships with their clients. She became intrigued by OMG while at R3, having observed how it won the L'Oréal account, a review R3 oversaw in 2022. The group's "agency-as-a-platform" approach involves using group resources to supplement individual agency offerings. O'Connell's role will function within that organizational structure, and she'll work in tandem with other leaders across OMG and its three media agencies to advise clients."We believe in the strength of agencies. We also believe that there is benefit that the group can enable. I think this is a real good example of an area where a group is coming together to enable benefits that everybody can apply on their own," Pardo told Adweek. Omnicom Media Group Leaders Explain New Agency-as-a-Platform Model