Dive Brief:

• Ad agencies are finding $26 billion in ad spending is under review by large clients such as Procter & Gamble, Visa and Mondelez International.
• Attendees at the Cannes Lions festival have termed this development as “reviewageddon” and "mediapalooza."
• Marketers are hoping to use their clout to lower advertising costs.

Dive Insight:

At the Cannes Lions creativity festival, discussion around brands diving into media reviews, which are being called "reviewmageddon" and "mediapalooza," may not be as hyperbolic since around $26 billion in ad spending is up in the air. Essentially advertisers are attempting to use their spending power to drive down advertising costs from agency fees to media spends. Some of the market forces at work creating this environment for ad agencies include geopolitical uncertainty, low inflation and investor’s focus on short-term goals.

Speaking at Cannes Lions, Publicis Groupe CEO, Maurice Levy, said marketers simply want the price of media to go down and told the festival audience that 2% of Publicis’s annual revenue is currently under review.

Recently, WPP Chairman Philip Lader blamed the media reviews on a shift to digital. Speaking at a shareholder meeting, the chief of the world's largest advertising holding company said the media account reviews were largely driven by clients' desire to "optimize their media spending in an increasingly digital media environment."