DDB drives ahead, but some people challenges persist

After a year of upheaval at DDB, with Wendy Clark's departure and the promotion of ANZ’s Marty O’Halloran to global CEO in 2020, the Omnicom creative shop found a greater semblance of stability in 2021. DDB won new business from a global deal for Unilever’s Walls out of India and a local deal for Pernod Ricard, while turning out some innovative work in New Zealand, Australia and China.

The agency had been knocked hard for sub-par people practices and DEI in certain markets in 2020, but made a better effort in 2021 to be a more empathetic employer, with investments in a growing number of programmes. Despite these improvements, DDB continues to be a work in progress in many Asia-Pacific markets and faced higher turnover last year.

How did we grade DDB? Our full report with the overall grade—plus scores and a detailed analysis of the network's business performance; innovation; DEI and sustainability efforts; creativity and effectiveness; and management—is available only to Campaign members.

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