The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

But I don’t see that the delta to our key competitors has changed over the course of this year. And so there is some of what’s been on this call, which is things we talked about, what I just mentioned to you and then potentially the question Michael asked around media, a client mix question or perhaps to some degree, asset mix positive to us over time. Now clearly, there’s one competitor who, credit to them, is benefiting from asset mix. But I don’t know that there’s anything even outside of those that gets me to a dramatically different perspective.

Ellen Johnson: And then looking at our workforce, if you’re looking for broad-based trends based upon your question, if I go back post the pandemic, labor was tight, attrition was high. Those trends have attenuated. But we’re not one business, as you know. We are many businesses, and we recruit many different types of talent. So where the skill sets are more scarce, there is that supply and demand mix. But we have a truly great labor force and our talent. And so we are very competitive in that regard. But the broad-based trends that were called out post the pandemic, those have attenuated a bit.

Steven Cahall: Thank you.

Philippe Krakowsky: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And our next question is from Tim Nollen with Macquarie. You may go ahead.

Tim Nollen: H, Philippe, Ellen. Thanks very much. Just I wonder if you could give a little bit more explanation around the new business trends. You’ve said it two or three times on this call that you’ve seen some, I guess, delays in the conversion and onboarding of some of the wins that you’ve been talking about for a little while is supposed to come through in the second-half. I mean, maybe this happens sometimes. I just don’t really recall that occurrence before. I just wonder if you can explain, is it part of these new clients seeing the slowdowns and worrying about spending in the fourth quarter and just sort of deciding to go slower? Or is it a change in the scope of work that’s coming on and just haven’t really heard that commentary before.

And relatedly, the General Mills win sounds pretty big. I didn’t check the numbers. I wonder if you could just help us maybe scope out kind of, of the long list of wins that you’ve had in the last several months, like which are the biggest ones?

Philippe Krakowsky: I think on the large headline wins, that’s the onboarding of those at a modestly lower — a slower pace is not the key driver. It’s what Steven was just asking about around, I think that it’s the TBG conversion that I would really point to in Q3. And then in terms of scale, I think we’ve got quite a few. I mean, so from GEICO at the — I think General Mills is at the scale of a GEICO. Bristol-Myers Squibb is maybe modestly smaller than that. Constellation Brands is sizable. They do cluster into the media sector. And then Pfizer is very large and is probably different in that clearly, it was integrated across creative, the health and medical communications and expertise in public relations. And some are global one like that or General Mills, whereas a GEICO or a — I mean, a Constellation Brands, domestic.

But I do think that, as I said, it’s not the scale. We have one of the larger wins that is onboarding a bit more slowly than anticipated. But broadly speaking, it’s TBG conversion.

Tim Nollen: Thanks.

Philippe Krakowsky: I mean, Ellen can — at some point, we can break down for you kind of given as she said, it’s a lot of businesses inside a business, and a lot of them are project businesses. So where we drive new business is still significantly in the day-to-day converting of work at a much more local level.