Accenture Song, the advertising arm of the global consultancy group run by Australian David Droga, hit “high single-digit growth” in the three months to August.
Clues as to the fiscal health of the marketing unit can be found in Accenture’s latest corporate filings in the US.
The papers show Song’s estimated revenue for the 2024 financial year up 7% to $US$19 billion, an acceleration from earlier in the year.
Accenture Song is listed as a “strategic” priority area and a “major” area of growth.
The growth rate of Song, while difficult to compare directly with the big global advertising groups, compares well to peers.
WPP recorded June quarter like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs of -0.5%; IPG reported organic revenue growth of 1.7%: Publicis up 5.6%; Omnicom with a better than expected 5.2%; Havas posted negative organic growth of -2.3%.
Analyst Brian Wieser of Madison and Wall said that although faster growth at Accenture Song could mean that the company is taking share of marketer spend from traditional holding companies, the acceleration is likely more reflective of the ongoing focus by all marketers on IT services-specific marketing capabilities.
"Growth during the most recent quarter for Accenture Song equated to a high-single digit level, rebounding further from the mid-single growth rate posted during the May quarter (more-or-less the calendar second quarter of the year) and the low-single digit growth rate observed during the February quarter (close to the calendar first quarter)," he said.
Mark Green, a founder of The Monkeys, is moving to New York to be global CEO of Accenture Song’s Droga5.
Song’s performance beat Accenture’s overall revenue growth rate of 1% to $64.9 billion for the year.
“Our performance in fiscal year 2024 demonstrates the resilience and agility of our business model, the power of our scale and reinvention in action,” said Julie Sweet, chair and CEO, Accenture.
“We continue to accelerate our leadership in Generative AI, which we believe is the most transformative technology of the next decade, delivering $3 billion in new bookings for the year.
“Our successful strategy to lead reinvention for clients and continued investments in our business have positioned Accenture for strong growth in fiscal 2025.”
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