NEW YORK — Omnicom PR agency revenue was up 15.1% in the second quarter of 2021, signaling the return of business following the height of the Covid pandemic.

In its Q2 earnings report, the holding company reported Omnicom as a whole saw worldwide revenue in the second quarter of the year rise $27.5% to $3,571.6 million from $2,800.7 million in the second quarter of 2020, the first full quarter impacted by Covid.

During Q2, Omnicom PR Group — which includes FleishmanHillard, Ketchum and Porter Novelli —fared better than Omnicom’s healthcare group, which saw a 4.5% lift in revenue. Advertising, however, was up 29.8%; CRM Precision Marketing up 25%; CRM Commerce and Brand Consulting up 15.2%; CRM Experiential up 53%; and CRM Execution & Support up 22.7%.


In its report, Omnicom credited the turnaround to the Covid recovery, but noted that business will continue to be volatile as long as the coronavirus remains a public health threat.

Tuesday’s report shows a turnaround from the 3.5% decline the PR group experienced in the first quarter of this year. That had followed the notably positive turn Omnicom’s PR agencies saw in Q4 2020, when the group’s revenue rose 0.2%, the first reported uptick in business since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. The group saw revenue drop 3.4% in Q3 of 2020 and 13.5% during Q2, the height of the pandemic shutdown.

All of which occurred against the backdrop of Omnicom and its agencies, including its PR firms, implementing layoffs and furloughs around the world in response to business drying up.

The report also comes roughly two months since Omnicom hired Chris Foster as CEO of its $1.3 billion PR agency unit, 18 months after Karen van Bergen relinquished the role.