Ten years ago, Olivier Gauthier set out to bring greater transparency and independent analysis to the global media industry. Today, as Founder and Global CEO of COMvergence, he leads a research platform that tracks media agency billings, new business activity, and market share across 50 countries.
As COMvergence marks its 10-year milestone, Gauthier reflects on how the company has evolved alongside a rapidly changing media ecosystem. In this exclusive conversation, he discusses the growing influence of independent agencies, shifting global market dynamics, and how data, technology, and human expertise must work together to deliver reliable industry intelligence.
As you celebrate a decade of COMvergence, take us back to 2016. What specific “white space” or gap in the market convinced you that the industry needed a new, independent source of truth?
In March 2016, my two partners and I founded COMvergence with a clear vision—to introduce a new kind of service tailored to professionals in the media, advertising, and technology sectors. From the outset, we recognised the need for robust and continuously evolving resources. That led us to make substantial investments in building a proprietary online platform.
Our goal was to equip industry professionals with interactive tools and online databases that are updated on an ongoing basis, ensuring access to the most current and relevant information.
“A cornerstone of our approach—particularly in our media agency benchmark studies—has been a commitment to objectivity, agility, impartiality, and accuracy.”
To achieve that, we partnered with reputable organisations such as Nielsen and Kantar. These collaborations, combined with the implementation of a standardised and highly transparent methodology, have enabled us to provide assessments that the industry can trust and rely upon.
How has COMvergence’s core mission evolved from Day One to Year Ten? Is the problem you are solving today the same one you set out to address a decade ago?
If I had to summarize how our mission has evolved, it comes down to a client-centric approach and openness to feedback.
“Over the past decade, COMvergence has evolved continuously to better serve our clients and the broader industry.”
Each year has brought meaningful growth, reflected in the diverse and talented team we now have from around the world. This global perspective has enriched our company culture and the quality of our offerings.
A key driver of this evolution has been actively listening to our clients. By doing so, we have been able to develop and refine tools that directly address their needs. In fact, many of our solutions have originated from specific client requests, ensuring our tools are both relevant and impactful.
All our platforms feature interactive, customisable charts that enable clients to visualise and analyse reliable media spend data and agency–advertiser relationships. These tools not only help identify new business opportunities but also support more informed, data-driven decision-making.
In addition, recognising the importance of convenience and accessibility, we launched a mobile application last year. This enables clients to access critical insights and tools on the go, further enhancing the value we provide—while also receiving real-time notifications on major media account moves and ongoing pitches.
You have often spoken about the importance of non-self-reported data. How has COMvergence maintained impartiality and credibility while working closely with some of the world’s largest agency groups?
We remain a private company without external investors or funding, which supports our impartiality.
This approach has helped build our reputation for reliable assessments. We use our own proprietary methodology to calculate media spend estimates—completely independent of agencies’ self-reported data—and we maintain no ownership or partnership ties with any of the groups we assess.
We also believe that our agility to constantly adapt to this fast-changing industry has enabled us to become that one-stop platform. It is what allows professionals from all three disciplines—media, marketing, and technology—to partner with us through this ten-year journey.
Based on your latest global barometers, which markets are currently emerging as the key growth engines, and which traditionally strong markets are facing the greatest headwinds?
“The USA and China remain key drivers of the industry, together accounting for around half of the total media spend across the 50 countries we cover.”
Our 2025 New Business Barometer study, due for release in early March, assessed $35B in media spend. The U.S. and China together represent $15B of this total. This represents approximately 43% of the total reviewed media spend globally.
A further 17% comes from the UK and Germany combined, representing $6B. Meanwhile, five additional markets each exceeded $1B in reviewed media spend: France, Italy, Spain, Australia, and India.
Altogether, these nine key markets account for 75% of the total $35B reviewed media spend. And when you look at the projected 2025 media billings we monitored across 1,000 media agencies in 50 countries, the concentration is even more pronounced. Those same markets account for 84% of the total.
From a global CEO’s perspective, how has APAC’s contribution to the global media ecosystem evolved over the past decade? Is the region still a “frontier market,” or is it now helping set global benchmarks?
To put it in perspective, out of the 50 countries we cover globally, 14 are in APAC. Based on our projected 2025 estimates, the region accounts for 21% of the total global media agency billings we monitor.
And when you look within the region itself, the concentration is significant—Australia, China, and India together represent 73% of APAC’s total billings. It is worth noting that in 2019, APAC accounted for 24% of global agency billings.
What initiatives, innovations, or new offers is COMvergence rolling out to mark its 10-year milestone?
Our tenth anniversary is not just a celebration—it’s also a moment to reflect on our impact, credibility, and future ambitions.
We recently launched a mobile app designed specifically for our clients, enabling them to access essential industry insights and tools anytime, from anywhere.
“This year, AI will be at the very heart of our platform. It will allow users to navigate our tools much more intuitively, and even interact with our AI agent to gain additional insights and deeper data interpretation.”
We are also expanding our digital capabilities. A key milestone is the rollout of a detailed breakdown of our digital media estimates by main channel, beginning with
the U.S. market. This enhancement delivers greater transparency and granularity, reinforcing our commitment to precision and relevance in an increasingly complex media landscape.
But to bring in that actual ‘celebration’ element, we are hosting our very first client conference. This event will bring together key stakeholders to discuss pressing issues affecting the industry. By facilitating open dialogue, we aim to generate momentum toward future resolutions and strengthen collaboration within the sector. It is our way of appreciating the unstinting support of all our partners throughout this journey. Finally, we even revamped our logo—giving it a more modern, streamlined look that visually reflects our future-forward identity.
Given that COMvergence covers independent agencies, what trends are you seeing in this segment??
Independent agencies represent a significant and expanding part of our research. We are seeing this particularly in the following key markets: the U.S., Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Australia.
“From 2020 to 2024, spending by independents studied grew by 33%.”
Our Billings and Market share 2025 report(to be released later this year) covers 150 independent agencies. Currently, about 14% of global media billings are managed by these firms. Independent agencies are increasingly being invited to participate in local pitches.
At a global level, credible alternatives to the traditional Holding Companies are gaining momentum. Agency networks such as Assembly (Stagwell), PMG, Mediaplus are stepping up. More recently, Horizon Global—a joint venture combining Horizon’s strong U.S. independent media capabilities with Havas Media’s international network has also emerged as a competitive global option.
