Interpublic Group of Companies

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) is one of the "big four" global advertising holding companies (the others being Omnicom, WPP and Publicis). It is headquartered in New York City and is the parent company of advertising and marketing services agencies around the world.

The company consists of three major networks: McCann Worldgroup, Lowe and Partners, and FCB. Its media agencies are bundled under the IPG Mediabrands entity. It also owns a number of specialty agencies, including public relations, sports marketing, talent representation, and healthcare.

Michael Roth is the current IPG Chief Executive Officer.

History

The first marketing services management holding company, IPG was created in 1960 with McCann-Erickson and McCann-Marschalk as its two subsidiaries.

In 2002, IPG suffered a precipitous drop in its stock price and reputation in an accounting scandal. In that year, Interpublic was alleged in violation of the Securities Exchange Act over misrepresentation and artificially inflating its earnings. As of November 18, 2008 (taking into account stock splits), IPG's stock has sold at approximately the same price it was on November 18, 1987.