The boardroom was quiet again. Marcus adjusted his tie, glanced at the clock, then at James, who stood by the window like he already knew how this next meeting would unfold.
"IPG," Marcus murmured. "They don't mess around. Global reach. Billions in client budgets. Old money meets Madison Avenue muscle."
James didn't turn around. "That's why we're going to give them something they've never had: clarity."
The door opened before Marcus could respond. Three senior executives stepped inside — crisp suits, perfect haircuts, and eyes sharpened by years of campaign math and corporate blood sport. They didn't sit until James gestured.
"Welcome," he said, calm and surgical. "Let's not waste time. You already know who I am. And I know exactly what you want."
The room paused. One of the IPG execs raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"
James stepped forward, tapping the embedded conference screen to life. Logos appeared — McCann, FCB, Initiative, Huge. The IPG ecosystem. Agencies under one holding company, each with clients, each with strategies, each with endless noise.
"You want signal," James said. "And a compass."
The room was dead silent.
"You want to make faster decisions — about where to run ads, how much to spend, what to pull, what to scale. Your agencies are brilliant, but they're drowning in fragmented dashboards, delayed reports, siloed insights. That chaos is costing you millions."
He clicked again. AdNova appeared — not the clean SMB version shown to Gannett, but an enterprise interface tailored for agencies. Heatmaps. Live campaign diagnostics. AI recommendations. Global client rollups.
"This," James said, "is how you fix it."
The lead IPG exec leaned forward. "This handles multi-brand campaigns?"
James smiled. "Multi-brand, multi-region, multi-channel — even multi-agency. AdNova aggregates everything. One platform. Full-spectrum oversight. Real-time analytics. Automated performance flags."
He turned to face the group. "You don't need to guess anymore. You don't need to wait for quarterly PDFs from junior media buyers in Madrid."
The second exec frowned. "And the data?"
"All clean," James said. "Structured, tagged, and translated into action. You see what's working, why it's working, and where it's trending."
"Even cross-platform?"
"Especially cross-platform. Your Nestlé team wants to know how radio impressions in Chicago are correlating with digital conversions in Phoenix? Done. With predictive suggestions. That's signal."
"And the compass?" the first exec asked.
James stepped closer, voice now edged with fire. "The compass is what tells you where the market's going — before it gets there."
He tapped again. On screen: a feature titled AdNova Forecast Engine.
"It learns. It predicts CPM shifts. Platform fatigue. Target audience saturation. Before it happens. Before your competitors adjust."
A moment of stunned silence.
One of the execs finally spoke. "That's powerful. But this isn't something we build in-house?"
"You could try," James said, tone deadly smooth. "You'd need five years, a few hundred million dollars, and a team that doesn't exist yet."
He let that settle.
"Or," he said, pulling a slim white folder from the table, "you can own a piece of the future today."
AdNova Benefits for Interpublic Group:
Campaign Optimization Engine: Stores and analyzes previous campaigns (e.g., Coca-Cola, GM) to inform future ad creative.
Smarter Media Buying: Suggests best-fit media (TV slot, print mag, radio time, website) based on product and past success.
AI-Powered Creative Suggestions: AdNova recommends ad copy, visuals, and channels based on historical results.
Faster Proposal Turnaround: Build smarter, faster, and more compelling campaigns for clients in days, not weeks.
Integrated Ad Placement: Connects IPG creatives directly to Gannett, Westwood One, and digital networks via one backend.
Client Dashboard: Lets clients log in, see results, request changes — all in real-time.
Competitive Moat: Gives IPG a proprietary tech edge in pitches against Omnicom, WPP, etc. — "our secret weapon."
Agreement Type: Strategic Platform Integration + Equity Partnership
What James Offers Interpublic Group (IPG):
5% equity in DoubleClick
Full access to AdNova enterprise platform across IPG agencies
Custom tools for multi-agency coordination and brand-level data rollups
Early access to the AdNova Forecast Engine
Dedicated integration teams assigned to IPG's top five clients
What IPG Must Provide:
Commitment to pilot AdNova across three major client accounts within 90 days
Real campaign data sharing across test cases
Feedback loop for product improvements
Mention of AdNova as "strategic technology partner" in quarterly earnings
Why IPG Would Agree:
Gain a competitive data advantage over WPP, Omnicom, and Publicis
Streamline operations across dozens of global agencies
Offer smarter campaign strategies to top clients
Appear forward-thinking to investors and analysts
Own equity in the tech instead of merely leasing it
As the IPG team reviewed the folder, the lead executive looked up. "We'll need to present this to our board."
James nodded. "Naturally. But understand this — the first player in wins leverage. The second gets margin."
The exec's jaw tightened slightly, appreciating the candor.
They stood, shook hands — formal but not cold.
As they exited, Marcus turned to James with a mixture of awe and residual disbelief.
"You just… pulled three major legacy media empires into your gravity field."
James smiled faintly. "That's not gravity."
He paused as the assistant appeared once again in the doorway.
"Sir, the Bloomberg journalist you approved for a five-minute drop-in... is here."
James straightened his collar and stepped into the hallway.
"That," he said, "is gravity."
After the last meeting with the Interpublic Group, the team felt optimistic. Marcus turned to James, his face lit with excitement. "They all look like they're going to sign the agreements," he said. "Once they do, we'll be swimming in monthly service fees, platform usage charges... and the best part, we won't be locked into those uncertain Internet-only revenues with just 9 million users."
James looked at him, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Marcus, did you forget what you said about the internet being the future? How can you say that about 'internet-only 9M users' and 'uncertain revenues' now?"
Marcus blinked, momentarily thrown off. "Yes, boss, the internet is the future... but now is the present."
James chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Don't worry, I've already thought about it. The internet is the future, but that doesn't mean we can't take two approaches."
Marcus paused, as if putting something together. "Is it like what the young executive from Westwood One said? We kick them once we have access, then we become a media giant too?"
James stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. "Marcus, do you really think we need to start buying radio stations? We've already got access to them with Westwood One. We've got TV and newspapers with Gannett. We've got top-tier ad clients with Interpublic. Why would we start from scratch when we already have all of it?"
Marcus was taken aback. "Wait... are you saying we should buy one of those three companies?"
James felt his head starting to throb. He pressed his fingertips to his temples. "Why do you always think we need to get into the media business? Do you forget who we are? We're DoubleClick. We help customers run ads."
Marcus blinked, finally realizing his mistake. "So... you mean we're running ads not only online but also offline? On radio, TV, and in newspapers?"
James sighed, relieved that Marcus was finally catching on. "Finally. You still have hope. For a moment, I was thinking of promoting you to CEO, but now I'm wondering if I should fire you."
Marcus beamed, his excitement returning. "Promotion? Thank you, boss! But what are your plans for the offline business?"