'We won't win pitches with Powerpoint': Microsoft mandate pains an Omni-IPG creative

"Omnicom agencies have recently been forced to change their email addresses to omc.com. Despite being experts in long-term brand building, agencies' own brands are being diminished and devalued by the very overlords for whom this expertise generates profit. The change has been explained to employees internally as a means of "simplifying our IT systems and making things run more smoothly.""

"This has been accompanied by a decision to restrict employees' use of Google services, including Drive, Slides and Docs, to be replaced by Microsoft's equivalents, including PowerPoint and SharePoint. It's difficult to imagine this decision being made by anyone who spends their working days and evenings creating presentations or collaborating on live documents. Or that they consulted anyone who has done so in the past 15 years."

"The primary explanation and incentive for this step was "greater security", for agencies and clients. Having seen the impact of the Microsoft mandate in the first few weeks of implementation, it's clear that the exercise has become a classic example of the 'cobra effect'. The term comes from the time of the British rule of India, where the British government wanted to tackle the high number of venomous cobras in Delhi."

Agencies under Omnicom were required to adopt Microsoft products and change email domains to omc.com, reducing individual agency brand visibility. Employee access to Google Drive, Slides and Docs was restricted and replaced with Microsoft equivalents such as PowerPoint and SharePoint. The change was justified on the grounds of simplifying IT and increasing security for agencies and clients. Early implementation caused practical collaboration and workflow friction for teams accustomed to live-document collaboration and modern presentation workflows. The outcome is described as a 'cobra effect', where an intended incentive produces unintended, adverse consequences rather than the promised improvements.

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