Advertising is handled by the holding companies. The agencies under the holding companies were full service agencies handling the creative work, production and media. However, the media growth engine started making an impact on the holding companies. Digital platforms accelerated the growth and there was a change from traditional communications to digital communications. Media agencies sensed this change and grew with this change. In the 1990s, the media agencies were in their infancy. But then change occurred with a big bang, with the result that by the end of the decade, no full service agency was left.
The next decade of 2010s was defined by the sophistication of media planning. Media agencies could add value to the creative work. There were more digital platforms. The challenge before the media agencies was to digitise the clients. Communication was to established between the brand and its performance on a global basis. The clients were moving from traditional media to digital.