Guy for the Advertising Council. Keith L. Reinhard came from Chicago to head the worldwide firm in 1982 and, by 1986, there were thirty two offices outside the US; American offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, Boston, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Diego, Baltimore and Dayton; and diversification in Porter Novelli, Biederman & Company and the international direct-response agency DR Group, Inc. DDB Needham merger and the formation of Omnicom Concerned by the swathe of hostile public company takeovers in the US the 1980s Reinhard started discussions with BBDO president Allen Rosenshine about a merger and included the then fragile Doyle Dane Bernbach business in the discussions. In 1986, the three networks agreed to merge into the Omnicom Group which would act as a holding company, becoming at that time the world's largest global advertising agency group. BBDO remained separate and retained its network. Needham Harper had a good presence in the Midwestern United States and was complemented by Doyle Dane Bernbach's strength in New York and Europe. Reinhard became Chairman and CEO of the merged DDB Needham Worldwide. The merged group suffered some initial account losses due to conflicts (DDB's Volkswagen was retained and Needham's Honda account lost while DDB's RJR Nabisco was lost in favour of Needham's General Mills) and some senior staff losses as Reinhard set about combining the two disparate cultures, but, by 1988, the firm was having success in winning significant new business and has continued to grow since then. In 1998 (having by then dropped the Needham from its name), DDB Worldwide was named Advertising Age's first-ever "Global Network of the Year". In 2003, it earned that same accolade from both Advertising Age and Adweek. Under the leadership of Ken Kaess, Bob Scarpelli, and Lee Garfinkel, it won the honor again from Adweek in 2004. Subsequently, its operating unit Tribal DDB became the first digital agency to be named Global Network of the Year by Advertising Age. In 2011 DDB Worldwide had more than 200 offices in 95 countries. Long standing client relationships Since Doyle Dane Bernbach commenced a US relationship with Volkswagen in 1959, it's been a consistent and significant client in various parts of the world. Needham Harper started working with McDonald's in the 1960s and that client has worked with DDB in several countries unceasingly since then. A global relationship with ExxonMobil has been consistent since the 1960s. As of 2020,