Goodwill and Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

8. Goodwill and Intangible Assets

As of December 31, the gross and net amounts of acquired intangible assets were as follows:



Goodwill	Global Integrated Agencies			Domestic Creative Agencies			Specialist Communications			Media Services		All Other			Total
Balance at December 31, 2014	$	370,094		$	37,117		$	98,497		$	136,033	$	209,632		$	851,373
Acquired goodwill	—			—			—			6,253		37,401			43,654
Acquisition purchase price adjustments	(998		)	133			(879		)	—		(684		)	(2,428		)
Foreign currency translation	(4,937		)	(579		)	(40		)	—		(16,742		)	(22,298		)
Balance at December 31, 2015	$	364,159		$	36,671		$	97,578		$	142,286	$	229,607		$	870,301
Acquired goodwill	24,778			—			—			—		—			24,778
Disposition	—			—			—			—		(764		)	(764		)
Impairment loss recognized	—			—			(18,893		)	—		(29,631		)	(48,524		)
Transfer of goodwill between segments ⁽¹⁾	(34,400		)	—			—			34,400		—			—
Foreign currency translation	(3,821		)	91			6			—		2,692			(1,032		)
Balance at December 31, 2016	$	350,716		$	36,762		$	78,691		$	176,686	$	201,904		$	844,759

⁽¹⁾During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company transferred a component of one reporting unit to another reporting unit. As a result, based on the relative fair value, we transferred $34.4 million of goodwill from the Global Integrated Agencies reportable segment to Media Services, which represented the portion of the goodwill associated with the component. An interim impairment analysis was performed both before and after the transfer, noting no impairment indicators were present.



	For the Year Ended December 31,
Intangible Assets	2016			2015
Trademarks (indefinite life)	$	17,780		$	17,780
Customer relationships – gross	$	121,408		$	135,919
Less accumulated amortization	(80,432		)	(97,604		)
Customer relationships – net	$	40,976		$	38,315
Other intangibles – gross	$	43,656		$	33,638
Less accumulated amortization	(17,341		)	(17,351		)
Other intangibles – net	$	26,315		$	16,287
Total intangible assets	$	182,844		$	187,337
Less accumulated amortization	(97,773		)	(114,955		)
Total intangible assets – net	$	85,071		$	72,382

The results of the annual goodwill impairment test performed as of October 1, 2015, indicated fair values in excess of carrying amounts for each of the Company’s reporting units. The Company noted no significant events or conditions during the first and second quarter of 2016 that would have affected the conclusions from the annual assessment.

During the third quarter of 2016, the Company changed its operating segments, as a result of the management structure change as discussed in Note 14, which resulted in a corresponding change to the Company’s reporting units. The Company performed interim goodwill testing on one of its experiential reporting units and one non-material reporting unit, resulting in a partial impairment of goodwill of $27,893 and $1,738 relating to the experiential reporting unit and non-material reporting unit, respectively. Additionally, as a result of the annual goodwill impairment test performed as of October 1, 2016, the Company recognized a partial impairment of goodwill of $18,893 relating to one of the Company’s strategic communications reporting units. See Note 2 for further information.

The total accumulated goodwill impairment charges are $95,407 through December 31, 2016. During the year for 2016, the Company wrote off goodwill of $764 related to the sale of its ownership interests in Bryan Mills to the noncontrolling shareholders. This write off is included in other income (expense).

The weighted average amortization periods for customer relationships are six years and other intangible assets are eight years. In total, the weighted average amortization period is seven years. Amortization expense related to amortizable intangible assets for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014 was $21,726, $30,024, and $29,749, respectively.

The estimated amortization expense for the five succeeding years is as follows:



Year	Amortization
2017	$	16,677
2018	$	11,525
2019	$	7,346
2020	$	4,999
2021	$	3,411

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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