Revenue

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASC Topic 606. ASC 606 was applied using the modified retrospective method, with the cumulative effect of the initial adoption being recognized as an adjustment to opening retained earnings at January 1, 2018. As a result, comparative prior periods have not been adjusted and continue to be reported under FASB ASC Topic 605, Revenue Recognition (“ASC 605”). See Note 19 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein for additional information surrounding the Company’s adoption of ASC 606.

The Company’s revenue recognition policies are established in accordance with the Revenue Recognition topics of ASC 606, and accordingly, revenue is recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to our clients, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services.

The MDC network provides an extensive range of services to our clients offering a variety of marketing and communication capabilities including strategy, creative and production for advertising campaigns across a variety of platforms (print, digital, social media, television broadcast), public relations services including strategy, editorial, crisis support or issues management, media training, influencer engagement and events management. We also provide media buying and planning across a range of platforms (out-of-home, paid search, social media, lead generation, programmatic, television broadcast), experiential marketing and application/website design and development.

The primary source of the Company’s revenue is from agency arrangements in the form of fees for services performed, commissions, and from performance incentives or bonuses, depending on the terms of the client contract. In all circumstances, revenue is only recognized when collection is reasonably assured. Certain of the Company’s contractual arrangements have more than one performance obligation. For such arrangements, revenue is allocated to each performance obligation based on its relative stand-alone selling price. Stand-alone selling prices are determined based on the prices charged to clients or using expected cost plus margin.

The determination of our performance obligations is specific to the services included within each contract. Based on a client’s requirements within the contract, and how these services are provided, multiple services could represent separate performance obligations or be combined and considered one performance obligation. Contracts that contain services that are not significantly integrated nor interdependent, nor that significantly modify or customize each other, are considered separate performance obligations. Typically, we consider media planning, media buying, creative (or strategy), production and experiential marketing services to be separate performance obligations if included in the same contract as each of these services can be provided on a stand-alone basis, and do not significantly modify or customize each other. Public relations services and application/website design and development are typically each considered one performance obligation as there is a significant integration of these services into a combined output.

We typically satisfy our performance obligations over time, as services are performed. Fees for services are typically recognized using input methods (direct labor hours, materials and third-party costs) that correspond with efforts incurred to date in relation to total estimated efforts to complete the contract. Point in time recognition primarily relates to certain commission-based contracts, which are recognized upon the placement of advertisements in various media when the Company has no further performance obligation.

Revenue is recognized net of sales and other taxes due to be collected and remitted to governmental authorities. The Company’s contracts typically provide for termination by either party within 30 to 90 days. Although payment terms vary by client, they are typically within 30 to 60 days. In addition, the Company generally has the right to payment for all services provided through the end of the contract or termination date.

Within each contract, we identify whether the Company is principal or agent at the performance obligation level. In arrangements where the Company has substantive control over the service before transferring it to the client, and is primarily responsible for integrating the services into the final deliverables, we act as principal. In these arrangements, revenue is recorded at the gross amount billed. Accordingly, for these contracts the Company has included reimbursed expenses in revenue. In other arrangements where a third-party supplier, rather than the Company is primarily responsible for the integration of services into the final deliverables, and thus the Company is solely arranging for the third-party supplier to provide these services to our client, we generally act as agent and record revenue equal to the net amount retained, when the fee or commission is earned. The role of MDC’s agencies under a production services agreement is to facilitate a client’s purchasing of production capabilities from a third-party production company in accordance with the client’s strategy and guidelines. The obligation of MDC’s agencies under media buying services is to negotiate and purchase advertising media from a third-party media vendor on behalf of a client to execute its media plan. We do not obtain control prior to transferring these services to our clients; therefore, we primarily act as agent for production and media buying services.

A small portion of the Company’s contractual arrangements with clients include performance incentive provisions, which allow the Company to earn additional revenues as a result of its performance relative to both quantitative and qualitative goals. Incentive compensation is primarily estimated using the most likely amount method and is included in revenue up to the amount that is not expected to result in a reversal of a significant amount of cumulative revenue recognized. We recognize revenue related to performance incentives as we satisfy the performance obligation to which the performance incentives are related.

Disaggregated Revenue Data

The Company provides a broad range of services to a large base of clients across the full spectrum of industry verticals on a global basis. The primary source of revenue is from agency arrangements in the form of fees for services performed, commissions, and from performance incentives or bonuses. Certain clients may engage with the Company in various geographic locations, across multiple disciplines, and through multiple Partner Firms. Representation of a client rarely means that MDC handles marketing communications for all brands or product lines of the client in every geographical location. The Company’s Partner firms often cooperate with one another through referrals and the sharing of both services and expertise, which enables MDC to service clients’ varied marketing needs by crafting custom integrated solutions. Additionally, the Company maintains separate, independent operating companies to enable it to effectively manage potential conflicts of interest by representing competing clients across the MDC network.

The following table presents revenue disaggregated by client industry vertical for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016 and the impact of adoption of ASC 606:



		Twelve Months Ended December 31,
		2018							2017		2016
Industry	Reportable Segment	As reported		Adjustment to exclude impact of Adoption of ASC 606			Adjusted
Food & Beverage	All	$	313,368	$	7,064		$	320,432	$	313,786	$	266,600
Retail	All	152,552		(2,683		)	149,869		178,152		182,428
Consumer Products	All	162,524		585			163,109		162,307		147,849
Communications	All	178,410		25,957			204,367		208,701		160,064
Automotive	All	88,807		8,587			97,394		127,023		129,352
Technology	All	104,479		38			104,517		99,325		109,309
Healthcare	All	127,547		507			128,054		124,261		115,159
Financials	All	110,069		146			110,215		104,713		85,480
Transportation and Travel/Lodging	All	86,419		2,461			88,880		56,955		58,298
Other	All	152,028		8,974			161,002		138,556		131,246
		$	1,476,203	$	51,636		$	1,527,839	$	1,513,779	$	1,385,785

MDC has historically largely focused where the Company was founded in North America, the largest market for its services in the world. In recent years the Company has expanded its global footprint to support clients looking for help to grow their businesses in new markets. Today, MDC’s Partner Firms are located in the United States, Canada, and an additional thirteen countries around the world. In the past, some clients have responded to weakening economic conditions with reductions to their marketing budgets, which included discretionary components that are easier to reduce in the short term than other operating expenses.

The following table presents revenue disaggregated by geography for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016 and the impact of adoption of ASC 606:



		Twelve Months Ended December 31,
		2018							2017		2016
Geographic Location	Reportable Segment	As reported		Adjustment to exclude impact of Adoption of ASC 606			Adjusted
United States	All	$	1,153,192	$	20,699		$	1,173,891	$	1,172,364	$	1,103,714
Canada	All	124,000		(1,288		)	122,712		123,092		124,101
Other	All, Excluding Domestic Creative Agencies	199,011		32,225			231,236		218,323		157,970
		$	1,476,203	$	51,636		$	1,527,839	$	1,513,779	$	1,385,785

Contract Assets and Liabilities

Contract assets consist of fees and reimbursable outside vendor costs incurred on behalf of clients when providing advertising, marketing and corporate communications services that have not yet been invoiced to clients. Unbilled service fees were $64,362 and $54,177 at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, and are included as a component of accounts receivable on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Outside vendor costs incurred on behalf of clients which have yet to be invoiced were $42,369 and $31,146 at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, and are included on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as expenditures billable to clients. Such amounts are invoiced to clients at various times over the course of providing services.

Contract liabilities consist of fees billed to clients in excess of fees recognized as revenue and are classified as advance billings on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. Advance billings at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 were $138,505 and $148,133, respectively. The decrease in the advance billings balance of $9,628 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 is primarily driven by $135,573 of revenues recognized that were included in the advance billings balances as of December 31, 2017 and reductions due to the incurrence of third-party costs, offset by cash payments received or due in advance of satisfying our performance obligations.

Changes in the contract asset and liability balances during the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 were not materially impacted by write offs, impairment losses or any other factors.

Practical Expedients

In adopting ASC 606, the Company applied the practical expedient to not disclose information about remaining performance obligations that have original expected durations of one year or less. Amounts related to those performance obligations with expected durations of more than one year are immaterial.