New WPP entity pips Accenture for VodafoneZiggo
VodafoneZiggo isn’t exactly a household name outside the Netherlands, neither is WPP’s newly-minted WPP Go One. But the latter has won the former in what seems to be a repitch involving Accenture among others, so that’s reason enough for WPP to big it up.
According to WPP “The newly established bespoke multi-disciplinary team, WPP Go One, will work together with VodafoneZiggo and act as the core leadership team for the company’s operations in the Netherlands as it continues to put customer experience at the centre of its marketing and communications activity.”
VodafoneZiggo CCO Consumer Marcel de Groot says: “At VodafoneZiggo the customer experience is at the heart of everything we do. So our marketing efforts and the agency eco-system should operate in the same manner. That way we can better meet the needs of an increasingly digitally savvy consumer. With the rise of new players in the agency world, we have seen the rise of more integrated, client specific models.
“We saw an opportunity to, across the traditional borders of agencies, develop a team to develop the best results together to make our new partner part of the very beginning of our decisions in market. At the end of the pitch process, WPP turned out to be best partner for us to continue with.”
WPP CEO Mark Read, no less, says: “We’re delighted to be selected as VodafoneZiggo’s strategic transformation partner as they focus on the evolving needs of their consumers in a technology-driven world. This comes at an exciting time for WPP in the Netherlands, following the recent opening of our Amsterdam campus, and this appointment further demonstrates the appeal to clients of our creative, smartly integrated solutions.”
Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. It will need a few more Ziggos before we can safely say WPP has turned the corner. But Vodafone in all its guises has been a cornerstone of WPP’s success in the past although it now seems to be displaying a more independent spirit.