Things seem to be looking up for WPP: a new bespoke ‘Team Starbucks’ has won out in a US pitch for the coffee shop giant. Not such good news for British challenger network MSQ which recently bought defending agency SPCSHP. IPG’s FCB and Stagwell’s Anomaly also competed.
WPP’s Starbucks team included VML, Ogilvy and brand agency Landor. WPP also looks likely to handle Starbucks globally. It would be interesting to know if WPP’s recent New Commercial Arts acquisition had time to influence the Starbucks pitch.
Starbucks says: “We are getting back to Starbucks, telling stories of our unmatched coffee expertise and reminding customers of the special experience that only Starbucks can provide. We are grateful to partner with WPP as our creative agency of record in this journey.”
Starbucks’ recent problems have centred around the aforementioned experience not being so special, characterised by unwieldy service before we get to the vexed question of the coffee. Starbucks recently replaced CEO Laxman Narasimhan with Brian Niccol from Chipotle.
For WPP this adds to a good run: it recently added more Unilever brands to its Dove creative business and was also reconfirmed as Unilever’s global media agency. It also won the lion’s share of Amazon media outside the US.
WPP reports its Q3 numbers on October 23. These recent wins at last give CEO Mark Read something positive to talk about, aside from investment in AI.
Update
WPP’s Group M has also won Henkel’s European media account, mainly via Wavemaker.
