And then there were three (big) WPP ad brands: Ogilvy, VML and WPP Media. Not that long ago the line-up included AKQA, Grey, JWT, Ogilvy, VML, Y&R and media agencies Essence, MediaCom, Mindshare and Wavemaker (apologies to the much-missed Maxus.)
According to WPP this is a matter of “realigning financials” with the Grey brand name living on but, in fact, it looks like a full-on absorption. Grey was already supposed to be part of AKQA, one of the more unlikely consequences of CEO Mark Read’s series of internal mergers a couple of years ago.
A WPP source told Campaign: “AKQA and Grey have built their own individual momentum, and as we prepare to welcome a new global CEO for AKQA it was a good time to look at the best structure to serve the needs of our clients.
“With Grey’s award-winning creative roots and AKQA’s design and technology expertise, the change will allow each agency to focus on its core strengths. Grey will continue to operate as an independent, standalone agency brand within the Ogilvy network, just as it has within AKQA Group.”
Which is a pretty damning admission that the merger of AKQA and Grey was a half-baked idea in the first place. The two had little in common as Grey had fallen precipitously from the days when it was the jewel in WPP’s creative crown under Jim Heakin in the US, David Patton and Chris Hirst in EMEA and high profile creatives Tor Myhren in New York (now at Apple) and Nils Leonard in London (now Uncommon.)
AKQA now faces tough opposition from founder and former CEO Ajaz Ahmed who has formed Studio.One with a host of former AKQA senior execs.
WPP is currently in the throes of replacing its GroupM media holding company with WPP Media, again moving to one set of financials with some storied media agencies now names on doors. Ogilvy, mercifully, seems so far immune from such changes apart from its remit expanding with Grey. Ogilvy UK boss James Murphy now sits atop the old Ogilvy, New Commercial Arts, the agency he founded with David Golding and others and sold to WPP, and Grey. In Campaign’s last School Reports Grey London had 176 staff handling just £49m in billings.
WPP CEO Mark Read now seems intent on creating a leaner, more profitable outfit after years of vying to remain the biggest ad holding company. The WPP share price has been showing some rather needed signs of life recently, possibly because job losses (and there’ll be more at GroupM and, now, Grey) boost short term profits. But losing brands and people also has a cost, not just severance payments but client loyalty too.
So far the dog that hasn’t barked in all of this is chairman Philip Jansen, a former CEO of BT. All these recent developments have leaked out prior to WPP announcements, which is not a good look. Jansen needs to say if he supports Read and shares this vision for the company.
