WPP tries to get on front foot outlining plans for new WPP Media
After being caught on the back foot by a series of leaks, WPP Media is now official.
And here’s what they say:
WPP Media launches as fully integrated, AI-powered media company
Connected by WPP Open, WPP Media unites media, data and production capabilities to deliver creative personalization at scale for advertisers.
Reflecting growing demand from marketers for fully integrated capabilities, WPP Media replaces GroupM as the name of WPP’s global media company. WPP Media manages more than $60 billion in annual media investment and works with more than 75% of the world’s leading advertisers in over 80 markets. Mindshare, Wavemaker and EssenceMediacom will continue to provide clients with dedicated teams as brands within WPP Media, leveraging common capabilities, technology and support functions.
WPP Media is seamlessly connected with WPP’s wider global agency networks and capabilities through WPP Open – WPP’s AI-enabled marketing system – creating the industry’s most advanced platform for scaled and integrated creative, production, data, commerce and personalized media delivery services. WPP Open is backed by £300m of investment each year and partnerships with the leading AI companies.
Brian Lesser, CEO of WPP Media and the architect of the changes from GroupM, says: “Consumers already expect advertising to be relevant and engaging and buying experiences to be seamless; those expectations are only going to accelerate in the age of AI. WPP Media is built for a world in which media is everywhere and in everything.
“By investing in our AI-powered product, integrating our offer with data and technology, and equipping our people with future-facing skills, we’re helping our clients to stay ahead of rapidly changing consumer behavior and unlock the limitless opportunities for growth that AI will create.”
WPP CEO Mark Read, who, one suspects, will stand or fall dependent on the revival of WPP’s media operation, says: “We believe that WPP is the strongest marketing partner for the world’s leading brands in the AI era, where technology and talent converge. The move to WPP Media continues our strategy to simplify and integrate our offer for clients. While GroupM was built for a time when media scale mattered most, WPP Media reflects the power of AI, data and technology and simpler, more integrated solutions.
“Our vision for the future is clear – marketing that is informed by data, led by seamlessly connected teams of brilliant people, and full of new opportunities for our clients.”
And there’s a B2B ad campaign to go with it:
It’s quite a brave move to try to own AI when everyone can have a crack at it, but we’ll see. CEO Read has been open in interviews that he’s trying to catch up personalisation leader Publicis with in-house system WPP Open.
In the meantime he has to contend with the inevitable redundancies incurred in moving from a media holding company, in effect, in GroupM to one giant media operator. WPP would be better off saying, in broad terms, how many jobs will go rather than this stuff dripping out piecemeal. Which is what Omnicom and Interpublic are doing prior to their planned merger and, more or less, getting away with it but they don’t have WPP’s issues.
WPP’s half year trading update, the company has already forecast no growth or a 2% decline, will be critical. A failure to meet this modest expectation could well be fatal for the current management.
There is not a damn thing differentiated about either the posters or the film.
A better headline might be: More Ads, Less Staff
Still, who believes this advances the media component from the final 3 minutes of a WPP pitch?
A rare miss for Mother with that iShares ad. iShares has done interesting work in the past, this is comparatively boring.