One of the industry’s worst kept secrets has come to fruition as GroupM becomes WPP Media, uniting “media, data and production capabilities to deliver creative personalisation at scale for advertisers”.
The rebrand was first revealed by the US advertising title AdAge earlier this month, amid an internal memo by GroupM global CEO Brian Lesser that its agency brands—Wavemaker, EssenceMediacom and Mindshare—would evolve “to house dedicated client teams, but no longer operate as distinct business units”.
WPP Media has repositioned its business as an “AI-driven media company” that willWPP’s wider global agency networks and capabilities through WPP Open.
WPP Open is being backed by an annual £300 million (A$627 million) investment and partnerships with AI companies.
The aim is to fully integrate WPP Media’s offering to clients to “unify media, data and production and holistically manage their owned, earned, shared and paid activities to deliver personalisation at scale”.
WPP Media chief executive Brian Lesser said: “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 behaviour and unlock the limitless opportunities for growth that AI will create.”
WPP Media manages more than $60 billion in annual media investment and works with more than 75 per cent of the world’s leading advertisers in over 80 markets.
In Australia, GroupM handles $1.41 billion in billings and was ranked as the leading media agency network in RECMA’s latest Qualitative Domestic Report.
As part of the global restructure, WPP plans to cut costs by eliminating duplicate roles with redundancies having already been taking place in the US.
B&T understands the situation in Australia is vastly different and the global plan is unlikely to have much impact.
GroupM’s Australian agencies have outperformed their global counterparts and are advanced in integrating its operating structure.
