The UK advertising group is planning to bring its three main creative advertising agencies under one banner, WPP Creative, as its new chief executive Cindy Rose battles to turn around the business amidst AI disruption and plummeting shares.
The plans are part of a sweeping restructure to simplify its sprawling operations that will be unveiled later this month. It would be one of the first major moves by Cindy Rose, who became CEO in September.
WPP will retain existing creative agencies, including Ogilvy, VML and AKQA, but move them under one banner with the aim of simplifying its offering to clients by bringing in more integrated services across the businesses. WPP Creative will sit alongside its already integrated media and production divisions, WPP Media and WPP Production. The separate agencies are expected to continue to function independently and the group will keep their brands in the market.
Industry sources have suggested the new stream will be run by Jon Cook, the global chief executive of VML.
The news follows WPP’s shares taking a major hit last week, falling 11.8 per cent on the London Stock Exchange. It has been attributed to AI threats to established data and advertising businesses.
To combat this the board of the struggling British advertising network was in New York for a two-day meeting last week where the plans were discussed, according to insiders who spoke with the Financial Times. The proposals are still being finalised and could still change, they said, ahead of an announcement towards the end of February.
WPP is also expected to reveal fresh plans to invest more in AI services, with executives stressing the need to move faster with its own internal AI tools to counter the threat of tech groups rolling out rival services that could steal away its business.
The changes are due to be announced by WPP chief executive Cindy Rose on 26 February as part of a strategic review. WPP’s financial results for 2025 will also be announced at the same time.
