GroupM officially rebrands to WPP Media
The GroupM brand has been retired, with WPP’s global media arm officially rebranding to WPP Media.
Described as a “AI-driven media company”, the new WPP Media will be powered by WPP Open, the holdco’s AI operating system.
Globally, WPP Media claims billings of more than US$60 billion (AU$94 billion), working with “more than 75%” of the world’s leading advertisers in over 80 markets.
According to the media release, WPP Media’s agencies — Mindshare, Wavemaker, and Essencemediacom — will continue to provide clients as dedicated brands within the company. However, WPP Media’s integrated offering will unify media, data, and production.
It will leverage WPP Open alongside the wider WPP agency network. WPP claims to be “the industry’s most advanced” platform for scaled and integrated creative, production, data, commerce, and personalised media delivery services.
“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,” Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said in the release.
“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.”
WPP Media’s CEO, Brian Lesser, said it 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,” he said in the release.
Globally however, the workforce has spent the past couple of weeks preparing for major impacts.
In the US, staffers prepared for significant change after CEO Sharb Farjami shared at an company-wide town hall that “about 40%-45%” of its workforce would be “impacted” by the rebrand.
Asia is also feeling the effects, with Campaign Asia-Pacific reporting several markets are also beginning staff layoffs. According to its reports, the Indonesian office is feeling the pinch the most with several leadership roles eliminated.
WPP has also consolidated its creative and communications arms in recent years.
In 2023, the network announced the merger of its creative agencies VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, bringing the VML name out of retirement. The change took effect on January 1, 2024.
Shortly after, it revealed plans to merge its communication agencies Hill & Knowlton and BCW, to form Burson. The name also returns to the WPP stable after retiring in early 2018 when it was merged with Cohn & Wolfe. The merger took effect on July 1, 2024.
In late 2024, it also wholly acquired T&Pm, which was born out of a partnership between The&Partnership and mSix&Partners. T&Pm has AI at the forefront of everything it does, and as part of the move, it also placed WPP Open at the core of its marketing models.
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They must have used AI to come up with this rebrand…