WPP Announces Wave Of New Mergers

WPP-Announces-Wave-of-New-Mergers

WPP announced three new mergers that would consolidate its growth from 2021 and center technology in its operations.

Essence and MediaCom, media agencies under the GroupM umbrella, will merge next year as EssenceMediaCom, having previously combined to serve such clients as Google and NBCUniversal.

Led by current MediaCom CEO Nick Lawson, EssenceMediaCom will house 10,000 employees across 125 offices.

In addition, Mindshare will merge with global performance agency Neo, while GroupM Services will join forces with Xaxis and Finecast to form GroupM Nexus.

GroupM Nexus is set to become a tech powerhouse overseeing more than 2 million GroupM campaigns each year, uniting the group’s addressable content and TV, AI, and omnichannel solutions from Finecast, Xaxis, and GroupM Services. 9,000 GroupM Nexus employees will support the cross-channel, AI-powered performance platform.

A tech-enabled future

Following the 2021 launch of Choreograph, WPP’s data and technology company, the mergers are designed further to simplify the multinational’s operations and technology integration.

The strategy positions technology and AI at the heart of WPP business, according to Christian Juhl, the global CEO at GroupM. “We are passionate about the opportunity technology gives us to help our clients navigate constant change and achieve their growth goals,” he said. “The future of marketing is outcome-driven, supported by audience-first planning and continually improving, AI-enabled performance standards.”

Juhl added that “a tech-enabled future” would help clients navigate the changing market and drive growth, in line with the company’s “vision for an advertising ecosystem that works for everyone.”

The Essence and MediaCom collaboration has already helped Google deliver on its marketing goals, the tech giant confirmed. “The combination of smart insights, analytical rigor, and expansive creative thinking, scaled around the world, has been unlocking new opportunities and delivering stronger impact,” said Joshua Spanier, VP, marketing at Google. “We’re excited about this next step forward in our work together.”