MxMIndia

Tag: WPP

  • For 2025 apprenticeship programme

    WPP seeks next generation of creative technologists

    Marketing services conglomerate WPP has announced a search for 16 talented individuals to join its Creative Tech Apprenticeship. The nine-month paid programme is designed to equip “passionate creatives with next-generation technological skills”, preparing them for careers in advertising, marketing and production.

    Following two successful years – where the majority of apprentices received job offers from WPP’s global production arm Hogarth – the 2025 programme will begin in October. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to collaborate on real-world projects with globally recognised brands, all clients of WPP. Furthermore, they will receive exclusive training from some of the world’s most famous technology companies working with WPP.

    According to a communique, classes will cover essential skills for the future of marketing and advertising, including creative coding, generative AI, game engines, virtual production, advanced machinery and more.

    Said Stephan Pretorius, Chief Technology Officer of WPP: “New technologies such as generative AI have rewritten the rules of marketing. At WPP, we’re not just adapting, we’re building the next generation of creative technologists. Our apprenticeship programme empowers diverse talent with the skills and mindset needed to thrive in this exciting new era of creativity.”

    Added Kat Sullivan, WPP’s Senior Director of Interaction Design, who also co-founded the programme with WPP’s SVP of Creative AI, Perry Nightingale: “Witnessing the transformation of our previous apprentices into creative technologists has been awe-inspiring. We like to call them ‘ripples’, as their global impact and ripple effect have been profound, from showcasing innovations at creativity conferences worldwide to helping demystify AI for top executives at some of our biggest clients.”

  • Burson announces market leader appointments in Asia-Pacific

    Deepshikha Dharmaraj to head Burson in India

    Deepshikha Dharmaraj
    Deepshikha Dharmaraj

    Burson, the recently reconfigured communications network of WPP, has announced its leadership for APAC. Deepshikha Dharmaraj to head Burson in India. Dharmaraj has been with Burson (and its various avatars) since over three decades.

    Said HS Chung, North APAC CEO, Burson : “In today’s fast-evolving environment, clients need the best talent and capabilities to solve their most complex challenges. With our extensive footprint and reach across APAC, clients will gain access to a diverse team of specialists with decades of experience building and protecting reputation for multinational businesses in Asia and Asian enterprises overseas.”

    Added Adrian Warr, who will become South APAC CEO, Burson, as of September 16: “Innovation and creativity are at the heart of our commitment to delivering unparalleled value for our clients in APAC.  Our world-class talent will lead through exceptional creative thinking and bring innovation in action to build reputation capital as a competitive advantage for our clients, today and into the future.”

    Other than Dharmaraj, the other leaders are:

    • Tom Horn, Market Leader, Burson Australia & New Zealand
    • Claire Li, CEO, Burson Greater China
    • Marianne Admardatine, CEO, Burson Indonesia
    • Tsuyoshi Takemura, CEO, Burson Japan
    • Justin Then, CEO, Burson Malaysia
    • Rikki Jones, CEO, Burson Group Singapore and President, GCI Health Asia- Pacific
    • Cindy Lim, CEO, Burson Singapore
    • Wachiraporn  Pornpitayalert,  Market  Leader, Burson Thailand

    Chung will continue to lead Burson Korea as CEO in addition to her role as North APAC CEO.

  • To revolutionise B2B Marketing with Generative AI

    WPP and IBM team up on AI

    WPP and IBM have announced the launch of a new business-to-business (B2B) solution powered by ’s AI and data platform Watsonx designed to reinvent how B2B marketers identify and engage clients and prospects across the buying journey.

    Alan Webber, Program Vice President – Digital Platform Ecosystems at analyst firm IDC believes “this product and partnership have the potential to be an exponential force multiplier for the Fortune 1000.” Said Stephan Pretorius, Chief Technology Officer at WPP: “Our clients want to get in front of the right people, at the right time, on the right channels, with the right message. However, most solutions in the market today are designed for consumer marketing, targeted at sole decision-makers at a single point of purchase. WPP Open for B2B, and our collaboration with IBM and LinkedIn, will help solve some incredibly complex challenges in the B2B marketing space, using the best of WPP and IBM technology and expertise.”

    Added Jonathan Adashek, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at IBM:“B2B marketers have been focused on creating truly personalized, relevant and consistent experiences for buying groups at scale for years. Our collaboration with WPP and LinkedIn provides real-time, actionable insights that are based on trusted data. We are excited to create and use these new, powerful and trusted AI solutions to deliver a force multiplier for B2B marketing.”

  • Introduced a series of products and programmes to empower

    WPP packages comms business under Burson

    WPP has launched Burson as a global communications agency.  All of this means a new brand identity and client and talent offerings.

    Said Corey duBrowa, Global CEO, Burson: “Businesses and organizations are operating in a constant state of complexity and uncertainty, marked by rapid advancements in technology, economic volatility, wide-ranging activism, and social and geopolitical turbulence. A strong reputation grounded in action, communicated clearly and creatively, and deployed as capital across stakeholders will enable clients to succeed in this environment. Reputation is a company’s most valuable asset for enhancing perception and growing performance, preference, valuation and return.”

    So what’s new? Notes a communique: “Burson is introducing a new framework and consulting methodology to assess and actively manage “reputation capital” across four pillars: Company actions, communications, social narratives and stakeholder beliefs. Underpinning this work is the Burson Innovation Portfolio, a body of AI-enabled tools that, when paired with human intelligence, enables faster, better insights; precision audience targeting; and culturally relevant creative. These solutions – core components of the PR Studio of WPP Open, WPP’s AI-powered marketing operating system – include five suites that serve a continuum of client needs:”

    Said AnnaMaria DeSalva, Global Chairman, Burson: “In today’s complex operating environment, business leaders are converting pervasive risks into opportunities for innovation and value creation,” “The Burson Innovation Portfolio, which draws on the technology strengths of our combined agencies and WPP, reflects our promise to combine artificial and human intelligence in ways that help our clients succeed at the intersection of risk, creativity and reinvention. Leading companies are already leveraging these solutions to build and protect reputation in highly material situations. We are committed to both our clients and our employees that Burson will be an engine for their growth and for the enablement of the transformations that the world needs now.”

    While Burson will be the mother ship, a few existing agencies will be there as well:

    Axicom for tech brands and brands with a tech story, Burson Buchanan, the financial communications and capital markets advisory firm, GCI Health, the full-service global healthcare agency inspired by people and Hill & Knowlton, an agency that was earlier called IPAN.

    Said duBrowa:  “A powerful differentiator across the Burson Group is the considerable number of former chief communications officers and senior client advisers among our ranks who have hands-on experience managing the issues and opportunities that clients face every day. AnnaMaria and I both had long careers in-house, and we know the enormous value this perspective brings to clients. Our team of seasoned counselors – with their access to industry-leading, AI-first technologies and creative firepower – is unrivaled in the marketplace.”

    The communique we’ve received is silent on Burson in India. But we guess it be a bit of the same, for now.

  • To help drive growth and shape digital narratives

    Dimpy Yadav joins Mindshare as Head of Digital Strategy

    Mindshare, the media services company that is part of GroupM and WPP, appoints Dimpy Yadav as the new Head of Digital Strategy. Dimpy’s expertise and experience will play a pivotal role in shaping Mindshare’s digital narrative and enhancing our digital product offerings for both existing and new clients. She will be based out of Mindshare’s Gurgaon office.

    Amin Lakhani, CEO of Mindshare – South Asia said: “Dimpy’s wealth of experience and expertise will be invaluable in propelling our digital strategy forward. Her deep understanding of the digital landscape and track record of driving impactful results align perfectly with our vision for innovation and growth.

  • To drive further business growth

    Priya Barve joins WPP as Client Lead for HUL

    Priya Barve
    Priya Barve

    Priya Barve has joined WPP as India’s Client Lead for Hindustan Unilever Limited. Barve brings over two decades of experience in advertising and marketing, and has held leadership roles with Google, Mondelez, and Leo Burnett across Asia-Pacific.

    Commenting on the appointment, WPP Chief Client Officer for India, Shubha George, said: “A consummate professional, Priya brings a wealth of experience in aiding business success and digital transformation, as well as key local insights that needed to win in many Indias. HUL is one of WPP’s key clients, one with whom we have had the pleasure of working with for a number of years. We are delighted to see Priya joining the team to lead such an important client relationship and look forward to driving further business growth and innovation together with Unilever.”

  • To enhance growth trajectory

    Ex-WPP Nidhee Kekre joins Whisper Media’s Advisory Board

    Nidhee Kekre
    Nidhee Kekre

    Whisper Media, the tech-driven media company, has appointed Nidhee Kekre to its advisory board. Kekre joins Whisper Media following a successful tenure as the WPP Client Lead for Unilever, South Asia.  Before her tenure at WPP, Kekre worked with Kantar, JetAir, Essar Aegis and Godrej.

    LS Krishnan
    LS Krishnan

    Said LS Krishnan, CEO & Director, Whisper Media: “We are delighted to have Nidhee on our advisory board. Her proven track record in driving business strategies and nurturing client relationships aligns perfectly with our vision of being a valuable client partner. We look forward to leveraging her insights to drive transformative initiatives and enhance our offerings in the FMCG sector. Nidhee’s extensive experience in business strategy, coupled with a deep understanding of consumer dynamics, makes her a valuable addition to Whisper Media’s advisory board,”

  • Culmination of a five-year strategy, notes a communique

    WPP’s Landor & Fitch is now just Landor

    By Our Staff

     

    Landor & Fitch, the brand and design group, has rebranded itself as Landor. The rebrand is the culmination of a five-year strategy that has seen the WPP company’s consulting, design and experience offer expand dramatically.

     

    Said Jane Geraghty, Group Global CEO: “Over the last five years, our business has evolved, and our offer has expanded significantly. We’ve welcomed world-class specialists in sonic, motion and workspace design, and today, most importantly, we have come together as one team with a shared culture. United in our drive to make a positive difference.”

     

    Added Teemu Suviala, Global Chief Creative Officer: “Our new brand charts an ambitious course for our future. We use our new brand colour, the ultramarine blue, to signal the redefining of the brand and design category. Our design and expression capabilities are now unparalleled. For our own brand, we tapped into brilliant creative minds from around our network, just as we would do for our clients, to create a brand that comes to life in every facet – from visual and verbal to sonic and motion.”

     

  • The consumer is changing. The brands needs to change. Should not the communication partner change too, asks Avik Chatt…

    Thompson, with a ‘p’

     

     

    By Avik Chattopadhyay

     

    Avik ChattopadhyayHere I am, on a blue-blooded advertising and marketing platform, taking a chance at expressing my opinion on WPP finally doing away with the famed “J. Walter Thompson” name. I am not an advertising professional, so do I have the very credibility to write on this subject? I think I do as I have been a ‘client’ for almost two decades dealing with various advertising agencies, including the one with a ‘p’.

     

    Since WPP decided to give the agency a new name, or impose a name of an existing much smaller agency on the bigger one, many advertising professionals have lamented and lambasted the decision. “How can you take away such a venerable name?” has been the common refrain. “Who on earth knows the new name? No one!” has been the second most popular one. Most of these people have had careers in HTA / JWT / WT and have moved on in life.

     

    So, will the name change see a change in business? Will it see a change in the ethos and culture? Will clients leave as they do not like the new name? Will employees leave as clients are leaving? Will the entire business come crashing down?

     

    As someone had told me early in my career, “An agency is as good as the client.” This adage has had a 100% success rate in my professional career till now across eight organisations, six as a client and two as an agency. At every stage, whatever the context or occasion, the communication output has been as effective, efficient and enriching as the quality of the brief, the level of the involvement and most importantly, the depth of the understanding. Right across conventional advertising to media planning to digital marketing to out-of-home to on-ground activation and event management.

     

    Just like brands have grown being with the right communications partner, so have the partners grown continuing with the right brands. The relationship is mutually impactful. If HTA / JWT / WP is the intellectual behemoth that it is today, it is because its relationships with certain brand behemoths have endured over decades. And these relationships have built its reputation. Just like any superstar, more than 50% of its work would be mediocre or pedestrian but it is that balance that has created the magic for it.

     

    Over the years I have realised that using “partner” in place of agency and “brand” in place of client works better if you keep repeating them a thousand times in your head as then you start respecting the agency more as a partner and a client more as a brand. That makes a huge difference in the relationship and the quality of the communication.

     

    Fiat became FCA. Peugeot became PSA. Then Fiat and Peugeot became Stellantis. One may argue that only the corporation names have changed while the customer-facing brands have remained the same. Okay. Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz became Novartis. ICI became Akzo Nobel. Sakura became Konika. Vam Organics became Jubilant. Phoenix became Firefox. Danone’s Bio became Activia. Bombay became Mumbai. The legacy brands wore new clothes and went about their work. The earth did not part consuming them for this act of blasphemy.

     

    In fact, most of them benefited from donning a new name. it gave a new sense of purpose and direction. And the customer was the biggest gainer. In the enthusiasm of the new name, new ways of customer delivery, product innovation and delight were conjured up by the same team, almost like saying, “We have not only changed, we have gotten better!”

     

    Advertising has evolved into communication. Communication is going through a tectonic change with the AI interface now rubbing shoulders with the creative human being. Mediums and methods are changing as rapidly as you can say “James Walter Thompson”. The new name VML has been consciously chosen to denote a fresh look at the world of communication. The consumer is changing. The brands needs to change. Should not the communication partner change too? As long as the people are the same and the intellectual capital only increases, the lamenters can rest easy. The clients will not run away. Neither will the employees. Nor will the operating standards fall.

     

    As long as the ‘p’ of Thompson remains intact.

    ‘P’ for partner.

    Cheers.

     

  • To enable omnichannel commerce through in-store and retail media integration

    GroupM partners Criteo to drive commerce media innovation in APAC

    By Our Staff

     

    Criteo, the commerce media company, and GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, announced the first partnership in Asia Pacific (APAC) to  strengthen omnichannel commerce media capabilities for GroupM clients in the region.

     

    Said Anita Munro, Chief Investment Officer, GroupM APAC: “The innovation in commerce that will be made possible through this collaboration with Criteo is a significant and hugely exciting development for advertisers in APAC, and for our industry as a whole. Combining Criteo’s commerce media capabilities with our own not only strengthens our commerce offering in the region, but also allows us to set a new standard for what’s possible in advertising by bringing products, media, clients and consumers closer than ever before.”

     

    Added Taranjeet Singh, Managing Director, Enterprise, APAC at Criteo: “Together with GroupM, we are honored to usher in the next era of omnichannel marketing in the region. This partnership represents a union of industry leadership, and we are optimistic that it will drive greater integration across omnichannel campaigns and elevate success for brands and advertisers.”

     

  • VML will be the world's largest creative company, notes a communique, combining brand experience, customer experience and commerce

    Wunderman Thompson + VMLY&R = VML, effective Jan 1, 2024

    By Our Staff

     

    WPP has  announced the merger of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R. The combined entity will be known as VML and will be the industry’s largest creative company, notes a communique. VML – in the new avatar – will be operational from January 1, 2024.

     

    VML unites the two creative agencies each with  commerce, customer experience and marketing technology capabilities. VML will be equipped to support clients on creative brand growth strategy and transformation initiatives, all powered by data operations, technology platforms and partnerships with leading technology companies. It will also provide an exceptional offer for healthcare companies and B2B marketers.

     

    “Respective client bases, functional expertise and geographic strengths mean the agencies are highly complementary and the combined company will have more than 30,000 people in 64 markets,” noted a communique, adding:  “Jon Cook becomes VML Global CEO and Mel Edwards VML Global President, with the broader management team bringing together strong leaders from across both companies. “

     

    Said Mark Read, CEO of WPP: “Scale matters in today’s world as AI and technology transform marketing and global clients look to simplify their relationships. VML will combine world-class creativity with deep expertise in data, marketing technology and platforms to deliver competitive advantage for ambitious brands. It’s another important step forward for WPP as we continue to reshape our offer for the future, simplify our business and unlock further benefits of scale. Separately, Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R are two of WPP’s strongest and best-performing agencies. Together, they will deliver an even wider, fully integrated suite of capabilities to our clients in every market. Marketers today expect seamless links between their brand advertising and technology solutions and platforms. VML provides an immediate solution to this business imperative.”

     

    Added Jon Cook, Global CEO: “The future of building strong brands and businesses requires the interconnectivity of brand experience, commerce and customer experiences. We recognised the immediate opportunity to create what every consultancy and advertising agency aspires to build with the formation of VML. We’re especially excited to present our new offering to the industry as we don’t believe there is another company as creatively awarded with our depth in customer experience and commerce.”

     

    Sid Mel Edwards, Global President: “This is the right suite of capabilities, offered at just the right moment, at unprecedented scale. It’s incredibly exciting because with this new agency we have the chance to shape the future of modern marketing in every key market around the world. The opportunities it affords our people and the growth we can deliver for our clients at a global scale make this a real game-changer for each business and the wider industry.”

     

    mmediate leadership appointments include Debbi Vandeven, Global Chief Creative Officer; Eric Campbell, Global Chief Client Officer; Juan Pablo Jurado, CEO LATAM; Ewen Sturgeon, CEO EMEA; and Audrey Kuah and Yi-Chung Tay, Co-CEOs APAC.

     

    Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R have also partnered globally across clients such as Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company and more.

     

  • To help clients scale quickly with innovative commerce solutions

    WPP & Shopify join hands

    By Our Staff

     

    WPP has partnered with Shopify to bring the full value of the platform to enterprise clients. This partnership brings the companies together to jointly develop products with shared insights.

     

    As part of the partnership, Shopify will collaborate with WPP on product development in order to build targeted solutions across sectors including consumer packaged goods, health and wellness, and fashion.

     

    Said Mark Read, CEO of WPP: “The commerce sector has seen an incredible explosion in growth over the last few years, which is why Shopify is a natural fit for our clients given their enterprise credibility and speed at which they innovate. As WPP continues to scale and strengthen our commerce offerings and expertise, I’m confident that this partnership will lead to more growth opportunities for the brands we work with.”

     

    Added Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify: “For two decades, we have been perfecting Shopify to enable leading enterprise brands to reach their consumers directly and accelerate their business globally. We’re excited to unlock even more opportunities for global commerce innovation and help more brands future-proof their businesses by partnering with WPP and their world-class clients.”