Back in 2003, Sir Martin Sorrell, a titan of advertising, launched GroupM with a clear goal: combine the budgets of WPP’s media agencies, Mindshare, MediaCom, and later Wavemaker and Essence, to negotiate rock-bottom prices for TV and print ads. Size was their secret weapon, and they used it masterfully.
Fast forward to May 28, 2025, and WPP drops a bombshell: GroupM is gone. In its place rises WPP Media, a name that screams reinvention. This isn’t just a fresh coat of paint—it’s a gut renovation for an industry where the old playbook’s been shredded. The days of strong-arming for TV spots and full-page ads are fading. Now, it’s all about real-time auctions, fragmented digital spaces, and algorithms that call the shots. As WPP’s boss Mark Read puts it, “GroupM was built for a world where size ruled. WPP Media is about AI, data, and moving fast.”
Why ditch the name?
Could they have kept GroupM and just tweaked the engine? Sure, maybe. But that would’ve been like trying to turn a tanker with a tugboat. GroupM had grown into a beast, four global CEOs, four profit centres, and enough internal turf wars to make a soap opera blush. Keeping the name would’ve whispered “same old, same old” when WPP needed a battle cry. Clients are done with the holding-company fog; they want one contract, one data stream, one team. WPP Media delivers that by collapsing the old hierarchies, goodbye, multiple CEOs; hello, single profit pool under new chief Brian Lesser. It’s a signal to everyone: we’re not just buying ads anymore; we’re building a smarter machine.
The big bet on AI
Here’s the real story: WPP Media is WPP’s moonshot to turn the world’s biggest media buyer into a tech powerhouse. They’re pouring £300 million a year into WPP Open, a slick AI platform that ties together media, creative, and commerce data in real time. Think of it as the brain that powers everything. Recent moves tell the tale: snapping up InfoSum in April 2025 for privacy-safe data crunching, grabbing a stake in Stability AI for cutting-edge video and audio generation, and rolling out Copilot for Planners, a tool that spits out thousands of budget scenarios faster than you can say “ROI.” WPP Media isn’t just buying ad space anymore—it’s aiming to be the smartest consultant in the room, blending creative, commerce, and media to tell clients exactly where to place their bets.
This shift comes with a flashy new B2B campaign, “Transforming How We Create,” built entirely on WPP Open. It’s a promise to 75% of the world’s top advertisers: we’ll deliver personalisation at scale, no matter how messy the media world gets.
What’s in it for clients?
So, what’s the payoff? First, simplicity: one contract instead of juggling four. A single dashboard where marketers can watch creative production, ad spend, and sales data dance together in real time. Fewer excuses, too, with one logo on the invoice, there’s nowhere to hide if KPIs tank or a brand-safety screw-up hits the fan. The old agency brands, Mindshare, Wavemaker, EssenceMediacom, stick around as client-facing storefronts to keep things familiar, but they’re all drinking from the same tech and talent pool now.
WPP’s not making this move in a vacuum. Publicis has been waving its “Power of One” flag for years, raking in fat 18-20% margins. Accenture Song is muscling in with creative-meets-commerce deals. And then there’s the looming shadow of Omnicom’s $13 billion bid to swallow Interpublic Group. If that deal clears the FTC and India’s CCI, it’ll birth a 120,000-strong behemoth promising $750 million in savings and margins that could top Publicis. WPP Media’s single-profit experiment isn’t just about keeping up—it’s about staying ahead of a potential Omnicom-IPG titan that could redraw the industry map overnight.
Will it work?
If WPP Media just slaps a new name on the same old silos, clients will see through it faster than a bad ad. The single profit pool and shared talent bench need to deliver real change—less bickering, more action. Some marketers love the creative spark that comes from agencies competing on a roster; a unified voice might dull that edge. But with one badge, there’s no dodging accountability. Miss a target? That’s on WPP Media, not some sub-brand.
This is WPP’s shot to rewrite its story. GroupM was the engine that powered the digital ad boom. WPP Media is built for what’s next: a world where AI doesn’t just optimise ads—it redefines how brands connect with people.
