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☆ AI, machine learning, and robotics are making the retail supply chain more efficient and resilient — a welcome shift after several rocky years
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Nicholas Fearn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementIncreasing efficiencies in the retail supply chain is necessaryPaul Maguire, the head of retail delivery at the digital consultancy Endava, told Insider that embarking on a digital transformation was critical to better-connected and more resilient retail supply chains. Digital technology will "close gaps in supply-chain visibility" and help retailers "manage future unforeseen surges in product demand," he said. These innovations will "continue to bolster and streamline the retail supply chain as they become even more sophisticated," Maguire said. AdvertisementAdvertisementTo survive, Perry said that the retail supply chain must take steps to become more agile and flexible. ScanditA data-driven tech strategy can also help retailers appeal to sustainability-conscious consumers.

Persons: —, Paul Maguire, Maguire, John Perry, Perry, they'd, Wunderman, Arifi, Naji, Wunderman Thompson, Samuel Mueller, Mueller Organizations: Service, SCALA Consulting, Wunderman Thompson Commerce & Technology, DFS, Wunderman Thompson Commerce, Technology Locations: Ukraine, SCALA, British

☆ WPP slashes outlook again as China slowdown adds to tech woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Branding signage for WPP, the largest global advertising and public relations agency at their offices in London, Britain, July 17, 2019. "But I do think in the long run that will correct itself and those companies will become drivers of growth." Read said it was also a tougher quarter in China, where consumer spending had not returned as expected. Analysts at Citi said it was striking that the step down was "not necessarily caused by an intensification of the pressures in the second quarter but by a broadening of pressure". WPP said this month it would merge Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R to create the industry's largest creative agency.

Persons: Toby Melville, Mark Read, Read, Wunderman Thompson, Paul Sandle, William James, Jason Neely Organizations: WPP, REUTERS, Tech, Technology, Citi, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, China, GroupM, United States

☆ Insiders question WPP CEO Mark Read's bounceback plan after chaotic period of mergers, account losses, and a stock market slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"OMD and Publicis are winning all the meaningful pitches," said a former WPP agency executive, referring to competitors Omnicom and Publicis Groupe. Further, GroupM is just one of the many parts of WPP's business that Read needs to fix. Insiders describe a whirlwind of change but confusion about the bigger visionA current WPP agency executive said they were frustrated by what they described as a vacuum of information about the bigger strategy for WPP. Getty Images"It feels like something bigger has to happen now," said a current WPP agency executive. The ongoing pitch for Volkswagen's $4 billion global media business underscores the tremendous amount of resources needed to win the proposal, and the huge prize at stake.

Persons: Christian Juhl, San, GroupM, Publicis, Kirk McDonald, McDonald didn't, Ogilvy, it's, Thomas Singlehurst, Juhl, Mark Read's, It's, Read, Martin Sorrell, AKQA, Sard, Wunderman Thompson, J.Walter Thompson, Joanne Wilson, Andrew Scott, Roberto Quarta, Angela Ahrendts, Craig Barritt, —, haven't, Clark, Arthur Sadoun, WPP's Read, Michael Farmer Organizations: WPP, Publicis, L'Oreal, Omnicom Media Group, Pfizer, North, GroupM, Verizon, Discovery, Adobe, Citigroup, Shanghai, reined, AKQA Group, Finsbury Glover, Partners, Young, Rubicam, London Stock Exchange, Brexit, Getty, Burberry, Apple, The New School Industry, VW, Groupe, Epsilon Locations: San Francisco, China, EssenceMediaCom, Kansas, Kansas City, New York, Mayfair , London, New York City

☆ WPP Merging VMLY&R With Wunderman Thompson
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/wpp-merging-vmly-r-with-wunderman-thompson-37ec147b

Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: wpp

☆ WPP Says Growth Target on Track Despite Softness From Some Tech Clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The WPP headquarters in New York. Chief Executive Mark Read said the company has seen some slight softness from some of its technology clients following several years of increasing budgets. Photo: WPPAdvertising holding company WPP PLC says it is on track to hit its organic growth target this year as other parts of its business help offset lower spending from some technology clients. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CMO Today CMO Today delivers the most important news of the day for media and marketing professionals. The measure strips out currency fluctuations, acquisitions, disposals and costs such as expenses billed to clients.

☆ WPP is nearing a deal to acquire influencer marketing specialist The Goat Agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

WPP is in late-stage talks to acquire UK-based influencer marketing agency The Goat Agency, sources said. Sources said the deal could value The Goat Agency between $121 million million and $425 million. The Goat Agency said last year it "was on a fast track" to reach $100 million in revenue. Advertising giant WPP is closing in on a deal to acquire the fast-growing influencer marketing specialist The Goat Agency, according to people familiar with the matter. Sky News in April reported that The Goat Agency had appointed financial advisory firm GP Bullhound to help explore its strategic options.

☆ WPP, Like Ad-Company Rivals, Says It Expects 2023 Growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

WPP PLC is the latest major advertising holding company to say it expects continued growth in 2023 as clients keep spending on its services. PREVIEWWPP said like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs increased 6.9% in 2022 and 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Total revenue in 2022 was £14.4 billion, equivalent to about $17.3 billion, while revenue less pass-through costs was £11.8 billion. Chief Executive Mark Read said that consumers have continued to spend, and clients have continued to invest in their brands. Omnicom Group Inc. and Publicis Groupe SA both said they expect organic revenue growth this year of 3% to 5%.

☆ The 2023 Super Bowl Ads Will Feature Booze, Betting and Jesus
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Megan Graham | Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

The Super Bowl ads on Sunday are poised to promote an unusual mix of alcohol brands, gambling and Jesus. The Super Bowl still regularly draws an audience of around 100 million people, making it TV’s biggest event of the year and advertising’s biggest night. Planters’ Super Bowl ad features comedians mocking Mr. Peanut. The ads are likely to strike a lighter tone than the occasionally somber messages of Super Bowl ads in recent, highly politicized years or the early pandemic, said Anjali S. Bal, an associate professor of marketing at Babson College. Many Super Bowl advertisers have again released their ads well before Super Bowl Sunday to increase their chances of being seen.

☆ Complexity for Marketers Has Meant Opportunity for Ad Agencies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Their performance is striking compared with ad agencies’ plight five years ago: Facebook and Google had established direct relationships with marketers and were winning growing portions of their ad budgets before agencies could even offer their services. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CMO Today CMO Today delivers the most important news of the day for media and marketing professionals. PREVIEWSome major owners of ad agencies watched their growth slow or flatten in 2017 and 2018. Agency companies have responded by building practices to help marketers on platforms like TikTok and Amazon. Marketers navigate outside partnersSome major marketers still want to keep a close handle on some of their data efforts.

☆ Marketers’ Continued Spending Makes WPP Latest Ad Giant to Boost Guidance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

PREVIEWLike-for-like revenue less pass-through costs compares net sales at constant currencies and excludes acquisitions, disposals and costs such as expenses billed to clients. The company saw like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs increase 3.8% in the third quarter, compared with the period a year earlier. WPP Chief Executive Mark Read said the company’s clients’ appear to be continuing their spending in the fourth quarter. “We’re not expecting a slowdown in the fourth quarter,” Mr. Read said. In September, Interpublic Group of Cos.’s Magna unit clipped its U.S. advertising growth forecast for 2023, saying a weaker economic environment is likely to cut into spending.

☆ Unilever Goes Back to the Drawing Board With Accessible Deodorant Design
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

It has been more than 17 months since Unilever PLC-owned deodorant brand Degree said it had created a concept for what it called the “world’s first inclusive” deodorant for people with disabilities. The original design for Degree Inclusive featured a hook for hanging and magnetic closures. An ad for Unilever’s Degree Inclusive deodorant. Unilever introduced Degree Inclusive in April 2021 as a “concept deodorant” designed to make application easier for people with limited mobility. “Inclusive design and industrial design are both quite complex in and of themselves, and when you weave those together…it’s something that doesn’t happen at the snap of the finger,” he said.

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