May 7, 2025 | SIGN UP
Michael Bürgi
SENIOR EDITOR, MEDIA BUYING AND PLANNING
Earlier this week, news broke that WPP plans to rebrand its media agency unit GroupM to WPP Media. On the surface of it, no big deal, right? After all, Omnicom's media arm is Omnicom Media Group, Dentsu has Dentsu Media, Publicis Media is part of that holding company, etc. Even Havas Media Network invokes its French parent's name.
But the move is necessary if GroupM is to shed its recent history of challenge that's been embodied by lackluster financial results, more client losses than gains and some degree of executive turnover. WPP Media may not be the most exciting name, but it embodies a fresh start under relatively new CEO Brian Lesser, who it's fairly certain will be given enough runway to get the unit back to growth.
For now, WPP Media's brands -- Mindshare, Wavemaker and EssenceMediacom -- will continue to exist, but in name only and not as individual P&Ls. They might as well be one agency. And that will come at a personnel cost, as thousands are expected to laid off among the 40,000 currently employed by GroupM, er WPP Media. The CEO of another media agency told me, "Brands want to invest in brands." But is it still a brand if it's only a name? Many would argue no, it isn't.
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