Former Baidu president joins WPP board October 26, 2020 The former boss of Chinese search engine Baidu has joined the board of London-based advertising giant WPP, the company confirmed this morning. Ya-Qin Zhang, who was president of Baidu for five years starting in 2014, will formally take up the role as a non-executive director on WPP’s board early next year. Roberto Quarta, chairman of [...]
WPP revenue slumps as clients slash marketing budgets during Covid-19 crisis April 29, 2020 WPP today posted a sharp drop in revenue in March as clients across the globe slashed marketing budgets due to the coronavirus crisis. The advertising giant reported a 7.9 per cent fall in like-for-like revenue last month, while revenue slipped 3.3 per cent in the first quarter as a whole. The Covid-19 crisis has taken [...]
WPP pulls dividend, outlook and share buyback as coronavirus hits ad sales March 31, 2020 WPP has cancelled its dividend and share buyback and suspended its guidance for 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic forces a growing number of the advertising giant’s clients to cancel work. The world’s biggest advertising company has launched a cost-cutting drive in response to the outbreak, identifying £800m of savings that can be made for 2020, [...]
WPP snaps up data science firm Sandtable as it doubles down on tech March 5, 2020 WPP today said it has acquired data science company Sandtable as the ailing advertising giant looks to shift its focus to tech. The holding group said it had acquired the London-based firm through its Group M media division. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sandtable, which was founded in 2009, specialises in behavioural analytics, [...]
WPP shares rise as it bags bumper Intel account March 3, 2020 Shares in WPP rose more than three per cent this morning after Intel selected one of the ad giant’s companies as its global creative agency of record. VMLY&R is set to take the lion’s share of Intel’s global creative account, which is estimated at $1.4bn (£1.1bn), according to industry sources. The deal, which is thought [...]
Is the future of the Big Six advertising agencies under threat? March 2, 2020 Navel-gazing about the future is becoming increasingly fashionable in adland. The last few years have been tricky for the industry, as profits have faltered and clients have demanded more and more of the major players. It has led to concerns that the Big Six, the marketing giants which have dominated the sector for the last [...]
WPP shares crash as fourth quarter revenue stalls February 27, 2020 Shares in WPP crashed 15 per cent in early trading after the advertising giant failed to deliver growth in the fourth quarter. The figures Like-for-like revenue less pass through costs fell 1.6 per cent to £10.8bn for the full year. Profit before tax dropped 21.9 per cent to £982m. Net debt was slimmed down from [...]
Former ITV boss Adam Crozier in talks to chair Kantar January 19, 2020 The former chief executive of ITV is in discussions to take over as chairman of market research giant Kantar. Adam Crozier, who led the broadcaster for seven years to 2017, has been approached about the role by Bain, which bought a majority stake in Kantar from WPP for $4bn (£3.2bn) last year. A source close [...]
WPP offloads stake in sports marketing agency Two Circles December 16, 2019 WPP today announced it has sold a majority stake in sports marketing agency Two Circles to New York-based private equity firm Bruin Sports Capital. Two Circles, which sat in WPP’s Group M division, analyses data on sports fans across the world to create marketing campaigns. It counts the Premier League, UEFA, Formula 1, and Wimbledon [...]
WPP leads FTSE 100 risers with surprise return to growth October 25, 2019 WPP led the FTSE 100 risers today as its shares climbed after it posted a surprise return to growth in the third quarter. WPP’s share price rose above six per cent to 971.2p after revealing revenue climbed 5.2 per cent to £3.29bn. Read more: Sainsbury’s heir to the throne quits to join WPP Like-for-like sales [...]