At a briefing session in Cannes, executives announced new tools for advertisers and laid claim to being the home of search.

If the job of running an agency holding company has become performative, constrained and algorithmic, why pretend it requires a human?

The group has also for the first time provided a split view of ad revenue, comparing how the top 350 largest global brands spend relative to SMBs.

He will step down on 31 December, with the search for a successor already under way.

The marketing sector has no reason to be built on school results. We have a duty to represent the richly diverse population in both our internal teams and the work we produce.

At SXSW London, Mark Read admitted “there will be fewer people involved” in the work media companies do because of AI, but promoted using AI to unlock greater effectiveness and efficiency for clients.

Open Intelligence is trained to understand and predict audience behaviour and marketing performance, learning from trillions of signals.

The holding group has rebranded its media investment arm to WPP Media, a “fully integrated, AI-powered company”.

OOH is now more a performance than a poster and changing the way we think about public spaces. This real-world presence builds real connections. 

Agency leaders from GroupM, Stagwell, VCCP and the7stars share their thoughts on the contentious topic.