Brian Wieser is heading back to the agency world, joining WPP’s media buying unit GroupM as global president of business intelligence, the company said Wednesday. He will report to GroupM CEO Kelly Clark. It might seem like an odd time to jump to an agency, given the volatility of the industry and the epic amount […]
As brands increasingly implement global data strategies, agencies must get creative about collecting data in emerging markets. Outside of data-mature markets, such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, access to data varies. In Latin America, Asia and other emerging markets, programmatic spend is lower and deterministic data sits behind walled gardens, making it […]
Mel Edwards, the newly minted global CEO of Wunderman Thompson, has a huge job ahead of her. When the agency officially launches this year, it will have 20,000 employees in 90 markets across 200 global offices, and eventually, Edwards wants everyone in each market working together. “We need a little more time because of the […]
As clients tighten their belts and put accounts up for review, IPG media agency UM is focused on working strategically with data and analytics to grow clients’ businesses. That often means sitting out a major pitch if it’s clear the focus will be on cost cutting. “It goes against how agencies have been trained, which […]
Every January, agency executives make their annual pilgrimage to CES to check out the latest trends in consumer technology and distill them into business ideas for clients. At WPP, newly merged agencies VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson are taking a wider purview at the show in keeping with their broadened services. Where Y&R and J. Walter […]
Agency cost-cutting and deteriorating trust with clients hasn’t deterred Marla Kaplowitz, CEO of the agency trade organization the 4A’s, from fighting. “[Taking] a business problem and coming up with an incredibly elegant and different creative solution is what the best agencies do,” she said. Agencies have been tarred by scandals around transparency, thanks to the […]
About five years ago, marketers eagerly launched pilots across all kinds of emerging technology. Now that their digital businesses are maturing, they’re growing out of that shiny object syndrome and are looking to turn projects into revenue streams. For design innovation agency Fjord, that has shifted the focus with clients from experimental work to consulting […]
Andy Main, head of Deloitte Digital, is a little tired of hearing people say consultancies are trying to muscle the agencies off of Madison Avenue. “I’d actually say the agencies are trying to copy the Deloitte Digitals of the world,” Main said. “And when someone copies you, I guess you should be flattered.” Unlike Accenture, […]
Two years ago, CRM and digital agency MRM//McCann was in a tough place. CEO Michael McLaren stepped down in May 2016, just two months after the agency lost Verizon’s digital account. But things turned around for MRM under global president and COO Kate MacNevin, who led the agency after McLaren’s departure and was promoted in […]
GroupM said Wednesday that Wavemaker global CEO Tim Castree has been named CEO of GroupM North America. Castree does not yet have a successor and will stay on in an advisory role at Wavemaker until a replacement is named. Castree’s big task will be to get GroupM back to growth in North America, its slowest […]
