• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, January 17, 2020

WPP’s Mindshare said today that it has launched several new initiatives with sibling agency Neo designed to address specific client issues including better integration of brand building and demand generation and improved activation across all media channels.

Neo, once an Ogilvy unit, has been part of Mindshare’s Performance Group since a reorganization in 2017.  

The plan now is to integrate the capabilities of Mindshare (MediaPost's 2019 Media Agency Of The Year) and the digitally focused Neo more closely so that Neo becomes more of a “full funnel” agency but with a focus on performance.  

The two agencies will continue to retain their own identities and client rosters.

The two shops are creating a new performance unit called Outcomes that will focus on design and activation of addressable media including search, social programmatic, performance analytics and ecommerce.

The Mindshare Performance Group, which included both Neo and Mindshare’s existing performance teams, is now being replaced by the new Outcomes structure as part of the new go-to-market strategy.

The new unit will have 5,000 specialists worldwide. Its global lead executive will be named at a later date. 

Also in the works: a new media transformation consultancy called Change that will consist of specialists across consulting, data, analytics and technology. Mindshare said that it has been hiring consulting veterans that will help staff the new entity from well-known firms such as Accenture, McKinsey, Dentsu’s Merkle, Publicis Groupe’s Epsilon and Interpublic’s Acxiom.

Change will be led globally by Tom Johnson, chief digital officer, global clients, Mindshare.  It will interconnect with existing consultancy offerings at parents GroupM and WPP.

As part of the new approach, Mindshare is also introducing a new planning offering called “Acceleration” that is designed to better link the right media and sales opportunities at scale for clients.

Mindshare Global CEO Nick Emery stated: “Agencies constantly need to adapt and do so fluidly and frequently. We see three big themes where our clients want better solutions -- integrating brand and demand; merciless low overhead activation and consistently staying ahead of their competitors.”