• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, March 11, 2020

WPP AUNZ (Australia New Zealand) has launched a new innovation unit called big that is designed to help clients develop new products. 

Why is the “b” lowercase in a proper noun? Well, you know, agencies have always written their own grammatical rules, often not aligning with the King’s English. Or the U.S. version, for that matter. 

Whatever. If it works, no one will give it a second thought. 

The intent is to use data to identify commercial opportunities and the agency’s understanding of people to create a desire for the products/opportunities identified. Sounds a bit like what a lot of marketers have done for decades in house. 

But hey, if it works, WPP could have a budding new global revenue stream on its books. 

The big team will consist of engineering, design, strategy and tech talent from around the agency group, as well as a “network of business leaders, entrepreneurs, psychologists and inventors.” 

Good luck, folks. I think I know what new product most consumers are yearning for these days — a cure for a certain virus. And a vaccine to go with it.