WPP Media was the star billing in an otherwise lackluster second
quarter earnings presentation to investors this morning, featuring a forward-looking pitch by the media services unit's CEO Brian Lesser, who like many of his most recent public pitches, began with a
sizzle reel (see above).
Much of Lesser's presentation focused on WPP Media's recent reboot from GroupM, including its shift to a data- and AI-driven "platform" approach to servicing clients
and managing media.
He ticked off a number of important milestones -- especially the reorganization of the group, it's acquisition and integration of data clean room InfoSum (which Lesser
previously ran and was a participating shareholder in), as well as its rollout of its so-called WPP Open platform -- but implied much of the financial payoff is still yet to come.
The
90-second sizzle reel stuck out in what normally is a staid, audio- and slides-only presentation to investors, financial analysts and the press, and likely was something seen as a bit of hype teeing
up Lesser's oral remarks, following lackluster introductions by soon-to-depart WPP CEO Mark Read and CFO Joanne Wilson focusing on tough macro conditions, as well as weak new business and client
retentions that have driven WPP's first half revenue down 7.8% on a reported basis, and 2.4% on a like-for-like basis.
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Within those results, WPP Media was down 4.7% on a like-for-like -- less
passthrough costs -- in the second quarter, but still accounted for 41% of total company revenue.
In fact, most of the second quarter "highlights" cited by WPP in its earnings release focus
primarily on achievements related to the infrastructure WPP Media has put in place (see below), which likely is why Lesser was considered a potential successor to become the company's CEO when Read
steps down later this year.
Analysts acknowledged Read's contributions to the holding company and wished him well, but there were only passing references to incoming CEO Cindy Rose, who joins
from Microsoft on Sept. 1.
WPP Q2 highlights:
- Driving investment and adoption of WPP Open – At the preliminary results in February 2025 we outlined our ambition to
drive further investment in WPP Open, taking the annual spend on our AI-powered marketing operating system to £300m in 2025 from £250m in 2024. A key metric for us is internal adoption and
we have seen further progress in adoption, with 69,000 of our people (equivalent to c.85% of client-facing staff) using the platform actively on a monthly basis, up from 33,000/c.40% in December.
- Supporting WPP Media’s ID to AI approach via the acquisition of InfoSum – The acquisition of InfoSum announced in April (see link) marks a major strategic step forward for
WPP Media’s AI-driven data offer. The acquisition of InfoSum embeds an AI-enabled, secure and privacy-enhancing data collaboration platform within WPP Open, enabling data-driven marketing and AI
model training for WPP and its clients, and is a critical milestone in our journey to leapfrog traditional identity-led solutions. In May, InfoSum was named as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape (see
link).
- WPP Media launches Open Intelligence – Leveraging the acquisition of InfoSum and progress on our global media platform, WPP Media launched Open Intelligence (see
link). Open Intelligence is an AI-based tool designed to predict audience behavior and marketing performance, powering Open Media Studio as well as other applications within WPP Open. The key
characteristics are that it: (a) moves beyond reliance on identity data by combining it with other data sources, including partner first party data, for a more comprehensive, multimodal understanding
of audiences; (b) employs a privacy-by-default approach enabled by InfoSum, enabling custom model training without moving or sharing data using federated learning; and (c) drives continuous
optimization of audience segmentation, creative development and media buying to improve ROI for our clients.
- Burson launches Reputation Capital – In June, Burson,
WPP’s global PR and communications agency, launched Reputation Capital, an AI-powered technology and consulting solution designed to connect drivers of reputation to specific business outcomes
such as stock price, sales, or purchase intent (see link). Available through WPP Open, this tool provides clients with a live view of their reputation, quantifying the tangible economic value of
building and maintaining a strong corporate perception and enabling immediate decision-making to drive commercial success for our clients. The launch of Reputation Capital follows the release of
Decipher Tech in late March (see link). Decipher Tech uses AI-driven predictive believability and virality indicators to forecast how messaging will resonate and to drive engagement with
stakeholders.
- Complementing direct investment with further strategic partnerships – During the course of the quarter, WPP expanded relationships with a number of strategic
partners. In June (see link), WPP announced that it is the first advertising and marketing services company to integrate Symphony, TikTok’s groundbreaking generative AI tools, into WPP Open
giving WPP teams early access to TikTok’s cutting edge innovations, empowering clients to connect with TikTok’s massive audience through dynamic and engaging content. Separately, linked
with the launch of Open 11 Intelligence, WPP Media signed a number of partnerships and integrations with leading platforms to help advertisers activate their first party data for enhanced audience
reach, measurement and media optimization. This includes separate agreements with Amazon Ads (see link) as well as a number of retailers and technology companies, including Criteo, DICK’s
Sporting Goods and Ocado Ads (see link). Finally, WPP expanded its partnership with Vercel, which brings Vercel's pioneering AI technologies – v0 and AI SDK – to WPP teams and their
clients. The first-of-its-kind partnership is expected to increase development efficiency by up to 25%, empowering WPP teams to deliver higher-value problem