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The aftermath of Martin Sorrell’s shock exit

Urgent change is needed at WPP – the agency needs to find new ways to meet marketers’ needs.

Martin Sorrell’s will be a tough act to follow. However, his impact wasn’t just on agencies; he influenced how brands think about advertising and marketing as well. He played the lone hand in transforming advertising from a craft to a business.

Now, his departure puts into sharp relief the challenges facing the ad industry and the agency-holding model that WPP led the way in building. WPP had its worst year since the ad recession of 2009 in 2017, with a performance Sorrell called “not pretty”.

WPP watchers expect the holding group model to be changed under a new dispensation. The next CEO will have to rethink on the business model for its media and creative agencies. For investors, transparency is the issue on top of mind. And the agency group holding model is more confusing than transparent for them.

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