As expected, Sir Martin Sorrell will return to the industry, although perhaps most people didn’t expect him to do so quite so quickly, less than two months after exiting his post at his beloved WPP. His return as executive chairman of S4 Capital, which has just completed £51m of equity funding (most of which has […]
Despite his eye-watering salary, an ugly past business year and personal misconduct allegations still left unresolved, the industry’s response to Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP resignation smacks more of effusive obituary than critical analysis. But alongside the tributes is a feeling of invigoration: a hopeful sense that things will never be the same again without the […]
WPP may have spent recent months promising to transform the agency model but it is the world’s biggest advertiser – rather than the world’s biggest advertising supplier – that has launched the most significant new agency of 2018 so far. Procter & Gamble revealed this week that it is setting up a dedicated agency to […]
What do you do if your industry is, if not in crisis, facing a period of unprecedented disruption and uncertain growth prospects? You need to sit down and make a plan. And preferably sit down and make it early. Agency network Publicis last week won acclaim from commentators and investors when it unveiled a wide-ranging […]
Andrew White, MD of marketing communications agency Triggerfish (pictured), fills us in on how the events sector is finally being recognised as part of the marketing mix – and how this could mean the industry is about to hit boom time. Judging by the daily trade media feed around refurbishments, new developments, expansions and increased […]
Following on from our article on media’s perfect storm, we’ve been asked by a couple of clients what we think about blockchain. Is it the answer to the problems posed by programmatic advertising and the perils of automatic ad placements? The advantage a blockchain has is that it’s very secure, and that records cannot […]
Talk to someone outside of our industry – a ‘lay person’, if you like – about marcomms, and it’s highly unlikely that you’ll need to explain to them what advertising is. In advanced economies like those in the west – as well as developing ones elsewhere – advertising is ubiquitous. It’s an engine of modern […]
‘Mergers and acquisitions’ is a term which numerous business owners will be familiar with. Although the majority of agency owners are adept with the concept of building an agency and ultimately finding a home for it to realise its full value and potential, little is reported on what happens post-acquisition or on internal learnings from […]
We’re not yet out of January and already $10bn worth of media business is under review, according to the estimates of marketing consultants ID Comms. This week alone The Drum has reported that major spenders Shell, Asda, HSBC and Procter & Gamble have begun re-evaluating their agency arrangements. They follow the likes of Mars, Coca-Cola […]
Back in late 2008/early 2009, there was a good deal of optimism in America and much of the developed world; surprising really, given that we’d just suffered the worst financial meltdown in more than 80 years. The reason for that optimism was, of course, the election of a new US president. Barack Obama wasn’t just […]