After weeks on a listening tour, Cindy Rose met investors for the first time as CEO with a stinging set of Q3 results, but also a notably steady hand. Greensquare’s Barry Dudley says her delivery signals a new kind of leadership at WPP. But will that be enough? Just two months into her tenure, WPP chief executive […]
Green Square’s Nick Berry explores a creative production sector at a crossroads: legacy giants collapsing under their own weight while independents surge ahead. The question now is whether a new wave of VFX and production talent can seize the moment and redefine the industry’s future. Soon after Technicolor collapsed earlier this year, I wrote in […]
Barry Dudley examines whether the launch of Horizon Global – a joint venture between Havas and Horizon Media Holdings, bringing together $20bn in combined billings and billed as the first AI-era agency network – is a genuine game-changer for media agencies or just glossy boardroom spin. Horizon Global is to be a new entity focused […]
Barry Dudley of Green Square dissects the fledgling talks between S4 Capital and MSQ Partners, exploring strategic fit, the market forces driving the potential deal and what it could mean for Sir Martin Sorrell’s “new-age” marketing group after a turbulent few years. S4 Capital, Sir Martin Sorrell’s ‘new-age’ digital marketing group, has confirmed that it […]
Speculation over the CEO’s future had become an unwanted distraction at a time when the holding company is trying to rebuild around AI and its WPP Media proposition. As WPP exits go, this one was not as shocking as the 10pm Saturday evening bombshell back in 2018 that Sir Martin Sorrell would be stepping down […]
Holding company restructures and redundancies are producing a new wave of indie agencies. It’s only a matter of time until they herald a new era of creativity, says Green Square’s Tony Walford. At the 2025 Predictions event run by The Drum in February, I was asked what I thought the year would bring for the […]
Will S4 Capital sell to a holding company competitor, go down the increasingly popular private equity route or just sit tight? Green Square’s Tony Walford looks at what the future may hold for the marcomms firm following its latest financials. This time last year, S4 Capital’s press release said that for 2024: “We are targeting […]
Green Square’s Tony Walford examines where things went wrong after the holding company’s 2024 results sent shares sliding. 2024 was something of an annus horribilis for WPP and Mark Read, posting the worst figures of the global groups in marcomms with like-for-like net revenue down 1.0% to £11.4bn in the year. This compares to Publicis […]
R/GA has become an independent agency again after 23 years under IPG management. With backing from private equity firm Truelink, it plans to create a new model. Green Square’s Barry Dudley looks at the deal. I met Bob Greenberg around 20 years ago during my time at Naked Communications when we discussed how we may […]
The ad industry is reeling from the collapse of the visual effects giant and its advertising arm The Mill. Green Square partner Nick Berry examines how production is changing and what will fill the void. Many people are still reeling from Technicolor’s sudden fall from grace, going into administration with the loss of up to […]