WPP returns to growth

WPP returned to growth in Q3, with a better-than-anticipated 0.5% rise in like-for-like organic revenue, bolstered by ad buyer GroupM’s growth in all major markets.

The owner of Ogilvy, VML, Tank and Essence is reporting that North America grew 1.7%, led by “continued recovery in media” and “good growth in automotive and financial services.”

Canada was flat at 0.2%, but strong relative to Q2’s like-for-like revenue slump of 5.6%.

Globally, travel led growth followed by CPG. However, the loss of Pfizer dragged down WPP’s healthcare numbers, with retail seeing declines too.

Despite the solid quarter, WPP’s guidance for organic revenue is on the low end, between 1% lower and flat for the full year.

Chief executive Mark Read says WPP restructuring has helped make it a “simpler” organization operationally. For example, Burson, which officially launched this summer, was created out of a merger of BCW and Hill+Knowlton. VML, meanwhile, came out of combining Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R.

In today’s earnings call, Read pointed out that AI will be “fundamental to WPP’s future,” and that the company sees the potential to make its work more effective, efficient, targeted and relevant to consumers.

It is investing £250 million in WPP Open – its intelligent marketing operating system powered by AI – and is looking at how it can bring creative, media and production together more seamlessly across the 100 countries it operates in.

Read says that it’s about driving critical data to the process and that WPP Open’s monthly active users is way up, 107% over earlier this year, with “more people using it, more often.”

Next year, Read promises to fully see the impact of AI, as RFPs “barely mentioned” the technology, but which now is cited as a priority for many brands.

WPP’s top 10 clients grew 7.0% in the third quarter, led by CPG, automotive, travel and leisure and financial services client sectors.

Tech spend, which had been a laggard, is now in “positive territory,” but Read cautioned that it’s early days in terms of 2025 spend by the likes of Google and Meta.

New “significant” client assignments for WPP include Unilever, Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive, Amazon, Sunlight and Purex-maker Henkel.

After a competitive review, WPP consolidated Unilever’s retail media and activation business for the United States, and Read says that media and commerce will help the CPG “win” in retail, “where  it matters most.”

IPG sees flat organic net revenue in U.S.

In the third quarter, IPG posted a revenue drop to USD $2.24 billion, a decrease of 2.9% from the previous year.

The owner of UM, Initiative and Kinesso is reporting that “macro uncertainties” are affecting its business, with its U.S. business reporting organic net revenue of 0% for the three months ending Sept. 30. By contrast, Latin America spiked nearly 10% over that period, amidst weakness in Asia Pacific (down 7.4%).

CEO Philippe Krakowsky says it is “progressing with the sale of [digital specialist agencies] R/GA and Huge and are considering other potential divestitures to improve our growth profile.”

IPG says the quarter was highlighted by “very strong growth in consumer-facing industries like food and beverage and consumer goods as well as our other category of diversified and public sector clients.”

IPG is reporting “saw solid growth at IPG Mediabrands, Octagon, Acxiom, Deutsch, and [its] public relations offerings.”