WPP and Sir Martin Sorrell: Now What?

Mark Read one of WPPamp8217s coCOOs appointed post Sorrell has given an interview denying that the group is to be broken up it would have been news indeed had he said anything else and he has indicated that its focus has to be more on clients and less on their own internal organizational issuesamp160 This latter point may be obvious but for a group that has sometimes appeared overfocused on its own internal issues it still needed sayingLike many choosing to comment I have no inside information on what is likely to happen at WPP amp160For what itamp8217s worth I suspect noncore businesses of which there are an awful lot Sorrell was always an acquirer not a seller will be sold There is very little argument for the group to be in some of the smaller digital media businesses they find themselves in short of buying in skills which anyway they have elsewhereSome acquisitions looked at the time very like a watermuddying exercise designed to make any yearonyear comparisons difficult amp160Others created duplication and thus potential division within the groupamp160 It seems likely that there will be some cleaning upThe most significant name mentioned in that regard is Kantar amp160No other holding company contains within it an equivalent research business which is not to say that owning a research business alongside ad agencies and the rest is wrong just that noone else seems to think itamp8217s all that rightItamp8217s hard to point to client synergies involving WPPamp8217s ad agencies and Kantar indeed many clients look to their research agencies for an objective independent view of the success of their advertisingIt has always felt uncomfortable having one group company assess the performance of and even the bonus payable to another amp160Many agencies are bonused at least in part on results as measured by researchamp160 Itamp8217s also no secret thereamp8217s been a tension in the past between GroupM and the more established Kantar research businesses amp160We can exclude Kantar Media from this where the common ground is obvious amp160Some of the GroupM agencies have in the past been known to bypass their sibling in offering to do research whilst Kantaramp8217s Millward Brown for one makes no secret that it sees itself in the business of providing communications planning adviceIt would seem to be a comparatively painless exercise to sell Kantar painless that is on the impact such a course of action would have on the rest of the groupamp160 Otherwise it seems unlikely that WPP will be split into multiple fragments as the core media agencyad agency functions and related key specialisms still fit well together amp160Of course they could be made to work more seamlessly together and thatamp8217s a big task for any new CEO but thatamp8217s no reason to chuck the baby out with the bathwaterWhich brings us to what next for Sir MartinA key characteristic of the man is his innate competitiveness amp160He wonamp8217t be beaten and any suggestion that he is somehow past it that his last act will be in leaving WPP was always going to be proved wrongamp160 Heamp8217ll want to win and to exit finally whenever that is when he wants to and on his own termsOne intriguing factor to watch will be who gravitates towards him amp160Very many senior WPP staff have I suspect a far greater loyalty to Sir Martin than they do to the board many of whom appear to have little knowledge of the industry they bestride amp160Sir Martin has made many of them will they be able to resist one last go round with himWhat exactly will he do amp160Who knows but it will be worth watchingPhoto creditamp160 Mike WilsonUnsplashClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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WPP and Sir Martin Sorrell: Now What?

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Brian Jacobs

Jon Miller | Cofounder Marketo, Engagio | The Gumball Machine is Broken - Rethinking B2B Marketing - By Mike Linton

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WPP and Sir Martin Sorrell: Now What?

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