Wavemaker wins media mandate for $20 million Allianz account
Wavemaker won the $20 million-rated media mandate for insurance group Allianz. The global pitch saw the company aligning its media operations within GroupM. GroupM has been appointed as the global media partner. Australia’s Spark Foundry by Publicis Groupe, did not take part in the global pitch. PHD made it to the last round of pitching. Wavemaker has had a fantastic year, highlighted by this most recent victory. At the end of November, the agency was named B&T’s Media Agency of the Year, in addition to winning several new accounts.
GroupM reappointed as a global media partner
WPP’s media investment group, GroupM, has been reappointed globally as the media partner. Various GroupM agencies are handling the account both globally and market-by-market. Mindshare is poised to take the lead in two-thirds of markets and throughout the world. Allianz will still receive services from EssenceMediacom in the nine foreign markets where it was the incumbent. The company will receive support from mSix&Partners in Germany, the home base of Allianz. The company also uses Omnicom, Publicis agencies, and Jellyfish as non-GroupM players.
Responsibilities as per the media mandate
The mandate includes full-funnel media strategy, planning, purchasing, and campaign execution. Allianz chose GroupM and its agencies because they could provide deep market-level expertise to support local teams in navigating the complexity of the market while also coordinating efficient and consistent media performance globally.
Here’s what they said
Allianz SE’s head of global brand management and marketing, Christian Deuringe said,
With the new partnership, we are able to deploy our One-Brand strategy perfectly and connect with our customers in an even more relevant way across the entire customer journey. The new set-up combines the strengths of globally managed strategies with tailored roll-outs in local markets. We also expect significant synergies through more standardized processes and performance measurement.
Read More: OMD Defends its Media Responsibilities for DFI Retail Group in APAC
Wavemaker Defends the Media AOR For L’Oréal in Thailand
After a competitive review, Wavemaker, a division of WPP, has defended the media AOR for L’Oréal in Thailand for the next three years, starting in January 2024. After 13 years of collaboration, L’Oréal and Wavemaker have extended their role, with the agency now handling media strategies and e-commerce sales in Thailand in addition to planning.
Wavemaker – L’Oréal Thailand Media AOR
The incumbent agency’s dedication to data and consumer insights throughout the pitch process impressed the French beauty giant, Maybelline’s parent company. An example of this is the establishment of Beauty Tech Labs, a specialized client-agency team made up of AI specialists and innovators to exchange resources and knowledge throughout the WPP network.
With L’Oréal, the retainer broadens Wavemaker’s expanding worldwide mandate. Media mandates in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have been awarded to the Media agency. Additionally, the agency kept the $61 million Indian business.
Read More: WPP and Sprinklr Partner to Bring AI-Powered CXM Solutions
Here’s what they said
As reported by Campaign Asia,
Yada Sarttarasathit, chief digital and marketing officer of L’Oréal Groupe in Thailand said,
We are excited to continue our journey with Wavemaker, who has proven to be a highly compatible partner. We look forward to harnessing their synergy and innovative media strategies to create the beauty that moves the world.
Christopher Orcutt, managing director of Wavemaker Thailand added,
We will leverage our data and knowledge from the WPP network worldwide to drive media planning and e-commerce strategies for L’Oréal. Our goal is to create comprehensive online and offline beauty experiences for every Thai consumer.
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WPP and Sprinklr Partner to Bring AI-Powered CXM Solutions
WPP, the advertising group, and Sprinklr, a pioneer in enterprise software for enhancing customer experiences, have formed a strategic alliance. Through the use of Sprinklr’s customer experience management platform (Unified-CXM), WPP and Sprinklr will combine cutting-edge AI tools to assist global clients in providing more tailored and consistent customer experiences. WPP will be Sprinklr’s first international agency partner as a result of this partnership. Additionally, the two companies will work together on a new product called CX Live AI, which will link WPP’s AI resources with Sprinklr’s AI+ platform, which consists of both generative AI capabilities and customized AI models from Sprinklr.
Advanced AI tools – A necessity for global clients
Creating seamless and consistent customer experiences across multiple channels can be difficult in today’s world. Enterprise-grade artificial intelligence solutions are crucial for global clients because they enable brands to more effectively reach, interact, and comprehend consumers on a large scale. The Sprinklr platform, a market leader in the Unified CXM space and partner to over 1400 brands, including many of WPP’s biggest clients, offers in-depth analysis of data for insights and analytics.
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How will the partnership work?
WPP teams will benefit from this unique joint offering to create optimized content that connects with the right audiences. The businesses will collaborate on shared analytics, data, and solution development for joint clientele. Sprinklr will provide priority support, including customized enablement programs and early access to new Sprinklr products and platform features, to WPP teams. Additionally, WPP will take part in Sprinklr’s Partner Advisory Board to influence the company’s product roadmap. Both businesses are already working together on projects for a few select clients, like The Coca-Cola Company, where teams use AI insights about customer engagement to guide channel selection and creative development.
Here’s what they said
Stephan Pretorius, CTO of WPP, said
Through the seamless integration of WPP’s AI toolset with Sprinklr’s AI+ platform, we are reshaping how brands can connect with their audiences. This partnership enhances our existing AI capabilities and enables our clients to create customer experiences across all touchpoints, further solidifying our position as a leader amidst the technology revolution that is transforming our industry.
Ragy Thomas, CEO and Founder of Sprinklr added,
Sprinklr and WPP serve many of the world’s most iconic brands. Together, this partnership will enable customers to effectively deploy AI that will result in measurable productivity, cost savings, and the seamless experiences customers have come to expect today. Integrating Sprinklr’s AI-powered Unified-CXM platform with WPP’s AI toolset will help our shared customers quickly adopt the latest AI technologies while ensuring the enterprise-grade privacy, security, and governance that Sprinklr and WPP have built our businesses on.
Read More: WPP and Optimizely Team Up for Data-Driven Digital Experiences
GroupM Bolsters Media Decarbonization with SeenThis Partnership
SeenThis, a streaming technology provider, and WPP’s media investment division, GroupM, have formed a global alliance. The project will make it possible for the biggest media buyer in the world to cut back on and steer clear of pointless carbon emissions from online advertising. Through the ground-breaking partnership, GroupM and its agencies will be able to control and propel media decarbonization by delivering creative work by utilizing SeenThis’ knowledge and patented technology. Additionally, it will enhance display advertising campaigns’ effectiveness. Both businesses will be able to harmonize their approaches thanks to the relationship. SeenThis methodology will be incorporated into GroupM’s carbon calculator. Planners and purchasers will also be able to track a campaign-by-campaign basis. As a result, GroupM’s agencies will have greater power to improve and provide more comprehensive supply chain decisions for sharing data through digital channels.
Why the efforts for Media Decarbonisation?
The long-standing problem of climate change has recently gained attention. Businesses are making efforts to lessen their ecological impact and support a greener environment. In November 2022, GroupM made its initial announcement about a global structure to promote media decarbonization. The goal was to hasten the decarbonization of the media supply chain globally. In five significant economies, programmatic advertising was found to produce more than 215,000 metric tons of carbon emissions each month. The figures roughly equate to 24 million gallons of fuel. In terms of monthly program emissions overall,
- Australia – 9.3 m.t
- France – 22.7 m.t
- Great Britain – 30.8 m.t
- Germany – 52.5 m.t
- US – 100 m.t
Programmatic emissions from the UK additionally produce emissions equivalent to driving a car 36 miles per gallon more than 26 times around the globe. The internet also represents at least 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The percentage is on par with the aviation industry and contributes to the media industry’s overall emissions.
The collaboration strengthens a number of ongoing initiatives within the media sector to link increased ad performance and efficacy with sustainability initiatives. Fanning went on to say that the most recent collaboration with SeenThis was a crucial milestone in the organization’s mission to decarbonize the media supply chain.
Read More: GroupM Launches Programmatic Marketplace, Result of Licensing Deals with Magnite and PubMatic
SeenThis – GroupM’s strides in green advertising.
For some time, SeenThis has been researching the connection between data corruption and CO2 emissions. This has resulted in the publication of a white paper authored in association with top scientists and an emissions overview. The essay is a thorough investigation into how the internet and media play a significant role in rendering carbon footprints. Advertisers can analyze data transfer and associated emissions from creative delivery initiatives using the report. To quantify data transmission and develop a deeper understanding of campaign emissions, GroupM’s agencies will primarily use the SeenThis emissions dashboard. Ultimately, the data will be directly incorporated into GroupM’s services for the execution of display campaigns. The capacity of SeenThis’ technology to function with all significant ad servers, publishers’ networks, and outside sources allows both client and agency to achieve more with a standard media budget.
Above: SeenThis Emissions Dashboard. Image credit- InPublishing UK
Here’s what they said
Ed Fanning, GroupM Global Head of Partnerships, Advertising, and Retail Technology commented
As the world’s leading media investment company, the team at GroupM is on a mission to develop tools and technologies that ensure that carbon emissions are considered a part of the media planning process. This partnership builds on the global framework for media decarbonization we announced in 2022 and is an important step in our commitment to decarbonize our media supply chain.
Jesper Benon, CEO at SeenThis, added
We are excited to extend the benefits of the SeenThis solution to new and existing GroupM clients, as our proprietary streaming addresses the trade-off that otherwise exists between performance and sustainability in the digital ecosystem. GroupM agencies are able to increase performance while minimizing carbon emissions, and at the same time helping drive attention and unlock creative capabilities. We deliver lightning-fast ad-loading that attains higher attention from users, which translates into fewer wasted impressions and a more efficient use of resources.
About SeenThis
SeenThis, a Swedish technology firm, has been improving display experiences for everyone since 2017. It is revolutionizing how digital material is distributed and how it affects the environment in comparison to more established forms of technology. It uses its ground-breaking adaptive streaming technology to do so. The company is on a mission to alter the internet—for good—with billions of streams provided for 1000+ brands in 40+ countries. SeenThis’s seven offices throughout the world have a common goal to build an Internet that is both incredibly fast and energy-efficient.
Read More: GroupM Launches Geo Granularity For TV Advertisers
WPP and Optimizely Team Up for Data-Driven Digital Experiences
WPP and Optimizely, one of the market leaders in digital experience platforms (DXPs), have formed a strategic worldwide relationship. The alliance will aim at assisting clients in offering customers enhanced digital experiences. This groundbreaking collaboration will serve as WPP’s principal digital experimentation focus and Optimizely’s first global strategic undertaking.
Informed digital experience-focused deal
WPP and Optimizely have collaborated for 17 years through businesses like ACCO businesses, Aegon, Oister, etc. These days, customer standards are higher than ever. With this partnership, Optimizely will enable digital innovation and potential for WPP’s enterprise clients. As a platinum partner of Optimizely, WPP is privy to the latter’s DXP toolkit. These tools include experimentation, commerce, content management, and marketing. By utilizing these technologies, businesses will be able to leverage data to continually improve their digital experiences to increase engagement, conversions, and ROI.
As Google launches Google Optimize, its web and analytics product later this year, the strategic collaboration will also extend to enable partners to seamlessly connect Optimizely’s Web Experimentation and Google Analytics (GA4). WPP and Optimizely have agreed to work together to ensure a smooth transition to a new experimental network that will help brands deliver pertinent features and content.
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Here’s what they said
Stephan Pretorius, chief technology officer at WPP stated in the announcement,
“Powerful creativity and effective media strategy can be wasted if brands do not also prioritise conversion. Optimizely’s platform provides data that allows brands to maximise the chance of driving customers through the ideal journey across channels, and we’re excited to develop a joint offering to take to our shared clients.”
Alex Atzberger, CEO of Optimizely remarked,
“The world’s leading companies must have world-leading digital experiences, which can only be achieved through a test and learn approach. Together, WPP and Optimizely will ensure customers get the most out of their experimentation programmes so they can turn insights into increased conversions. We are thrilled to kick off this partnership.”
About Optimizely
The goal of Optimizely is to assist people in realizing their full digital potential. They achieve this by reimagining the way that product and marketing teams collaborate to design and enhance digital experiences across multi-channels. They assist businesses all over the world in orchestrating their whole content lifecycle, monetizing each digital experience, and conducting experiments across every customer interaction with the aid of their industry-leading digital experience platforms (DXP). In its 21 international offices, Optimizely employs nearly 1500 people and has more than 700 partners. More than 10,000 companies, including H&M, PayPal, Zoom, Toyota, and Vodafone, benefit from their assistance to improve client lifetime value, boost sales, and develop their brands.
Read more: WPP and Spotify Form A Unique Revolutionary Partnership
WPP and Spotify Form A Unique Revolutionary Partnership
WPP and Spotify, the worldwide streaming platform, have formed an unparalleled collaboration. This multi-year agreement will provide WPP customers with priority access to Spotify’s ad solutions and first-party intelligence. Spotify is the sole audio streaming platform to be integrated directly into WPP’s product offering as a result of the partnership. The collaboration will concentrate on information, perceptions, creativity, technology, programmatic strategies, and forecasting market growth. The agreement will also add significant value to WPP and its customers by using information about the relationship between music and audience views and behaviors.
WPP’s Choreograph technology will be used in conjunction with Spotify’s first-party data analytics to help clients analyze average listening behaviors. This will help customers develop effective and innovative digital audio marketing campaigns. The partnership will also focus on offering market-leading approaches and training WPP’s team and clients in digital audio creative and Spotify ad solutions. Furthermore, they will have early access to Spotify’s Neuro insights research.
Music Listeners – The Most Active Engagers
Tempo and passion are musical characteristics that help estimate human temperament. This enables advertisers to recognize their audiences emotionally. Spotify collaborated with Neuro Insights to reproduce Sonic Science Volume 1. This time, they used audio commercials from WPP clients to learn about connection inducers, emotional power, memory recollection, and other topics.
The study discovered that as music streamers switched from music or podcasts to WPP customers’ audio commercials, their ad interaction increased by 17%. Furthermore, Spotify consistently drove better responses than any other media source. Furthermore, it was discovered that ad engagement was at a record high regardless of what users listened to. Campaign development and improved client targeting have become more efficient due to the WPP-Spotify relationship. These insights have enabled WPP and its clients to reach previously untapped Millennials and Gen Z customers.
Stepping Stone for Spotify
Spotify’s second-quarter performance fell short of expectations. The audio streaming platform attributed the decline to market factors. Nonetheless, it continues to add registered users steadily. Spotify may benefit from increased ad earnings due to the collaboration. This cooperation aims to improve customer data collection. WPP intends to eliminate third-party cookies from the platform next year, and that’s why they leverage customer data.
Spotify has a high level of ad engagement among its podcast and music ecosystem listeners. Every day, over 550 million people from 184 different countries listen to audio content on Spotify for an average of two and a half hours. WPP will benefit from Spotify’s massive customer data thanks to this agreement.
What will WPP reap from this alliance?
WPP will gain from this partnership in many ways. Here are some examples.
- First mover advantage in accessing Spotify’s mood data using Wunderman’s Zipline™ Data Management platform. WPP and its customers can improve targeting choices across platforms by connecting their own data with Spotify’s insights into user emotions, listening behaviors, location, etc.
- Unparalleled access to Spotify insights into connected device activity. This is aided by identifying and delivering the correct message to the right audience at the right time.
- Launch partners for AppNexus’ audio programmatic marketing tool
- Spotify’s primary launch partners in specific emerging markets
- Access to beta testing and exposure on Spotify’s product map
Executive Statements
Stephan Pretorius, Chief Technology Officer of WPP, said
In the fast-evolving media and entertainment landscape, audio streaming has become an integral part of everyday life. At WPP, we recognise the power of audio as a critical component of marketing.
Brian Berner, Global Head of Advertising Sales, at Spotify, said
We’ve long partnered with WPP to enable agency planners and buyers to make more informed decisions when planning for digital audio. With our new global partnership, we’re helping WPP clients modernise their strategy and planning. As we continue to drive innovation in audio and the advertising industry at large, partners like WPP are critical to delivering for advertisers, creators and audiences wherever they are.
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