Secure your place at the Digiday Publishing Summit in Vail, March 23-25
WPP, the world’s largest advertising group, which includes Ogilvy and Mather and the Young and Rubicam Brands, earned 1 billion pounds in profit for the first time in its history, up 27.9 percent from 2009. Why? Social and mobile network advertising were an integral part of the group’s offerings, and this attracted skittish companies looking for creative advertising with high ROI. During tough economic times, like we’ve experienced in 2010, companies look to advertising as a sound investment, according to CEO Martin Sorrell.
“In Western markets we are seeing companies who are not investing in capacity, they’re afraid of making a mistake, so they instead invest in the brand,” Sorrell told Reuters. “You have $2 trillion sitting on the balance sheet of Western multinationals and they’re not spending it.” Sorrell recently stated during a presentation at the Mobile World Congress that the company was planning investment in “middle-stage, interesting companies that enhance our mobile offerings.” Sorrell also stated that although consumers are now spending 20-25 percent of their time online, WPP’s client base is only devoting 14 percent of their budgets to online. The potential to grow that percentage, according to Sorrell, is huge, as brands are drawn towards the “holy grail” of mobile advertising; effective location-based services.
Go to WPP’s reading room to download a multitude of resources from the group’s roster of digital agencies.
More in Media
In graphic detail: Middle-tier creators are fueling the next phase of the creator economy
Facts and figures behind the growing middle tier of creators who make less than macro creators, but convert more.
How medical creator Nick Norwitz grew his Substack paid subscribers from 900 to 5,200 within 8 months
Creator Playbook: Unpacking the strategy behind medical YouTuber Nick Norwitz turning to Substack to significantly grow his brand.
Media Briefing: In the AI era, subscribers are the real prize — and the Telegraph proves it
In an era where AI is eroding referral traffic and third-party distribution, a subscriber who pays directly has become the most valuable reader a publisher can own. Springer just bought over a million of them.