GroupM

Last updated
GroupM
Company type Private
Founded2003;22 years ago (2003)
DefunctMay 27, 2025 (2025-05-27)
SuccessorWPP Media
Headquarters
New York City, New York
,
United States
Key people
  • Brian Lesser (CEO)
  • Marie-Claire Barker (CPO) [1]
  • Damian Blackden (CSO)
  • Stuart Diamond (CFO)
  • Mark Patterson (COO)
Number of employees
41,000 [2]
Parent WPP plc
Subsidiaries
Website groupm.com

GroupM was a U.S. based media investment group of the multinational Holding company WPP plc. GroupM was the world's largest media buying agency, as of 2023. [3] [4]

Contents

GroupM's headquarters were located at 3 World Trade Center, in Lower Manhattan, and the company had subsidiaries in Asia, Australia, North America, and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

Businesses associated with GroupM included Essence Global, Mindshare, Wavemaker, as well as the defunct media agency Maxus, with EssenceMediacom being the world's largest media agency network.

As of May, 27th. 2025, GroupM were rebranded as WPP Media, defuncting its old name and starting a new AI media era.

History

WPP plc formed GroupM in 2003 to unite Mediaedge:CIA and Mindshare Worldwide. [5] [6]

In 2015, GroupM began requiring all media partners to acquire anti-piracy certification from the Trustworthy Accountability Group. [7] In 2019, GroupM formed a coalition to help brands reach multicultural audiences. [8] The company had a diverse media advertisement investment goal of five percent; an initial goal of two percent Black-owned media, set in 2021, [9] was expanded in 2023 to include AAPI, Hispanic, and LGBT media. [10]

Following the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk in 2022, GroupM deemed Twitter a "high risk" platform. [11] GroupM removed the classification in 2023, when Linda Yaccarino was named Twitter's chief executive officer (CEO) and the two companies collaborated on a brand safety project. [12]

In 2022, GroupM debuted a carbon calculator to determine an advertisement's carbon output. The company also partnered with Good-Loop to launch an initiative to reduce the environmental impact of advertising spending. GroupM was the first agency holding group in Australia to offer carbon offsetting. [13] [14] The company formed a decarbonization coalition with 20 clients in 2022, [15] and improved the calculator's accuracy in 2023. [16]

In 2023, GroupM removed made-for-advertising sites (MFAs) from its programmatic businesses. [17] The move "[set] a precedent" for the advertising industry, according to Digiday , and was an expansion of work by the company's team in the U.K., which maintained a list of approximately 6,000 domain names that were not MFAs. [18] GroupM also launched an initiative to help brands invest in quality journalism. [19]

Operations and organizational structure

GroupM's 15-floor, 700,000-square-foot headquarters were located at 3 World Trade Center, in Lower Manhattan. Prior to consolidation, GroupM had offices at multiple locations in Midtown, for various brands. [20]

Irwin Gotlieb was CEO from GroupM's founding until 2012, [21] when he became global chairperson until 2018. [5] [22] Subsequent CEOs included Dominic Proctor, Kelly Clark and Christian Juhl. [23] Brian Lesser was appointed global CEO in 2024. [24]

Subsidiaries

GroupM had subsidiaries in Asia, [a] Australia and New Zealand, [13] the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, [26] North America, [27] and the U.K. [28] In 2017, GroupM acquired a majority stake in MediaCom India, a joint venture established in 2007 by GroupM India and the Madison Media group's principal shareholder Sam Balsara. [29] GroupM North America had approximately 6,000 employees and $17.6 billion in media investment billings in the U.S. and Canada, as of 2020–2022. [30] [31]

GroupM restructured management in 2016, in an attempt to consolidate media investment and platform services. [32] In 2017, a reorganization eliminated the agency Maxus, transferring operations to Essence and MEC (now known as Wavemaker). [33] GroupM continued with five media agencies, [34] until 2022, when the company merged some of them to streamline operations. [35] Essence and Mediacom merged to form EssenceMediacom, and Mindshare absorbed Neo. [36] EssenceMediacom was GroupM's largest agency and the world's largest media agency network, [37] with approximately 10,000 employees in 120 offices. The business managed advertisement billings of approximately $21 billion annually. [38]

GroupM Entertainment was established in 2009 and later became Motion Content Group. It expanded into the U.S., [39] and was rebranded as GroupM Motion Entertainment in North America in 2023. The business partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery to support GroupM's Diverse Voices Accelerator. [40]

WPP had merged 24/7 Media into Xaxis in 2013. [41] In 2023, WPP acquired the London-based agency Goat, which was merged with GroupM's influence unit Inca to operate under GroupM Nexus. [42]

Notes

  1. ↑ In Asia, GroupM has subsidiaries for India, Indonesia, Pakistan, South Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. [25]

References

  1. ↑ Stam, Aleda (May 3, 2022). "Edelman appoints AIG's Soni Basi as global chief people officer". PRWeek . Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2023. Basi is set to replace Marie-Claire Barker, who left Edelman in December to join WPP media agency GroupM as chief people officer.
  2. ↑ https://www.campaignasia.com/article/india-grows-media-spends-by-5-in-2022-comscore-report/485267
  3. ↑ Davey, James (June 12, 2023). "Retail media ad revenue forecast to surpass TV by 2028". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2023-06-24. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  4. ↑ Joseph, Seb; Scanlon, Krystal (November 14, 2022). "The world's biggest media buyer GroupM is telling advertisers that Twitter is a 'high risk' media buy". Digiday . Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Oster, Erik (April 6, 2018). "Former GroupM CEO Irwin Gotlieb Steps Down as Global Chairman After 19 Years With WPP". Adweek . Shamrock Holdings. ISSN   0199-2864. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  6. ↑ "WPP Creates Division to Unite Agencies". The New York Times . April 17, 2003. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Lauren. "GroupM Singles Out Piracy Websites as Marketers' Next Ad-Fraud Headache". Adweek. Archived from the original on 2023-07-22. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  8. ↑ Smiley, Minda (September 19, 2019). "GroupM Is Forming a Coalition to Help Brands Better Reach Multicultural Audiences". Adweek. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  9. ↑ Lepitak, Stephen (May 11, 2021). "GroupM Continues Diversity Drive With Media Inclusion Initiative". Adweek. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  10. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (March 9, 2023). "GroupM Offers Plan to Expand Investment in Diverse Media". Variety . Penske Media Corporation. ISSN   0042-2738. OCLC   810134503. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  11. ↑ Clark, Mitchell (November 14, 2022). "Buying ads on Twitter is 'high-risk' according to the world's biggest ad agency". The Verge . Vox Media. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  12. ↑ Murphy, Hannah; Thomas, Daniel (May 18, 2023). "Twitter no longer 'high risk' after new chief hired, says top ad group". Financial Times . ISSN   0307-1766. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Ward, Miranda (July 26, 2022). "GroupM to offset digital ads as part of Alpha plan". Australian Financial Review . Nine Entertainment. OCLC   1131035760. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  14. ↑ Bürgi, Michael (July 20, 2022). "GroupM wants to lead the industry on decarbonization efforts — will other media agencies follow?". Digiday. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  15. ↑ Morley, Olivia; Lundstrom, Kathryn (November 10, 2022). "GroupM Pulls 20 Clients Onboard Its Media Decarbonization Coalition". Adweek. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  16. ↑ Calculator improvements:
  17. ↑ Barber, Kayleigh; Bürgi, Michael; Shields, Ronan (August 21, 2023). "GroupM is removing MFAs from its inclusion lists". Digiday. Archived from the original on August 21, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  18. ↑ Barber, Kayleigh (July 24, 2023). "How GroupM's inclusion list decides which publishers it sells programmatically". Digiday. Archived from the original on August 2, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  19. ↑ Weissbrot, Alison. "GroupM launches tool to help brands invest in quality journalism". PRWeek . Archived from the original on 2023-03-16. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  20. ↑ Baird-Remba, Rebecca (January 29, 2019). "How GroupM Created an Office in World Trade Center for Nine Different Companies". Commercial Observer . Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  21. ↑ Sanders, Lisa (February 28, 2005). "GroupM's Gotlieb Again Rebuilding Media Model". Ad Age. Crain Communications.
  22. ↑ Irwin Gotlieb:
  23. ↑ Bruell, Alexandra (2016-09-22). "GroupM Brings Back Kelly Clark as Global CEO". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2022-01-24.
  24. ↑ Herren, AParker (July 18, 2024). "GroupM's new global CEO—everything to know about Brian Lesser". Adgage . Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  25. ↑ Subsidiaries in Asia:
  26. ↑ Lepitak, Stephen (January 23, 2023). "GroupM's EMEA CEO Demet İkiler Joins Publicis Groupe". Adweek. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  27. ↑ Harris, Rebecca (August 11, 2023). "GroupM Canada CEO on making advertising better, for everyone". National Post . Postmedia Network. ISSN   1486-8008. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  28. ↑ Lepitak, Stephen (September 12, 2022). "GroupM's Karen Blackett Promoted to President of WPP UK". Adweek. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  29. ↑ Tewari, Saumya (January 25, 2017). "GroupM acquires majority stake in MediaCom India". Mint. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  30. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (August 18, 2020). "Kirk McDonald Will Become North American CEO of GroupM". Variety. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  31. ↑ Major, Derek (October 7, 2022). "GroupM North America CEO Kirk McDonald to Be Honored at Black Enterprise's Black Men XCEL Summit". Black Enterprise . Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  32. ↑ Stein, Lindsay; Poggi, Jeanine (November 14, 2016). "GroupM Buying Chief, TV Ad Vet Rino Scanzoni, Takes New Role in Restructuring". Ad Age. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  33. ↑ Bruell, Alexandra (November 20, 2017). "Media Agency Veteran Rob Norman to Retire From WPP". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  34. ↑ Rittenhouse, Lindsay (January 8, 2018). "WPP's GroupM Shifts U.K. CEO to New Position as Global Chief Investment Officer". Adweek. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2023. MEC was formerly a media agency network owned by GroupM. In June, WPP combined its MEC and Maxus networks to create a single media, content and tech agency, Wavemaker, operating as one of five media agencies under GroupM.
  35. ↑ Morley, Olivia (May 3, 2022). "Inside Recent Changes at WPP's GroupM: What the EssenceMediacom Merger Means". Adweek. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  36. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (April 26, 2022). "WPP's GroupM Merges Media Agencies in Bid to Streamline". Variety. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  37. ↑ Bonilla, Brian (January 31, 2023). "EssenceMediacom Launches as the World's Largest Media Agency Network". Ad Age.
  38. ↑ Farooqui, Javed (June 10, 2023). "GroupM's top agency sees big potential in Indian market". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on July 12, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  39. ↑ Hayes, Dade (February 22, 2023). "WPP-Owned Motion Content Group Rebrands As GroupM Motion Entertainment In North America, Shifting Toward Premium Content". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  40. ↑ Bradley, Bill (March 6, 2023). "Warner Bros. Discovery and GroupM Partner to Amplify Diverse Voices". Adweek . Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  41. ↑ Bruell, Alexandra (December 3, 2013). "WPP Merges Xaxis with 24/7 Media in Bid for Scale in Programmatic Ads". Ad Age. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  42. ↑ Lepitak, Stephen (March 22, 2023). "WPP Scales Influencer Marketing Offer With the Acquisition of The Goat Agency". Adweek. The acquisition will see Goat join GroupM and merge with its current influencer marketing offer INCA...
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