Wavemaker (media agency)

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Wavemaker
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryAdvertising & Marketing
PredecessorMEC
Maxus
Founded2017
Headquarters London, UK
New York, New York, United States
Key people
Toby Jenner, CEO Global
Stephan Bruneau, Head of Analytics & Insight Global
Keith Tiley, Chief Investment Officer Global
Parent WPP plc, GroupM
Website www.wavemakerglobal.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Wavemaker (previously MEC and Maxus) is the second largest media agency network in the world [ citation needed ], with domestic and international clients such as Vodafone, L'Oréal, IKEA, [1] Paramount Pictures, Chanel, GE, Xerox, Colgate-Palmolive, Chevron, Beiersdorf, Tiffany, Huawei, and Mondelēz International. Wavemaker has global billings of over US$38 billion and it is part of GroupM and WPP plc. The company formed as a merger between the GroupM agencies MEC and Maxus.

Contents

Corporate history

Previously known as MEC the agency was launched in January 2002 following WPP's acquisition of CIA's parent company, Tempus Group. The global media agency network was formed through the merger of The Media Edge and CIA, bringing together CIA's 57 offices across 28 countries and The Media Edge's 103 offices 78 countries to form one global group.

In 2010, the agency officially changed its name from Mediaedge:cia to MEC, something it has informally been referred to for years. [2]

In October 2015, MEC was named an "Agency of the Year" finalist among large agencies in the 2015 iMedia Agency Awards. [3]

In April 2016, MEC launched a new global content division "MEC Wavemaker", consolidating five disciplines within the WPP media network: content strategy, social, partnerships and experiences, SEO and creative service to deliver new content for clients. MEC Wavemaker was initially launched in 10 markets globally, including the UK; the US; the Netherlands; Mexico; Australia; India; Poland; the Middle East; Singapore; and Germany. [4]

In November 2016, MEC announced a new global CEO, naming Tim Castree former managing director of video ad platform Videology in North America to replace Charles Courtier. [5]

In June 2017, GroupM and WPP announced sister agency Maxus would merge with MEC to form Wavemaker. In 2019, Huawei hired Wavemaker to implement a $350 million global advertising campaign. [6]

In July 2019, Toby Jenner, former chief operating officer of media agency MediaCom, was announced as global CEO of Wavemaker. [7]

Related Research Articles

Saatchi and Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency group was known as Saatchi and Saatchi PLC from 1976 to 1994, was listed on the New York Stock Exchange until 2000 and, for a time, was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 2000, the group was acquired by the Publicis Groupe. In 2005, the group went private.

Omnicom Group Inc. is an American global media, marketing and corporate communications holding company, headquartered in New York City.

WPP plc is a British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London, England. It is the world's largest advertising company, as of 2023. WPP plc owns many companies, which include advertising, public relations, media, and market research networks such as AKQA, BCW, CMI Media Group, Essence Global, Finsbury, Grey, Hill & Knowlton, Mindshare, Ogilvy, Wavemaker, and VML. It is one of the "Big Four" agency companies, alongside Publicis, The Interpublic Group of Companies, and Omnicom Group. WPP has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogilvy (agency)</span> Advertising agency

Ogilvy is a New York City-based British advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. It was founded in 1850 by Edmund Mather as a London-based agency. In 1964, the firm became known as Ogilvy & Mather after merging with a New York City agency that was founded in 1948 by David Ogilvy.

J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was an advertisement holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer James Walter Thompson. The company was acquired in 1987 by multinational holding company WPP plc, and in November 2018, WPP merged J. Walter Thompson with fellow agency Wunderman to form Wunderman Thompson. In October 2023, WPP announced yet another merger in which Wunderman Thompson, along with another group agency VMLY&R, would cease to exist and create a new combined entity named VML. This is to be effective January 1, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Publicis</span> French multinational advertising and public relations company

Publicis Groupe is a French multinational advertising and public relations company. One of the oldest and largest marketing and communications companies in the world, it is headquartered in Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Interpublic Group of Companies</span> American advertising company

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) is an American publicly traded advertising company. The company consists of five major networks: FCB, IPG Mediabrands, McCann Worldgroup, MullenLowe Group and Marketing Specialists, as well as several independent specialty agencies in the areas of public relations, sports marketing, talent representation and healthcare. It is one of the "Big Four" agency companies, alongside WPP, Publicis, and Omnicom. Phillippe Krakowsky became the company's CEO on January 1, 2021.

Grey Group is a global advertising and marketing agency with headquarters in New York City, and 432 offices in 96 countries, operating in 154 cities. It is organized into four geographical units: North America; Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.

Weber Shandwick is a marketing communications firm formed in 2001 by merging the Weber Group, Shandwick International and BSMG. The company is part of global agency network Interpublic Group (IPG), as part of the parent company's IPG DXTRA operating division.

Kantar Group Ltd. is an international market research company based in London, England. It was founded in 1992, and has approximately 30,000 employees across over 90 countries working in various research disciplines, including brand guidance, brand strategy, social media monitoring, advertising effectiveness, consumer and shopper behaviour, and public opinion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burson (company)</span> American public relations firm

Burson is a multinational public relations and communications firm, headquartered in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wunderman Thompson</span> American marketing communications agency

Wunderman Thompson was a New York–based global marketing communications agency with 200 offices in 90 markets. It was part of international advertising group WPP Group. Wunderman Thompson was formed in 2018, when parent WPP merged agencies J. Walter Thompson and Wunderman. On 17th October 2023, WPP announced the merger of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R into a new agency VML. On January 01, 2024, Wunderman Thompson ceased to exist.

Mindshare is a global media and marketing services company formed in 1997. As one of the world's largest media agencies, Mindshare is responsible for a large majority of GroupM/WPP's global marketing billings and campaigns.

Superunion, known as Superunion Worldwide Limited legally, was a global brand and design consultancy, headquartered in London. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WPP. Superunion was formed after five agencies merged in January 2018, and employs 500 people across 16 offices.

Maxus was a global media agency, with services including communications strategy, media planning and buying, digital marketing, search engine marketing (SEM) through search advertising and search engine optimisation (SEO), direct response media, data analytics, and marketing ROI evaluation. In December 2011, Maxus became Campaign magazine's Global Media Network of the Year.

VMLY&R, now part of VML, after the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson in October of 2023, was an American marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the merger of VML, founded in 1992, and Y&R , founded in 1923. It was a subsidiary of WPP plc multinational advertising and public relations holding company.

Essence was a global data and measurement-driven full service agency that merged with Mediacom in January 2023 to form Essence Mediacom,. Prior to the merger, Essence had 20 offices in 12 countries and a staff of approximately 2,000. Essence managed over $4B in annualized media spend globally, with clients such as Google, The Financial Times, Target, NBCUniversal, BP, FrieslandCampina, L’Oreal and Tesco Mobile. In 2015 Essence became majority owned by WPP, and a part of GroupM, the WPP media investment management operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bookmark Content and Communications</span> International content marketing agency, member of Spafax Group

Bookmark Content and Communications, sometimes shortened to Bookmark or Bookmark Content, is an international content marketing and communications agency. It is a member of the Spafax Group, a WPP company. It was rebranded in 2016 after the merger of Spafax Content Marketing and Forward Worldwide and operates out of nine cities in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Bookmark specializes in content marketing, digital marketing, public relations, CRM, social media, magazine publishing and media sales. The company serves a number of major clients in industries including luxury, travel and hospitality, finance, real estate, automotive, beauty, and retail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GroupM</span> American company

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VML (agency)</span> American marketing communications agency

VML is an international marketing and communications company specializing in brand experience, commerce and technology, and customer experience. VML was formed from the merger of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R. It is a subsidiary of WPP plc, a multinational advertising and public relations holding company.

References

  1. "WPP's Wavemaker Defends Ikea's $108 Million U.S. Account in Global Media Review" . Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  2. "Mediaedge:cia changes name to MEC". Campaign Live. Katherine Levy. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  3. "Finalists announced for the 2015 iMedia Agency Awards". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  4. "MEC Launches New Global Content Division Wavemaker". Campaign Live.
  5. "GroupM Names Tim Castree as MEC's Global CEO". WSJ. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  6. Cook, Sarah (June 27, 2023). "China's Foreign PR Enablers". The Diplomat . Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  7. "Wavemaker Names Toby Jenner New Global Chief Executive". Adweek. Retrieved 2019-11-03.