WPP has unveiled a self-serve marketing platform that allows brands to plan, create and publish campaigns directly through its AI marketing platform.
The new tool, which builds on its AI platform WPP Open, is aimed at attracting marketing budgets from the SME sector—a territory that is dominated by the likes of Google, Meta and Amazon, which offer their own self-serve ad platforms.
The aim is to expand WPP’s reach across the global advertising market by tapping into a large pool of smaller businesses that may not have previously been able to afford its agency services.WPP said it also offers an “efficient route” for existing clients to leverage WPP’s platform and tools.
“The rapid acceleration of technology is fundamentally reshaping our industry and WPP is embracing the opportunity to lead that change,” WPP CEO Cindy Rose said. “Our talented teams will always be at the heart of what we do, providing world-class strategic and creative partnership to the world’s most complex brands with WPP Open at the core.
“Now, we’re adding WPP Open Pro to our offer, a powerful new edition that puts our AI advantage directly into the hands of a much wider array of brands and businesses. This is about transforming how marketing is delivered, expanding our total addressable market, and giving more brands the tools they need to lead in the AI era.”
It is unclear how much the tool will cost clients and its roll-out out in Australia, but offering self-service advertising tools has been a growing trend for media owners in recent years, including Nine’s Ads Manager and Seven’s Phoenix. These businesses are also going after the SME sector.
Built on WPP Open – which will continue to be at the centre of WPP’s managed agency service offering that combines global teams with integrated technology – WPP Open Pro packages three functional areas into a simple interface.
Plan with AI-powered strategy: users can access WPP’s foundational data and insights to develop campaign strategies, better understand audiences and evaluate competitive landscapes quickly. This is powered by AI agents which draw on WPP’s deep proprietary, partner and industry data.
Create content at scale: marketers can generate on-brand, channel-specific ads and content in seconds, automating production while maintaining brand integrity and driving performance.
Publish campaigns: WPP Media clients can seamlessly integrate with, and hand off to, WPP’s Open Media Studio for enhanced media execution. Alternatively, the platform allows brands to publish content directly to major ad platforms.
WPP Open Pro offers an integrated solution for campaign implementation, connecting strategy, content creation and performance optimisation with enterprise-grade consistency.
The new platform is being pitched as a solution for distinct business units or regional teams within a global brand, as well as the unserved segment of the worldwide advertising market.
WPP is also chasing performance-based marketers in a fast-moving sector like ecommerce or finance, who need to rapidly create, test and optimise high volumes of ads to drive measurable outcomes.
Another key target are smaller businesses, startups and growing brands, who will have direct access to professional-grade tools and WPP’s intelligence.
“While some companies hide their AI behind service teams or focus on just one part of the journey, WPP Open Pro is an integrated solution for campaign implementation, built to deliver outcomes, not just assets,” said Stephan Pretorius, chief technology officer at WPP.
“This makes it ideal for clients and brands seeking consistency and compliance at scale, performance marketing teams focused on optimising outcomes, and, crucially, provides smaller, agile marketing teams and emerging brands with direct access to WPP’s professional capabilities and intelligence. It is simple, intuitive and transformative, giving marketers control, speed and scale with enterprise-grade quality.”
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