With Artificial Intelligence reshaping industries, the British advertising and communication giant WPP has announced a sweeping reorganisation, placing renewed emphasis on “verifiable human creativity and craft” as a key source of differentiation for brands.
WPP’s Chief Executive Officer Cindy Rose, during the fourth quarter earnings, unveiled WPP Creative, a new umbrella structure that will house its flagship creative agencies while promising a more integrated operating model and lower cost base. The move comes as the group battles declining revenues and increased competition from AI-led marketing services.
Rose framed the overhaul as both defensive and opportunistic. While growth in the creative services market is expected to remain muted in the medium term, she argued that creative capabilities will remain central to WPP‘s integrated plan.
“There is a significant opportunity for us to unlock white spaces across our client portfolio through joint propositions and cross-sell,” Rose said.
She added that the demand for demonstrably human-led creative work is increasing as AI-generated content becomes omnipresent.
The WPP Creative will be led by John Cook and will bring together agency brands, VML, Ogilvy, AKQA, Landor, and Design Bridge and Partners.
Rose stressed that the move is not a “consolidation”, and added, “We are not merging agency brands. We are not sunsetting and nor consolidating. On the contrary, John and our agency leaders will unite them in new ways”.
Under the new structure, agency brands will gain access to what Rose described as a “full modern stack”, spanning commerce, customer experience, and digital platforms, to enhance client propositions and broaden routes to market.
The reorganisation will sit within a simplified four-division model comprising WPP Creative, WPP Media, WPP Production, and WPP Enterprise Solutions. The group said the streamlined structure would create a more competitive cost base through shared infrastructure and unified operations.
The move follows a bruising financial year for the company. WPP reported that revenue fell 8.1% year-on-year to £13.55 billion in 2025. Operating profit declined 22.6% to £ 1.32 billion, compared with £1.81 billion in 2024. Profit after tax slumped 30.1% to £ 738 million, down from £1.06 billion the previous year.
The company has set out plans achieve £ 500 million in annual cost savings by 2028 at an estimated restructuring cost of £400 million over two years. Rose said that the overhaul was designed to position the company for a return to growth in 2027.
First Published on February 27, 2026, 14:04:50 IST