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WPP’s Sorrell bearish about print media as an ad medium
MUMBAI: When WPP group CEO Martin Sorrell speaks, the world listens. And he does not pull any punches.
Sorrel, while speaking at the FT Digital Media Conference in London yesterday, said something that should make owners of traditional print media like newspapers and magazines sit back and do some introspection about their future. Sorrell said that advertisers should think about reducing the amount that they spend on newspapers and magazines and focus more on online and digital media.
The WPP group and its clients are already doing that. Come next year, and Google could well overtake News Corp next year as the place where the agency spends most of its clients‘ money.
Citing numbers, he said that 34 per cent of WPP‘s $72 billion media investments on behalf of clients went towards digital last year.
ews Corp – a relatively more traditional print media player with oodles of magazines and newspapers – was the biggest media outlet for its clients‘ communications at $2.5 billion last year. But Google is coming on strong and WPP spent $2 billion on ads across its products, which was a 25 per cent jump over last year.
By the end of next year Google could push News Corp away as being at the top of the list of media outlets where WPP spends its client money, he highlighted.
Citing data from the US, where WPP spends $40 billion a year on media, Sorrell said that there is a big disparity between advertisers‘ print spend and consumers‘ print usage. “We are investing 20 per cent of WPP clients‘ media budgets on magazines and newspapers, but consumers are only spending seven to 10 per cent of time consuming print. That has to change.”
He pointed out that the share of ad spend in other media such as TV, outdoors and radio is matching the time that consumers spend on them “TV viewing is about 43 per cent of consumers‘ time, (ad) investment is 43 per cent” he said.
He has also accused Google, Facebook and Twitter of being media owners masquerading as tech companies. “I do regard Google as a media owner, yes. These are media owners masquerading as technology companies. Google sells Google, Facebook sells Facebook. Twitter sells Twitter.”
MAM
Toyota appoints Kenta Kon as President & CEO
New leader to steer EV push and global innovation amid industry shift.
MUMBAI: Toyota just handed the keys to a new driver because when the road to electric mobility gets twisty, you need someone who knows how to accelerate without skidding. Toyota Motor Corporation has named Kenta Kon as its new president and chief executive officer, a key leadership transition as the Japanese giant doubles down on its transformation in the fast-evolving global automotive landscape.
Kon brings deep expertise in automotive innovation, business strategy, and operational leadership to the top job. His appointment signals Toyota’s intent to sharpen focus on accelerating electric mobility, strengthening worldwide operations, and pushing customer-centric breakthroughs in next-generation technologies.
The company is betting on Kon to guide it through the industry’s pivotal shift toward sustainability, digital integration, and smarter mobility solutions. Key priorities under his watch include ramping up electric and hybrid lineups, expanding global market reach, driving cutting-edge automotive R&D, tightening supply-chain efficiency, and scaling connected and intelligent vehicle ecosystems.
This move comes at a time when legacy automakers face intense pressure to balance heritage strengths with aggressive electrification timelines and software-defined vehicle demands. Toyota aims to reinforce its position as a leader in sustainable, reliable, and future-ready mobility while navigating competitive challenges from both traditional rivals and new-age EV players.
For a brand that’s long defined durability and innovation, Kon’s elevation isn’t just a title change, it’s Toyota flooring it toward the next lap, ready to turn today’s tech talk into tomorrow’s showroom reality.
