AD Agencies
WPP OpenDoor beefs up measurement & analytics with addition of Premjeet Sodhi
MUMBAI: WPP OpenDoor – the specialised unit within WPP for Amazon – is seeing a lot of heavyweight names from within the group being added to it. The latest to be roped in is Premjeet Sodhi who has been appointed as its global lead measurement & analytics based in New York.
Sodhi, who was the chief strategy officer at Wavemaker India until 2023, was plucked and planted in Wavemaker, New York as global lead measurement & analytics and has been based in the Big Apple since then. He has been with the WPP group agencies from 2018, starting with Mindshare Fulcrum as senior vice-president and then moving to Wavemaker India as chief growth officer in 2020.
Sodhi was with Lintas Media group from November 2002, rising to become its president in June 2010 from where he was picked to be the chief operating officer of Initiative Media for six years and three months till March 2018.
The BE in electronics and post graduate diploma holder in rural management began his career in Gujarat State Financial Services as deputy manager from 1996-98, moving on to become research director at ICRG Mudra for two years from 1998. He was appointed at GM technical in the Media Research Users Council from 1999-2001. He also hard a short spell of a year as a team member of Ogilvy Outreach from 2000-2001.
AD Agencies
Microsoft shifts global media account from Dentsu to Publicis Groupe: Reports
Closed review ends decade-long tie-up; Xbox remit may remain with Dentsu
MUMBAI: Microsoft has reassigned its global media planning and buying business to Publicis Groupe, according to media reports, ending Dentsu’s long-standing stewardship of one of the advertising industry’s biggest accounts.
The move follows a closed review and marks a notable shake-up in the global media landscape. Dentsu, which managed the account through Carat, had held the mandate since 2014 and successfully defended it in a 2018 review.
While the broader business is shifting, Dentsu is expected to retain media responsibilities for Xbox, according to media reports, though the exact contours of that arrangement remain unclear. None of the parties involved have publicly outlined the transition timeline or the full structure of the handover.
The scale of the account underscores the significance of the change. Estimates from COMvergence, cited by Ad Age, peg Microsoft’s global media spend at roughly $700 million last year.
For Publicis Groupe, the win deepens an already expanding relationship with the tech giant. Earlier this year, Microsoft Advertising partnered with Publicis Media Exchange and Epsilon to integrate Epsilon’s data into its platform, aiming to sharpen targeting across search, native and display formats.
The decision reflects a broader industry shift, as large advertisers increasingly favour agency partners with strong first-party data capabilities, AI integration and platform-led solutions. Publicis Groupe has been leaning into this model, positioning its data assets and technology stack as a central differentiator.
For Dentsu, the loss is significant. Media remains a core pillar of its global business, and the development comes close on the heels of leadership changes, including the appointment of Takeshi Sano as global chief executive officer.
The shift also carries a touch of irony. Microsoft and Dentsu have worked closely beyond the client-agency relationship, including collaborations around AI tools such as Copilot to support media and creative workflows.
As the dust settles, the message is clear: in today’s data-driven, AI-powered media world, relationships may be long, but they are rarely permanent.
