AD Agencies
Subhas Warrier launches Sensibly Weird Company
NEW DELHI: Prominent adman Subhas Warrier, who has earlier worked with agencies like Ogilvy and Mindshare, recently launched his own advertising agency, Sensibly Weird Company. He has partnered with former head of department (visual arts) at the National Institute of Creative Communication (NICC), Bengaluru, Shyam Musthafa.
Based out of Kochi, Sensibly Weird Company is going to be a small multidisciplinary creative solutions company and a design house. It is already associated with clients like Hama, Xavax, Toni & Guy, Cater, etc.
Boasting of over three decades of experience in the industry, Warrier has earlier handled brands like Ford Motors, Pond’s, Emirates Airline, Gulf Air, Air Arabia, British Petroleum, Jockey, 3M, Taaza Tea, IBM, Knorr Foods, Sunsilk Shampoo, Close Up, Sensodyne, Intercontinental Hotels, Citibank, and Qatar National Bank.
Musthafa, on the other hand, has worked with brands like Forum Mall (Prestige group), The Chennai Silks, Food Stop Diner, Milou, Jain Tubes, Kings Beer, Indel Money, Masala Box, and Vivafit, among others.
AD Agencies
WPP to cut jobs in £500m restructuring drive as revenue drops 8.1 per cent
CEO outlines reset after 30.1 percent profit decline
LONDON: WPP has signalled further job cuts as it embarks on a multi-year restructuring aimed at simplifying its sprawl, hardwiring artificial intelligence into its services and hauling profitability back on course.
The UK-listed advertising group will fold itself into a single integrated company structured around four divisions: WPP Creative, WPP Media, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions, under a plan to deliver £500 million in gross annual cost savings by 2028.
On the fourth-quarter earnings call, chief financial officer Joanne Wilson said the arithmetic was unavoidable. “In a business where most of our cost savings are people, that will mean a reduction of certain heads,” she said, adding that the group would reinvest in newer capabilities such as commerce, influencer marketing and advanced analytics.
The shift reflects a deeper rewiring. As AI becomes embedded in client workflows, the skills mix across the company is changing. Some roles will go; others will be created. “We will be reallocating talent around the business,” Wilson said, noting fresh hiring in data, technology and performance marketing.
Chief executive officer Cindy Rose said WPP was expanding internal training, including AI coaching and creative-technology apprenticeships, and embedding engineers from technology partners into client teams. Continuous reskilling, she argued, is central to staying competitive.
The urgency is financial. Revenue fell 8.1 per cent to £13.55 billion in 2025, while profit after tax dropped 30.1 per cent to £738 million. Staff costs, including severance and incentives, declined by £576 million as permanent headcount shrank 8.7 per cent and freelance spending fell 14 per cent.
Wilson warned that net new business headwinds would likely persist into the first half of 2026, citing cautious client spending and volatile marketing budgets.
On Thursday, WPP formally launched ‘Elevate 28’ a strategic programme to integrate media, creative, production and enterprise services, lower the cost base and improve cash generation.
Rose said 2026 would be about stabilising net new business performance. By 2027, a revamped go-to-market model should be fully embedded, paving the way for a return to growth. From 2028 onwards, WPP hopes to operate as a leaner, AI-enabled outfit with fatter margins: smaller, sharper and more machine-driven.
