MAM
WPP Q1 2013 revenues grow 6%; looks to maintain tempo
MUMBAI: Sir Martin Sorrell‘s charge is doing very well, thank you. Take a dekko at the Q1 2013 financials that the global advertising and marketing leader WPP has posted. Revenue growth is at 5.85 per cent, which seems not much, but it is far better than some of its peers‘ performances (Omnicom at 2.8 per cent and IPG at 2.4 per cent). Revenues were at ?2.53 billion as against Q1 2012‘s ?2.39 billion.
On a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of acquisitions and currency fluctuations, revenues were up 2.1 per cent with gross margin up 1.9 per cent compared with the same period last year.
North America led the media communications conglomerate‘s growth by contributing 35 per cent of the total revenue pie followed by the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa & Middle East and Central & Eastern Europe region at 29.1 per cent. Western Continental Europe accounted for 23.4 per cent of WPP‘s Q1 2013 revenues while United Kingdom pitched in the rest 12.5 per cent. The UK and the Asia Pacific Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa & Middle East and Central & Eastern Europe region were the only two regions which showed a growth in share of the revenue pie.
Business sector wise, advertising and media investment management continued to be the strongest sector accounting for 40.8 per cent of the total revenues, followed by branding and identity, healthcare and specialist communications with 27.3 per cent, while consumer insight and public relations and public affairs made up 23.2 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively.
In line with the group‘s strategic focus on new markets, new media and consumer insight, WPP completed 13 transactions in the first quarter. Nine acquisitions and investments were classified in new markets (of which eight were in new media), two in consumer insight, including data analytics and the application of technology and two driven by individual client or agency needs.
Specifically, in the first quarter of 2013, acquisitions and increased equity stakes have been completed in advertising and media investment management in Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand; in consumer insight in the United States and Myanmar; in public relations and public affairs in China; in direct, digital and interactive in the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Australia, says the media group‘s release.
WPP gained a total of ?940 million in net new business wins (including all losses) in the first quarter, compared to ?1.159 billion in the same period last year and in line with the quarterly average in 2012 of approximately ?940 million. Of this, JWT, Ogilvy & Mather, Y&R, Grey and United generated net new business billings of ?281 million.
Also, out of the group total, GroupM, its media investment management company,which includes Mindshare, MEC, MediaCom, Maxus, GroupM Search and Xaxis, together with tenthavenue, generated net new business billings of ?465 million ($743 million).
In its financial guidance for the rest of 2013, WPP says “our prime focus will remain on growing revenues and gross margin faster than the industry average, driven by our leading position in the new markets, in new media, in consumer insight, including data analytics and the application of technology, creativity and horizontality. At the same time, we will concentrate on meeting our operating margin objectives by managing absolute levels of costs and increasing our flexibility, in order to adapt our cost structure to significant market changes and ensuring that the benefits of the restructuring investments taken in 2012 are realised.” It has targeted like-for-like revenue and gross margin growth of 3 per cent and also improving its operating margins by half a point.
MAM
Madison World to launch AI platform M BrAIn for media planning
Agency group invests about $1 million as it shifts to AI driven growth planning.
MUMBAI: If media planning once ran on spreadsheets and gut instinct, the next chapter may run on algorithms and curiosity. Madison World is preparing to roll out the first version of its proprietary artificial intelligence platform Madison M BrAIn in early April, as the independent agency group accelerates its transition toward AI driven planning and product led media services.
The platform, expected to involve an investment of around $1 million, is designed to reshape how the agency approaches strategy by combining internal knowledge, external data sources and advanced AI models into a single intelligence ecosystem.
According to Madison Media, OOH and Hiveminds partner and group CEO Ajit Varghese the initiative forms part of a larger structural rethink within the organisation. “Traditionally agencies built frameworks around media planning and allocation. We are redesigning that structure into what we call a Growth Planning System (GPS),” Varghese said.
The shift reflects a growing belief that effective media strategy must begin earlier in the decision making process. Instead of jumping directly to channel allocation, planners must first decode the market itself identifying consumer barriers, purchase triggers and the core challenges facing a brand.
Once those insights are mapped, agencies can build clearer growth agendas for clients and design media strategies that connect more closely with business outcomes.
To support that approach, Madison has built Madison M BrAIn as what it describes as a human AI cognitive ecosystem. Acting as a central intelligence hub, the platform aggregates proprietary insights alongside external data sources and large language models, enabling planners to access deeper market intelligence before building campaign strategies.
Varghese said one of the core objectives is to democratise knowledge across the organisation. “In the past, this level of understanding was largely available to senior leaders or experienced strategists. With Madison M BrAIn, even a junior planner should be able to access the same intelligence and approach clients with a far more informed perspective,” he said.
The agency has already implemented the new planning philosophy internally and completed three months of testing for the AI platform, with early trials showing encouraging results in terms of learning capability and system performance.
While the first version relied on global large language models, Madison is now developing its own proprietary Small Language Model (SLM) to serve as the core of the M BrAIn ecosystem.
“The SLM will be able to read global LLMs, but the LLMs cannot read the SLM,” Varghese explained. “That ensures all the intelligence we build remains within the Madison ecosystem and strengthens our proprietary knowledge base.”
The first version of Madison M BrAIn is expected to go live in early April, with a more refined version targeted by the end of June. Over time, the platform will integrate additional external data streams and APIs including consumer insight platforms, social listening tools and client datasets.
These integrations are expected to enhance the system’s learning capability and enable it to generate increasingly sophisticated strategic recommendations.
Although the platform is currently being deployed for internal use, Madison sees potential for it to evolve into a licensable product in the future.
“At the moment, our focus is to stabilise and strengthen M BrAIn internally. But over time there is potential for this to become a product that could be licensed externally,” Varghese said.
The AI platform is also part of a wider technology transformation underway at the agency group. Alongside M BrAIn, Madison is building a broader digital infrastructure called the Catalyst operating system, which aims to integrate operational processes, data and product platforms into a unified ecosystem.
This broader technology stack could require an additional $1 million to $1.5 million investment over time, though spending will be phased and reviewed regularly.
“We are evaluating progress every three months and prioritising the most critical capabilities first,” Varghese said.
Madison expects the full AI and operating ecosystem to be fully functional within 12 to 18 months, positioning the agency to combine human strategy with machine intelligence as the advertising industry enters its next data driven phase.
