Creative agency shake-up at WPP: Grey to move into Ogilvy Group

WPP is to move creative agency Grey into Ogilvy Group as part of a shake-up, Campaign has learned.

Under the new structure, Grey will "realign financials" with Ogilvy, effectively becoming part of Ogilvy's P&L, but retain its brand name.

WPP confirmed the planned changes in response to an inquiry from Campaign.

The agency group was set to announce the reorganisation to staff in a memo, due to be sent on May 13.

The changes will mean Grey splits from sister agency AKQA. Grey previously became part of AKQA Group in a de facto merger between Grey and AKQA in 2020.

A spokesperson for WPP told Campaign: “AKQA and Grey have built their own individual momentum, and as we prepare to welcome a new global CEO for AKQA it was a good time to look at the best structure to serve the needs of our clients. With Grey’s award-winning creative roots and AKQA’s design and technology expertise, the change will allow each agency to focus on its core strengths. Grey will continue to operate as an independent, standalone agency brand within the Ogilvy network, just as it has within AKQA Group.”

Grey also has links with Ogilvy. At the time AKQA Group was created in 2020, WPP also formed a “strategic alliance” between Ogilvy Paris and Grey Paris in France. Grey retained its brand as part of the alliance, but the team joined Ogilvy’s office on Rue Marbeuf in Paris, and was allowed to draw more on Ogilvy’s resources.

As part of Grey’s new alignment with Ogilvy, Laura Maness, the global CEO of Grey, will report to Devika Bulchandani, Ogilvy's global CEO.

In a memo to staff seen by Campaign, Bulchandani said the move will allow the agencies to “leverage shared values and complementary strengths”.

She said: “Grey's 'Famously effective' mantra aligns perfectly with David Ogilvy's ethos of 'We sell, or else'. By welcoming Grey into our network, we can further amplify this shared commitment within WPP and the broader industry.”

Ajaz Ahmed, the former group CEO of AKQA, resigned in October 2024 and WPP is anticipating the announcement of a new global CEO of AKQA this summer. As the agencies await this news Maness, in her memo, said it was “the right time to review reporting structure”.

She added: “Most importantly, existing collaborations between Grey and AKQA will remain in place, while we continue to explore opportunities with AKQA, and others across WPP to best service our clients.”

At WPP’s financial results from Q1 2025, Global Integrated Agencies, which encompasses Ogilvy, AKQA and Grey among others, declined 4.4% like for like on Q1 2024. The holding company attributed the decline to continued pressure on project-based work which, it stated, “weighed particularly on AKQA in the quarter”. Ogilvy also faced tough year-on-year comparisons.

Grey, founded in 1917, and Ogilvy, founded in 1948, are two of WPP's oldest surviving agency brands after a series of internal restructurings.

WPP announced recently that it will be simplifying its media arm Group M, which is set to become WPP Media, under a single P&L for agencies EssenceMediacom, Mindshare, T&Pm and Wavemaker.

With the previous internal merger of VML, WPP going forward will operate in three main verticals: WPP Media, VML, and Ogilvy Group.