WPP has unveiled a new strategy, called Elevate28, to turn around its fortunes within three years, with a focus on four core divisions and four regions globally.
The UK agency group will make £500 million (US$676 million) in annualised cost savings as part of the shake-up to drive simplification— “transitioning from a holding company structure to a single company”, WPP said.
Cindy Rose, the chief executive, hailed what she called a “bold plan” as she unveiled her much-anticipated strategy review at the annual results, where the company reported revenues less pass-through costs declined 5.4%—its worst performance since the pandemic. Q4 was down 6.9%.
Pre-tax profits fell 87% to £131 million ($177 million) and staff headcount fell by almost 9400 to 98,655 compared to 108,044 as at 31 December 2024.
“Our recent underperformance has been driven by excessive organisational complexity, a lack of an integrated operating model and inconsistent strategic execution,” Rose, who started as chief executive on 1 September 2025, said.
There will be four operating units—WPP Media, newly created WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions—and they will be led across four regions, North America, Latin America, EMEA and APAC.
WPP Creative is a new umbrella unit made up chiefly of creative agencies VML, Ogilvy and AKQA and PR division Burson.
Jon Cook will become global chief executive of WPP Creative, while retaining his existing role as global CEO of VML.
WPP already has regional chiefs for WPP Media and is expected to name regional leaders for WPP Creative at a future date. It is understood WPP regards Burson as an important part of its integrated offer, amid recent reports that the agency group might consider selling it.
WPP said Elevate 28 has four key areas:
Deliver superior growth for clients
Priorities are “Lead with Media” at the heart of an integrated proposition; establish next-generation creative and production capabilities; elevate enterprise solutions to partner with clients on AI transformation.
Become a simpler, integrated company
Simplify the operating model; strengthen execution and transform our go-to-market; drive a high-performance culture and attract and retain the world’s best talent.
Unlock the advantage of technology platform WPP Open
Connect capabilities through WPP Open; differentiate with trusted data solutions through Open Intelligence; expand strategic technology and data partnerships.
Create firm financial foundations for the future
Unlock £500 million of annual cost savings, enabling a reallocation of investment; focus the portfolio to reduce leverage and create further capacity to invest in growth; disciplined capital allocation with a focus on maintaining an investment-grade balance sheet while delivering attractive returns for shareholders.
WPP added that the Elevate28 plan will happen over three phases, over three years, until 2028.
Phase 1 is called “Stabilise” for 2026 as revenues will still decline. “The immediate priority is to stabilise net new-business performance. We will execute cost-saving initiatives and rationalise the portfolio,” WPP said.
Phase 2 is “Build” in 2027 as “our transformed go-to-market strategy, supported by a more effective operating model, will be embedded and will help deliver a fully integrated offer” and WPP looks to return to growth.
Phase 3 is “Accelerate” in 2028 “and beyond” as WPP aims to be “a simpler, lower-cost, AI-enabled business, recognised by clients as a trusted growth partner, showing accelerated growth, improved margin and strong cash conversion”.
The £500 million of cost savings will cover three main areas: structural cost savings through driving organisational efficiency and consolidating leadership; reducing some of the corporate and support infrastructure in areas such as finance, human resources and back office areas; and rationalisation and simplification of property.
It is understood WPP could also potentially reduce the number of geographical markets in which it operates and the number of agency brands in those markets.
There will be some job cuts, although WPP gave no immediate information on the potential scale and it will look to reduce headcount partly through existing employee churn.
Source: Campaign UK
