Mastercard is shaking up its agency roster, appointing WPP Media as global media partner, the agency confirmed to Marketing Dive. The payments firm at the same time has enlisted Ogilvy, also owned by WPP, to help “build, foster, and engage online communities,” the shop said in a LinkedIn Post.
Mastercard’s media account had been handled by Dentsu’s Carat since 2014 while Interpublic’s McCann remains its lead creative and social agency, Ad Age reported. Mastercard spent about $180 million on media last year, COMvergence estimates.
The shakeup marks a needed win for WPP’s beleaguered ad-buying arm, which has been battered by major client losses this year, including Coca-Cola in North America and Mars. The group rebranded from GroupM to WPP Media in June and has been enriching its capabilities around artificial intelligence (AI), which appears to have improved its appeal to Mastercard. Mastercard could not immediately be reached for comment.
“This is a landmark win for our company that speaks to the momentum we’re building as WPP Media, the power of our integrated offer, and the value of the investments we’re making to give our clients an advantage in the AI era,” said WPP Media CEO Brian Lesser in a LinkedIn post.
Shortly following its rebrand, WPP Media launched a “large marketing model” called Open Intelligence that uses AI to predict audience behavior and the market performance of campaigns. Open Intelligence is part of a larger push to wean off of ad-targeting methods reliant on legacy IDs.
Securing the Mastercard business puts some fresh wind in WPP’s sails following a first half that turned out weaker than originally expected. Revenue less pass-through costs, an important measure of agency health, declined 5.8% on a like-for-like basis in Q2, per a trading statement shared earlier this month. The ad-holding group expects full-year declines between 3% and 5%, a gloomy forecast it attributes to worsening macroeconomic conditions and a failure to secure enough new business.
WPP is also undergoing a transition in the top ranks, with Cindy Rose replacing Mark Read as CEO at the beginning of September. Rose joins the agency from Microsoft, aligning with WPP’s bigger drive for tech and AI-powered transformation.
“Mastercard is one of the world’s most respected and trusted brands, at the heart of global commerce,” said Rose in a statement shared with Marketing Dive around the Mastercard win. “To be selected as their partner is an honor and testament to the AI-based data solutions we are building at WPP to fuel intelligent growth.”
