WPP is unifying its data efforts into a new global data company that is designed to help clients get more out of their first-party data, with an eye towards ethics.
Dubbed Choreograph, it brings together specialist data units of GroupM and Wunderman Thompson into a single company that’s accessible to all WPP clients and companies. This comes as the ad world grapples with a privacy crackdown from the likes of Google and Apple that will impact the way they can collect and apply consumer data.
The new organization will look to help clients realize the value of their first-party data, consult on and implement their data and technology strategies, and advise on privacy-first approaches, all while being respectful of privacy and with consumer permission.
“We are at an inflection point in the industry, where brands have an imperative to leverage their own first-party data to make advertising more relevant, effective and personal while fully respecting consumer privacy. We must also use data to gain insights, shape our creative work and measure results—and this requires a holistic approach that this integrated offering brings by enabling data to flow across client, agency, and media owners,” Mark Read, CEO of WPP said in a statement.
Choreograph will operate as part of GroupM, with Kirk McDonald, GroupM North America CEO, leading the new company. He will oversee a team of more than 700 technologists, product developers and data scientists who work with agency-embedded data and platform technology experts across WPP.
While much of Choreography’s capabilities were available to WPP clients previously, they were done through separate groups that weren’t necessarily working in unison to service clients needs.
“The reality is our clients need a simpler solution,” McDonald says.