WPP to combine 5 of its brand & design agencies to form a global agency

WPP is bringing together five of its brand consultancies and design agencies – Brand Union, The Partners, Lambie-Nairn, Addison Group and VBAT – to create a global brand agency. The combined entity will have a network of 750 people in over 20 countries, with client billings in excess of $100 million worldwide. 

The yet-to-be-named agency is slated to launch in January 2018. According to a WPP release, the decision to bring the agencies together is part of a client-centric plan for growth. It will enable clients to engage with a wider array of specialists, provide a more connected set of services, and will make the strategic, creative and client-focused excellence of each of the five agencies accessible at scale. 

The new agency will be led by Jim Prior as Global CEO and Simon Bolton as Executive Chairman. Prior is currently the CEO of The Partners and Lambie-Nairn, while Bolton is currently CEO, Worldwide of Brand Union. 

The release quoted Jim Prior, Global CEO, as saying, “Our clients and our industry are ready for change and by bringing these agencies together, we can serve clients across the full range of sectors, capabilities and geographies. This convergence builds the next generation brand agency and is motivated by the opportunities for growth – for our clients and for us.” 

Simon Bolton, Executive Chairman, added here, “Bringing our agencies together will instantly give our clients the benefit of scale and single point of access to a breadth of services that covers almost every aspect of brand and communications.”