Global holding group WPP is set to move advertising firm Grey into Ogilvy Group, as part of a wider agency shake-up, according to Campaign.
The move will see Grey “realign financials” with Ogilvy, essentially becoming part of its income statement, but retaining its brand name. The news was reportedly announced in an internal memo yesterday (13 May).
The historic New York-founded agency will now split from sister agency AKQA, having previously become part of AKQA Group in a de facto merger in 2020.
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A WPP spokesperson 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,” they added.
The news follows WPP’s announcement last week that it would be simplifying its media branch Group M, which will now become WPP Media, under a single income statement for EssenceMediacom, Mindshare, T&Pm and Wavemaker.
