"Young & Rubicam and J Walter Thompson, two of the world's oldest and most iconic advertising brands that epitomized the Madmen era, have been shunted into the history books by VML, a 30-year-old commerce agency founded in Kansas City, Missouri of all places. The new entity is so huge that even the company itself is unclear how many are on the payroll. Media outlets were initially told 30,000 but that has been revised up to nearer 40,000."
"The news was an earthquake that shocked staff - who had no inkling until the story broke - and shook the industry. The aftershocks of the merger will be as powerful as the complex task of integrating teams and client rosters is difficult. That will generate one hell of an org chart. Agency CEOs on either side will be wondering who will lead their part of the combined agency."
WPP combined VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson and retired the long-standing Young & Rubicam and J Walter Thompson brands, creating an agency of roughly 30,000–40,000 people. The move surprised and shocked staff who learned only when the news broke, and it poses a massive integration challenge for teams and client rosters. Agency leaders will face decisions over leadership roles while clients must adjust to new client-agency relationships. Kansas City gains stature as a hub for the larger group, while members of the retired brands feel loss after decades of investment and history.
Read at The Drum
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