Brian Lesser's blueprint for reinvention at WPP Media is not to buy, but to build

""The future of growth won't be bought, it will be built," says Brian Lesser, chief executive officer of WPP Media. "It's not a world of incrementality any more. It's a world of reimagination and reinvention.""

""You can't build a brand on sizzle alone," he says. "We need to stop behaving like we're designing fireworks and start thinking like master architects who need to sustain through disruption. Timeless brands remain unfazed by change because of the worlds they've built. You can react to today or build for tomorrow.""

""Our vision isn't evolution," he says, "It's reinvention that requires bold action.""

Marketers and agencies are urged to shift from short-term optimization to designing enduring brand ecosystems that can withstand disruption. Lasting growth must be built rather than bought, prioritizing reimagination and reinvention over incremental gains. WPP is undergoing internal rebuilding, moving from a service model toward an AI-powered media collective and offering a self-serve WPP Open Pro to enable smaller brands to plan, create, and publish campaigns. Agencies should stop producing transient sizzle and adopt master-architect thinking to create timeless brand worlds that enable sustained growth and adaptability amid industry disruption.

Read at The Drum