Can WPP's self-serve AI offer Open Pro win without cannibalizing the agency market?

"First, new chief executive Cindy Rose made her first big statement: a partnership with Google that will see the marketing giant spending $400m on Google's AI technologies. Then came the launch of WPP Open Pro, a self-serve platform that the holding company says "will empower brands of all sizes to plan, create and publish campaigns independently". Together, the announcements set out WPP's stall for its positioning in advertising's holding-company AI wars (wars in which it has been chasing rival Public's enviable profitability)."

"A release makes the London-headquartered hold-co's intentions for Open Pro clear: shoring up client retention from rivals trumpeting their own AI capabilities, while expanding its potential market. Declaring a "significant shift in the industry", it says that Pro "enables WPP to service the evolving needs of its current client base and grasp the opportunity to increase its addressable market of brands that may not have previously had the resources to benefit from its expertise.""

"The release lists "strategy, content creation and performance optimization" as capabilities; campaign adaptation and content personalization as use cases; and "smaller businesses, startups and growing brands" as potential clients. The suggestion: a swath of business just became targets for WPP to serve more cheaply than 'traditional' agencies operating on a managed service model. In short, it may hasten the arrival of what Forrester principal analyst Jay Pattisall's called an "existential threat" for advertising shops not ready to monetize around generative AI."

WPP announced a $400m partnership with Google on AI technologies and launched WPP Open Pro, a self-serve platform enabling brands to plan, create and publish campaigns independently. Open Pro emphasizes strategy, content creation and performance optimization, with campaign adaptation and content personalization as key use cases. The platform targets smaller businesses, startups and growing brands to expand WPP's addressable market and offer lower-cost alternatives to traditional managed-service agencies. The initiative aims to shore up client retention amid rivals' AI pushes. Analysts warn the shift could create existential pressure for agencies unprepared to monetize generative AI.

Read at The Drum