WPP at a Corner: What CMOs Should Do Now

The ID Comms Breakdown

WPP’s recent account losses and legal troubles show why advertisers must tighten media governance, refresh agency strategies, and treat transparency as a non‑negotiable competitive advantage.

In this #MediaSnack Live episode, David and I unpack what is really going on and how senior marketers should respond.

For CMOs, Procurement Directors, and Global Heads of Media, the signal is clear: holding company fortunes are shifting, the stakes around media governance are rising, and your organisations cannot simply assume that long‑standing partners will always be the safest choice. The combination of the Adidas loss to Omnicom and a life sentence for a former GroupM executive in China is not just trade press drama. It is a real‑world stress test of your own contracts, audits, and pitch strategies.

I take my usually unfiltered view of WPP’s position: an incumbent that has gone from dominant to defensive, now sitting in third place behind Publicis and Omnicom and struggling to win the ‘PR battle’ around its tech and data story. David brings a more optimistic, on‑the‑ground perspective from active pitches, arguing that WPP is showing more humility, focus, and workmanlike intent than in the past.

For advertisers, the truth that matters is somewhere between those two viewpoints. What counts is not whether WPP’s share price is up or down this quarter, but whether your team has the right contracts, auditing rights, and optionality to protect media value if your agency partner suddenly finds itself under pressure.

In this episode, we recap the key themes from the episode and translate them into practical steps. You will understand what the Adidas decision tells us about Omnicom’s readiness, why the China bribery case is a wake‑up call for media governance, and how to reshape your gameplan so that media remains a genuine competitive advantage rather than a source of hidden risk.

|What’s going on with WPP, Adidas and Omnicom?

WPP’s loss of Adidas’ global media account to Omnicom signals a shift in competitive momentum and raises questions about WPP’s ability to defend its flagship clients in a crowded pitch market. For advertisers, this is a cue to reassess how you think about scale, capability, and conflict when shortlisting holding companies.

In 2026 Adidas reviewed its roughly $512m global media account, a relationship WPP’s EssenceMediacom had held since 2018 after winning it from Dentsu’s Carat. The pitch pitted WPP against Publicis and Omnicom. The outcome: Adidas moved its business to Omnicom, which already works with Nike in many markets. That is not simply a logo loss for WPP. It is a strategic blow to Cindy Rose’s ‘stabilise in year one’ Elevate 28 plan.

For me, this looks like the moment reality truly bites. WPP has struggled to keep pace with Omnicom and Publicis on integrated tech and data narratives. Omnicom’s Omni platform, combined with recent acquisitions, gives it a stronger story around end‑to‑end data and retail media, which analysts and brands increasingly favour. When those analysts start calling ID Comms asking ‘what is wrong at WPP,’ you know sentiment has shifted.

For David, the Adidas move confirms that Omnicom is now ready to fight for the biggest global fish. Over the last 18 months Omnicom has landed IBM and Dyson, but Adidas is structurally different: a high‑profile, emotionally resonant sports brand and a long‑standing jewel in WPP’s crown. Losing it will hurt, reputationally and operationally, and will force WPP to pursue new wins more aggressively.

Advertisers working with Omnicom should note the risk of becoming the ‘unloved incumbent’ as new wins soak up talent and attention. Existing Omnicom clients should use this moment to ask very specific questions about service levels, senior leadership time, and how Omni and partner tech like Flywheel will be deployed on their business, not just on Adidas.

On the WPP side, this is not the moment to write the group off. As David notes, WPP has shifted from an entitled pitch posture to one of visible humility and hard work. If you are heading to market with a major pitch, it would be a mistake to exclude WPP by default. You should, however, pressure‑test their Open platform story, their investment in your category, and how they will shield your account from the internal turbulence that follows a loss of this size.

What the China bribery case reveals about media risk

The life sentence for former GroupM China investment chief Di Fei over $176m in alleged kickbacks exposes just how vulnerable advertisers are when media supply chains lack contractual control and independent audit. This case is an extreme example, but the structural risks are familiar in many markets.

Between 2019 and 2023, Chinese prosecutors say that Di Fei and colleagues channelled large volumes of WPP media spend through broker intermediaries and siphoned off part of the rebates into personal accounts. Reports suggest the scheme involved around RMB 1.2bn, or roughly US$176m, and relied on the complexity of China’s trading model, where agencies work through brokers that aggregate spend and negotiate discounts on their behalf.

In theory, those rebates and discounts should flow back to the agencies and then to clients, either directly or through improved pricing. In practice, the lack of direct visibility from advertiser to media owner created an environment where bad actors could manipulate flows. The outcome is one of the harshest penalties the industry has seen: a life sentence for Di Fei and long prison terms for his colleagues.

For Cindy Rose, this is not a problem of her making, but it has landed squarely in her in‑tray. It comes on top of earlier whistleblowing and legal cases that have already exposed sensitive commercial information about principal trading models. It also reinforces a narrative that WPP, and GroupM in particular, profited from opaque practices for too long.

From an advertiser’s perspective, the jurisdiction matters less than the pattern. Wherever you spend, you are operating in an essentially unregulated market. You rely on your contracts, your right to audit, and the practical willingness to exercise those rights. If you do not, you are reliant on trust in systems and incentives you do not control.

At ID Comms we see this play out when brands commission independent verification of media value. In markets with complex trading models, like China, Latin America, or parts of Europe, we regularly uncover gaps between what clients think they have contracted and how value is actually generated and distributed. The China case is shocking, but it is not an isolated curiosity. It is a bright, flashing warning sign.

The lesson is not to panic about every market or every agency. The lesson is to hard‑wire protections into how you buy media globally. That starts with contracts that genuinely allow you to audit at the highest level, ideally at holding company level, and continues with actually conducting those audits on a regular cadence.

How CMOs should rethink their media and agency gameplan

To protect competitive advantage in media, senior marketers now need a gameplan that combines sharper agency selection, tougher governance, and proactive communication with boards and analysts. The WPP situation is a catalyst to update, not abandon, your big‑agency strategy.

Start with your agency roster. If you are a WPP client, do not assume the sky is falling, but make this your trigger to run a structured risk review. Identify which markets are most exposed to complex trading practices. Map where principal‑based media, inventory deals, and broker arrangements appear in your ecosystem. Then work with your procurement and legal teams to confirm your audit rights and test whether you have ever used them.

Next, look at your pitch readiness. The Adidas decision shows how quickly a long‑standing relationship can move when a brand believes another holding company has a stronger tech and data proposition. Whether you are planning a formal review or not, you should maintain an always‑on understanding of what Omnicom, Publicis, WPP, and Dentsu can bring in your category. That includes their retail media capabilities, clean room solutions, and how they operationalise first‑party data.

My scepticism and David’s optimism converge on one practical point: advertisers need options. You want a relationship with your current partner that is strong enough to improve, but you also want the evidence and thinking ready if you need to brief a pitch. That might mean quietly updating your scopes, refreshing scorecards, or pre‑aligning your internal stakeholders on what ‘good’ looks like now, not what it looked like five years ago.

Third, strengthen your internal governance story. When investors and boards see headlines about Adidas moving and GroupM executives going to prison, they will ask what this means for your business. You should be able to explain, succinctly, that your contracts include robust audit rights, that you exercise them, and that you treat media as a governed investment, not just a marketing expense.

Practically, that comes down to two simple but powerful moves. First, secure a contract framework that allows audits at holding company level across all relevant entities. Second, actually commission those audits on a cadence that fits your spend level and risk appetite. Brands that do both are protected against at least 90% of the avoidable risk ID Comms typically sees.

Finally, use partners like ID Comms as coaches. Our role is not to dramatise the headlines, but to help you translate them into pragmatic next steps: whether that is sanity‑checking your exposure in China, building a pitch‑ready narrative for your CFO, or pressure‑testing promises from any of the big four holding companies.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is WPP still a safe partner for large global advertisers?

Yes, but you should treat this as a moment to tighten governance. Review your contracts, confirm your audit rights, and ask WPP for clear explanations of how they manage transparency and trading practices in high‑risk markets.

2. What does the Adidas move to Omnicom really signal?

It signals that Omnicom feels ready to compete for the very largest global accounts and that its Omni data platform is resonating with brands. It also shows that long‑standing relationships can move quickly when another group presents a stronger future‑facing proposition.

3. Should Omnicom clients worry about attention being diverted to Adidas?

Existing Omnicom clients should ask for specific commitments on resourcing, senior leadership time, and how shared platforms will be configured for their brands. The goal is to make sure new wins do not dilute service on existing business.

4. How worried should I be about media corruption in China and other markets?

You should be alert, not alarmed. The China case highlights structural vulnerabilities where brokers and intermediaries sit between you and media owners. A strong contract plus regular independent audits significantly reduces your risk.

5. What immediate actions should CMOs take in light of these stories?

Run a targeted risk review of your media contracts and trading models, prioritise complex markets, and align with procurement on an audit plan. Brief your CFO and general counsel on how you are responding.

6. Do these events mean I should rush into a global media pitch?

Not necessarily. A rushed pitch often destroys value. Instead, build a pitch‑ready understanding of the market and pressure‑test your incumbent’s roadmap. Only move to a formal review when you have clear strategic reasons.

7. How can I explain these issues simply to my board?

Frame it as a governance story: unregulated industry, large flows of money, and recent public cases. Then explain how your contracts and audits control risk and how your agency strategy protects long‑term media ROI.

8. What role should procurement play now?

Procurement should co‑lead the response with marketing: tightening contracts, designing audit programs, and ensuring value definitions are clear. Their involvement is critical to turning lessons from WPP’s situation into better safeguards.

9. Are principal‑based media and inventory deals always bad?

No, but they require exceptional transparency and contract clarity. You need to know where your money goes, what inventory you are buying, and how any arbitrage margin is shared or disclosed.

10. How can ID Comms support us through this?

ID Comms can independently map your media ecosystem, benchmark agency offers, design fair pitches, and implement governance models that protect your media as a source of competitive advantage.

Episode Transcript

Hello, I'm Tom Denford in New York. And I'm David Indo from London. Welcome to Media Snack Live. It's our weekly roundup of all the important news, and stories, and trends you need to know about the global media marketing industry. In every show we ask what is going on, what are the implications for advertisers, and what should marketers be thinking about next. Thanks for joining us. Let's get into this week's show. Hello, mate. Hello. How are you today? You good? I'm good. I'm still, I'm still not back in New York, despite- ... what it' says here. I'm just obviously moving around. But, um, I think I'll be back in the office next week. Good. Uh, right, uh, today, ch- so much on, WPP. We're just gonna dedicate a whole episode to WPP. Um, we try not to always just talk about agencies, but it's where the stuff's kind of going on, isn't it? Some of the stories, and it's interesting. And what, what's a good indication is when we get calls from our clients , the marketers, saying, "What on earth is going on?" You know, because they just wanna keep on top of these things. It- David, you, you that gets the call typically. Um, we go- I'm gonna do a bit of a setup of, like, just a very, very quick, like, where we are with WPP right now. Just a quick reminder of, like, what's been going on in the last few months particularly. Then we've got two stories that we're gonna pick out here. We've called this episode WPP at a Corner because these are pretty, these are tough things, a lot of maybe just PR things, but they might be structural. We're gonna explore that. And then you're gonna give us. a bit of a, maybe a typically David Indo optimistic and hopeful, um, view rather than my, you know- Yeah ... salty, cynical view- ... um, about where they go next- Yeah ... because we have clients work with WPP. We have clients- Yeah ... that are thinking about working with WPP, and it's a big consideration, isn't it? These- Yeah ... these decisions that get, get made. Absolutely. Okay. Um, all good? with that. Right, so let's just go do a quick, you know, what's, what's, what's going on. Um, I' think kind of reality's bitten a bit in 2026 for WPP. Cindy Rose came in just over a year ago- Yeah ... um, and the idea that this was gonna be plain sailing or kind of smooth recovery has been a bit, bit derailed. There's been a few kind of reality checks, let's say that, to, to her first year tenure. It's not all on her shoulders. She's inherited a bit of a mess of an organization, an organization that was going through transformation, trying to catch up with its peers, notably Omnicom, now merged and- Yeah ... pretty formidable. Uh- ... Publicis, equally well-organized, good. leadership, pretty formidable. It's a tough ask. Um, she's, uh, she, uh, revealed this Elevate 28 strategy, which I' think, you know, we were impressed with. Yeah. You've been a bit closer to that and seen that a bit more firsthand. Mm-hmm. Um, uh, but, it's been bes- beset by some challenges, not least some very public legal challenges- Yes ... excuse me, um, which we've dealt with on Media Snack before, which, uh, you know, a previous exec, Richard Foster, is caught up in this whistleblowing case where they had to ex- WPP. voluntarily had to disclose quite a lot of sensitive commercial in- information, which- Yeah ... has led us all to, uh, better understand, uh, how, uh, these kind of agencies, are organizing themselves around principle-based media and these, you know, what, feel to our clients, like marketers, as pretty non-transparent activities. You know, so it's kind of shining a light in there. They've had to deal with that, and that's ongoing. They've had some pretty s- major flagship, flagship accounts that have defected, let's say, Coca-Cola probably being the most high-profile, shifting wholesale to Publicis. Um, they recently stood down from IBM, you know, which has been a 30-plus-year relationship. Mm-hmm. Um, I would argue that the- they're not, they've lost the spotlight a little bit on their tech story. You know, there was a lot of excitement and hype around their ac- infamous acquisition, but their leadership's fairly quiet compared to the noise, the very positive noise I think that's coming at' Publicis and Omnicom, not least with their- Yeah ... recent acquisitions in their organization and their platforms. Um, Dentsu's having a little resurgence that we talked about last week, which is kind of interesting. So if you wanna keep an eye on Dentsu as a challenger to all of this, then watch last week's episode, where we think that they are the, you know, they are the, um, you know, the, maybe the, the threat coming from that next four, that red ocean, with new leadership, new Japanese leadership- ... very confident and bold leadership. Um, that's gonna be a power that they ... Again, that's another, another, uh, challenger to WPP really because they're kind of similar scale now. Mm. Um, and I think they've lost a bit of the PR battle. I think there's a, as we've talked about over the years, there's a slight, there's a slight, um, uh, smugness maybe let's just say. Is that the right word? You know, historically in WPP's leadership, they've just been used to being the biggest and the best for so long. I don't think they're quite used to being the third-place challenger really under pressure. And- Mm ... so you'd expect them to be a bit more vocal and a bit more visible and a bit more kind of outgoing, I think, um- Mm ... which is what we see with Publicis and Omnicom. Uh, that's my experience. Yeah. Uh, may be unfair, but I don't think they win the PR battle. I don't think they're as charming as they think they are. Um- Mm-hmm ... and I think they probably need to do a lot to catch up there. So we, there's two stories that we want ... That, that's my kind of- Yeah ... m- m- maybe brutal assessment of where- I'm gonna challenge- ... of where I think- I'm gonna challenge some of that, by the way, in my- Yeah, no, good. That's good. And let's, that's why we know, ... N- the, when you, watch Media Snack, it's not, this is not scripted like, I don't know what' David's gonna say. He doesn't know what I'm gonna say. I'm, I'm, I'm pretty, pretty, um, bearish on WPP. I've had them I think, you know, undervalued. So many challenges popping up. We're gonna deal with two of them, okay, in the next- Yeah ... kind of 10 minutes or so. Um- One is a massive account loss- Mm ... which I think is more than just a billings loss. I think it's, that is quite a fundamental issue that they're gonna have to reconcile, and the second is a, yet another legal challenge which kind of casts- Yeah ... a slight dark shadow over the company. Um, so let's just, shall we' get into that, and then- First one, yeah ... I'd like your, your summary of, of like- Okay ... what now, because I, I think, as everybody knows, you, you tend to be a little bit more constructive and, and maybe optimistic about where they, where they're heading. Okay. Um- Well, let's, let's take this, take the first one. Say the first one. First one. And, and- Okay. That's what's going on ... and it kind of, it kind of links with the Elevate 28 strategy, her, her, Cindy Rose's three-year kind of plan. That first year was about stabilizing, so 2026 was about stabilizing the business, and what she meant by stabilizing the business was n- not losing too many accounts, ideally, and perhaps bringing in some net new business, making sure that the business was stabilized enough to, to fulfill the objectives of year two and year three. Um, now, we've talked about how bullish and, and, and congested the current pitch market is, and one of the more high-profile pitches that were currently in play is Adidas. Now, uh, WPP has looked after the global Adidas media account since 2018, under the, the network EssenceMediacom. And they went to review this year, and it was contested by Omnicom, Publicis, and obviously defended by WPP. And the news came this week that WPP have lost it, and they've lost it to Omnicom. Okay. So this is a, it's a huge blow, uh, and a, and a m- and a major, I think, bloody nose to that stabilized 2026 year platform year that, that she kind of ha- kind of has. You know, Adidas, high profile, super sexy brand, all over the World Cup at the moment- Yeah ... spends about 560 million. But the thing is, that it's a, it's the, it's one of the jewels in the crown of WPP. They've had it- Mm ... for so long. They've nurtured that relationship, and it's gone to a holding company that already looks after Nike, right? So, so Omnicom, outside of the US, through the IPG acquisition, looks after Nike, so they're obviously getting their- Mm ... kind of competitive conflict story kind of right. Yeah. Um, but, but it, but it perhaps, it, it, it suggests that Omnicom are now ready to, to fight for the big fish. Okay? Yeah. Over the last 18 months, whilst perhaps Omnicom have been trying to bed in, uh, the, you know, IPG and get all of that sort of sorted, most of the big pitches have been contested by Publicis and WPP. Now Omnicom are coming into play- Mm ... because they feel kind of ready for it. So that's a big- Yeah ... it's a big kind of blow, I think, and, and one that Cindy Rose will not have wanted to, to even entertain when that business went out to pitch, uh, earlier this year. Yeah. Yeah. Um, this will be quite funny to anyone that's actually watching along because we' are, we' were supposed to be pre-recording. We' were like, "Let's just do this on Thursday, and then we'll put it out on Friday," but somehow, somehow I managed to put us live. So we are live streaming, so if you're following live, um, uh, welcome. This is, welcome to the rehearsal. This is great. Um- Brilliant ... who, who, who knew? I've just saw a comment pop up, and I was like, that's cool. How did you' manage to join our pre-record? Uh, hello, Alan. Thank you for the comment. I'll come to it in a minute. Um, okay, so i- implications of that, uh, I kind of hinted at the beginning. I mean, it's a, it's, it's not about the billings. It's not about the logo. It's a real shame that there are... You know, they won this business a little while back from Densu. You and I worked on that Adidas business at Densu- Yeah ... years and years ago, and we know- it's a phenomenal, amazing business to work with. Um, and it's a, just a bit of a ins- indictment, isn't it? I think it's the first. Coca-Cola was the, like you can, you know that the Coca-Cola- Yeah ... loss, there was, there was more to it than that. But that's the US, remember, so, so they- Yeah ... so WPP. still look after Coca-Cola in, in markets- Yeah ... outside of the US, but that's going on at the moment. So you've got- Yeah ... the head-to-head between Publicis and, and WPP, on all of the Coca-Cola business. Yeah. So that will be one to watch out for. Yeah. So, I mean, the pressure then on them to, to retain that at any and all cost is going to be immense. Um, you know, it's funny, Sin- in the last week, for me, a really good indication that like, okay, this, this is serious stuff, is when I start getting calls from analysts going, "Hey, what's, going on?" Mm. Like, "Is this, is this just an account loss, or is this something kind of structural? What's, the problem with WPP? Why is Omnicom winning things? Why is Publicis winning things?" And when the market's asking that- Mm ... you know that there are questions may be a bit m- more structural. Um, so the implication is, look, I think it's an indication that something's not, not right there. Um, you know, m- as you say, moving into a conflict situation, there was nothing particularly within WPP's capabilities that would be necessarily limiting, we would assume, to Adidas. However, they've seen something that they prefer. Um, on. that basis, we'll try to kind of find out more about, you know, what, what's driven those decisions. But it probably comes down to a, you know, s- it's a scale question, unfortunately, probably is a scale question. So the m- would, would Omnicom pre-merger have, have maybe won this straight out? Maybe not. Um, so the combination of capabilities and scale and then, uh, you know, a kind of data monopoly, you might say, that, that Omnicom now has. They've, uh, you know, they've managed to get their prop- data proposition up and running on Omni with Flywheel. Um, maybe gives them a bit of a structural edge over WPP. Mm. Uh, the proof is going to be played out over the next few years. You know, we have clients kind of jostling and thinking and w- you know, we're in the business of evaluating all of these different capabilities of the agencies. Uh, who's gonna win- ... is the round real test of that technology. Yeah. At the moment, it's all on a promise. Omnicom's promise is bigger than WPP's promise right now. Yeah. That's what this is telling us. Yeah. Uh, okay, from a, from a marketer perspective, what, what should you be thinking? Is this significant or not? I think it is. I think, well, there's two things that I'd take from, from this story as a, as a, a, a, as a, an influencer kind of marketing thinking. The first is that Omnicom are obviously getting their act together and they're ready to get a pitch, right? So prior to Adidas winning, they'd picked up IBM and, and Dyson. Decent accounts- Yeah ... but this is, this is a kind of a big one, and it says they're right, they're ready to go- into the marketplace properly. Now, if I'm a, an Omnicom client, uh, I wanna make sure that all of the value, and all of the attention, and all of the love isn't being directed to, kind of the shiny new objects. I wanna make sure that I'm kind of making sure that I get my disproportionate fair share of, of- Yeah ... kind of the value that is obviously on offer. So, so as a, if I'm an Omnicom client, I wanna make sure that, you know, thank you very much, keep showering me with that kind of attention. That's important. But in the marketplace, I think this is really significant, in the marketplace, it' is about WPP. Now, WPP will be reeling after this. They need to recalibrate this 2026 stabilize year, and- so they will be going out aggressively to go and try and fill the gap that Adidas has created and, and, and tell the market that this is, not a fatal blow. So if you are- Yeah. ... in the market to go and tender, do not write WPP off. Mm-hmm. Make sure that you' are asking the right kind of questions, and I would imagine that Cindy Rose will be leading that charge from the front. So, uh- Yeah ... those would be my pieces of advice to, to, to the marketing community. Yeah. And does that, you know, for those of us in the know, does that, is that a blank checkbook kind of moment? Because we see that- Well- ... agencies have these kind of things. Is, I mean, has Brian Lesser kind of given a, "Look, dude, you know, you've, you, you need to win some business here." Uh, otherwise this model- Well, it, it- ... this, this experiment is not working. Yeah. Well, what it is is that don't lose it on cost, right? Yeah. You know, let's reframe it. Let's, let's show our smarts. We've got WPP Open, you know, to great fanfare. Uh, how do we now begin to start illustrating our strategic value, but we will not lose this, we will not lose any business on cost? Yeah. Um, good. Okay. Uh, let's move on to the next story we've got. And this- Okay, so- This is bonkers. This is a bit bonkers, isn't it? Um- Yeah ... it's a shame. It's, it's a real indictment of the industry that, that, that maybe we've all become and, but it's a good, it's, there's hopefully a good lesson- Yeah ... to be learnt here. Okay. What's going on? So this is in China now. The former GroupM chief investment officer in China has been sentenced to life imprisonment- Oof ... for commercial bribery. So, uh, over a period of four years, from 2019 to 2023, he and two of his, uh, colleagues at GroupM, uh, took a whole load of backhanders in terms of kinda rebates, to the tune of $176 million, they think. So in China, what they do, what they do ... In, in, in, in most markets in, in the world, you kind of trade as a, as a, as an agency entity. But in China- Yeah ... they engage with brokers, these intermediaries that- Mm- ... that, uh, represent you in these negotiations in market. And what these brokers do is they, um, aggregate loads of agencies' kind of spend, go and do these big deals, and get rebates, and get discounts, and those discounts and rebates should go back to the agencies that then distribute it' to their clients. Now, in this case, allegedly, uh, in this case, some of the rebates and some of the money was being kept and then distributed directly into the bank accounts of these three GroupM, uh, investment kind of executives. Mm. Um, so one of them, the, the guy called Dai Fei, he got, he's got life imprisonment. Another one of his colleagues has got 14 and a half years, and then the third one has been sentenced to four years in prison. Now, you can imagine- Right ... what implications this has kind of got on the, the advertisers that are looked after by WPP and meet in, in China. And the last thing- Yeah ... that Cindy Rose needs, on the back of, as you mentioned earlier on, the Richard Foster, uh, situation in the US, another kind of stain on the agency or the holding company's transparency record. I mean, but life imprisonment- Yeah ... bribery, that is crazy. Yeah. Um, I mean, that, that is, that's in a very extreme example. Uh, this is a legacy, I mean, this is not a Cindy Rose, it's a Cindy Rose problem now, because she's the CEO. But, um, this is, this is, this is a legacy, I think, of a- Right ... y- of a GroupM organization that ... I mean, it made the rules in some, some markets. It was just the sheer scale of GroupM and its dominance in some markets. You know, China was a, a, and continues to be, a very powerful market for WPP. Um, it was a, a real jewel in the crown, really, of the WPP media network, was just its capabilities and its presence in China, its dominance in China. Um, that's been totally abused now. Uh, and it's taken a long time for this to come to, to trial and to come to prosecution. Yeah. So this is not a new thing. It's been rumbling around in the background. These executives were fired by WPP last year. Um, as soon as the k- you know, evidence came to light. But, and I'm not saying that they knew anything about necessarily that in a- in advance of that, but some people did know, you know? There was, uh, you know, discussion and rumors about all these, how these kind of strange, very, very complicated media arrangements exist, not just in China- Yeah ... but many other countries around the world, where you just have to be very careful as a advertiser. You have to, you know, employ ... We get employed by a lot of brands to do independent validation and verification of where, of the money flow. Yeah. And we kind of know some of the nuances of these trading, trading practices in different markets. Um, this is, this is extreme. I mean, it's gotta be- Yeah ... a lesson. Nobody can go to, nobody, n- please, nobody more should be going to prison for life for buying and selling media. I mean, for goodness sake. Um- Absolutely ... that's a real, a real low point. Just another bit ... Well, it's a big, it's a big PR dent. It's kind of interesting that the US press here hasn't really picked it up. Mm. Yeah. You know, it's had ... You know, I mean, it hasn't really been a big story. The only title that's really running this story a lot is Campaign. Yeah. Um, it- I don't, I haven't seen it in Ad Age or Adweek or anyb- anywhere else. So- Mm ... uh, maybe that's WPP's PR machine doing its magic again. Yeah. Um, who knows? But, uh, that hasn't yet got the attention. It'll probably come out, and listen, I mean, we'll, we'll post to some of the links. It's kind of interesting- Mm ... as, as I say, it's just a lesson to be learnt, isn't it? Mm. It really is. Um- Yeah ... a low point. Let's, um ... I know you wanna wrap up because we've gotta s- we've gotta stop in two seconds, but, um, just give us a, give ... What should marketers be thinking? I mean, is it, again, is this serious? If you're a North American CPG marketer, like, so what? Yeah. Does it, does it matter or not? Well, it k- kind of, it does matter because this is an unregulated industry that we operate in. We've talked about it before. And, and, you know, this is, this is ... I'm not gonna provide any, any silver bullets here, but the two things that you've gotta do if you're a marketing organization spending any form of money is get a contract, which- is good, which allows you to, audit, and, then do the audit. It's as simple as that. Yeah. And if you do these two things, have a contract that allows you to audit your agency at the highest possible level, ideally at holding company level- Mm ... and then conduct the audits, and then you're protected to 90% of the risk that you have. It's those businesses that don't that are exposed, and, and there are always gonna be bad actors out there that are gonna be looking to exploit these weaknesses. But get a contract and then audit. Simple as that. Yep. Very good. Okay. Give us a quick wrap-up then. So wh- where does this leave WPP? Are they in a corner, and what do they do now? Look, I ... The, the, the share price isn't great. So when, when Cindy Rose took over in September of last year, the share price was 290 pence. Uh, that's down 15% now, from where it was then. So the, so the market's still ... The city isn't, isn't reassured. Yeah. Um, but I would not, I would not write off WPP yet. Uh, Cindy Rose, by everything that, I've seen or heard or read about her, she's a fighter, and she will have taken this Adidas and all of the other bits and pieces that' are going. on as a, as a body blow, but she will remain focused on her strategy. We know that she's representing WPP in pitches. So she's- Yeah ... she's got skin in the game. She's feeling invested in the process. That's not gonna kinda change. We weren't in Cannes this year, but the reports are that they' were understated. WPP were understated. They got rid of the big yachts. They got rid of all of the big islands and all the big expenses. Yeah. And it was a far more workmanlike, uh, approach to Cannes, which I think- Yeah ... I think is, is. the right thing. But the thing that you mentioned earlier on, and I, and this is where I'm gonna challenge you. Yeah. Um, I, I think that for years WPP went into pitches and they came in with a degree of entitlement, uh, because they were so successful. I think that has changed. I think that they go- Mm- ... into meetings, they' go into pitch presentations with a degree of humility. Yeah. So, so whilst their PR machines might not, be as, as, as vocal or as flamboyant as those in Paris or New York, uh- Mm ... I, I like that level of discretion. I like that level of calmness. Uh, I like that level of humility, and I think that that is far more attractive to clients than the old WPP. Uh, and so- Yeah ... I, and we're gonna watch this carefully. There's a lot of, a lot ... Many of our pitches are, are, are, are, are being contended by WPP. So we're gonna- Yeah ... we're gonna wait and see, but do not write Cindy or WPP off yet. Okay. Speaking of which, you've gotta jump into a pitch meeting. Yeah. Uh, for those of you watching along live, thanks. Welcome to the pre-recording of Media Snack. It will be out, or you can watch it now, but it'll be out, I th- technically on Friday. Um, and, uh, have a good week. We'll see you next time. Cheers, Tom. Bye-bye. Thanks for watching Media Snack Live. If you found it helpful and want to learn more, head to idcoms.com to get more tips, tools, and resources to help you get good at media. We'll see you next week.

Call to action: If you want to confidentially discuss your media 'gameplan' and explore your options to protect and grow your competitive advantage in media, get in touch with ID Comms today.