Image source: WPP
WPP has announced the launch of WPP Production, a single global production brand that brings together the group’s worldwide production capabilities under one structure. The move consolidates Hogarth, WPP’s global production company, with production teams from across WPP agencies, including networks such as VML and Ogilvy.
The new unit will be led by Richard Glasson, Global CEO of Hogarth, and will officially launch on February 23. According to WPP, WPP Production will employ close to 10,000 content producers across more than 40 cities, positioning it as one of the largest integrated creative production operations in the industry.
The consolidation is part of WPP’s broader effort to simplify its operating model and make its services easier to access for clients. All production teams will operate on a single global platform, using WPP Open’s production technology and AI-powered workflows to deliver content across markets, channels and formats.
WPP said it plans to invest heavily in talent and technology, with a particular focus on generative AI, as well as virtual and hybrid production. The goal, according to the company, is to modernise content pipelines and respond more effectively to growing client demand for high-volume, always-on content.
“This is a transformative moment for us and, more importantly, for our clients,” Glasson said in a statement. “Bringing all of WPP’s craft expertise together in WPP Production reinforces our position at the heart of WPP’s integrated offering and allows us to activate the full collective power of the group.”
WPP CEO Cindy Rose described the launch as a cornerstone of the company’s strategy to integrate services across the network. She pointed to the increasing centrality of content in marketing as a key driver behind the move, positioning WPP Production as a core capability rather than a support function.
The production push comes at a time when agency groups are under pressure to adapt their models. Late last year, WPP reported a decline in revenue less pass-through costs for the third quarter and signalled that simplification, new service models and AI would be central to its turnaround strategy. Industry consolidation, including the IPG-Omnicom merger, has further intensified the focus on scale, technology and operational efficiency.
WPP has stressed that the consolidation is not being driven by cost-cutting and that it does not anticipate layoffs as a result of the restructuring. Instead, the company frames WPP Production as an expansion of its production ambitions, rather than a reduction. Alongside the organisational changes, WPP plans to open a number of new studio locations globally, building on Hogarth Studios’ recently developed content capture and virtual production facility in London.
With WPP Production, the group is making a clear statement about where it sees the future of agency value: not only in ideas and media, but in the ability to produce, adapt and scale content at speed, across markets and channels, within a single integrated system.
