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Better Customer Experiences through the ‘Non-Movement of Data’
Better Customer Experiences through the ‘Non-Movement of Data’
I am excited to be joining InfoSum as Chairman and CEO. Over the course of my career I have had the opportunity to…
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Brian Lesser posted thisYesterday, The Coca-Cola Company announced their decision to re-appoint WPP as their trusted partner to drive continued growth for the future. Building on the strength of our creative and production partnership with integrated media, creator, commerce, data and technology, underscores the depth of our integrated offer and ability to deliver today while envisioning tomorrow. As Manuel "Manolo" Arroyo said in Coca-Cola's statement, “WPP delivered a stellar performance during the reviews, demonstrating their strong, modern media, tech and data capabilities. Their data solution Open Intelligence builds on proven results from our FIFA World Cup 2026 activation across the world.” I could not be prouder of our teams from across our business who worked together to make this win possible. Most importantly, thank you to everyone at The Coca-Cola Company for your continued partnership. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to deliver on your trust every day and can’t wait to show the world what we’ll build together next. Cindy Rose OBE Adam Gerhart Toby Jenner Lauren Wetzel
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Brian Lesser shared thisCongratulations to Adam Gerhart on his well-deserved appointment as WPP's Chief Client Officer! Adam has devoted more than two decades to helping our clients succeed and building our company. Since we launched WPP Media last year, he has been instrumental in helping us bring our vision to life for our clients. I couldn’t be more excited to work with him in this new role as we drive media integration across the full scope of WPP’s capabilities. With Adam taking on this broader remit, I’m thrilled that Tamina Plum will be our next Chief Client Officer for WPP Media. Tamina knows that strong client partnerships are built by earning our clients’ trust every day—and by turning our expertise and innovation into real outcomes and growth for their businesses. Since joining us from Publicis earlier this year, she has already helped us raise the bar for client service. I’m excited to partner with Tamina as we work to deliver intelligent growth and a best-in-class experience for our clients. Congratulations, Adam and Tamina—two leaders who represent the strength of our talent and what we’re building together as one WPP.
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Brian Lesser shared thisSean Downey and I first met when he was at DoubleClick. Today he’s President, Americas & Global Partners at Google, one of our leading partners, and my latest guest on Made Together. Sean and I have sat on every side of the boardroom table—always with a deep respect for one another. During that time, we’ve worked through some of advertising’s biggest shifts, from the rise of the internet to mobile and programmatic. Now we’re taking on the next one, AI, as partners. In this episode of Made Together, Sean and I talk about what that shift means for our clients as Search turns into Discovery and YouTube becomes a place where creators and communities shape consumer decisions at scale. We also discuss how we’re working together to bring data, technology, and human expertise together through WPP Open. Because if those earlier shifts taught us anything, it’s that progress doesn’t happen in isolation. Thank you to Sean and the Google team for a thoughtful conversation. I hope you’ll watch the episode and let me know what stands out. https://lnkd.in/g7Nrc2TgInside Google and WPP Media's partnership | Made TogetherInside Google and WPP Media's partnership | Made Together
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Brian Lesser shared thisOur industry is changing fast and opening up incredible opportunities for innovation and growth. Bringing media, clients, and technology closer together is how we turn those opportunities into better outcomes for clients. That’s why I’m thrilled Laura Ryan is joining us at WPP Media as Chief Media Officer from IPG/Orion Worldwide. Laura knows how to connect client needs with new capabilities and bring people together to make it happen. She’ll help lead our next phase of innovation across activation and investment, working closely with our partners and with Adam Gerhart, Lauren Wetzel, and client and technology leaders from across our business. I couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead—and to have Laura on our team as we build the future of media.Brian Lesser shared thisWe’re pleased to welcome Laura Ryan as Chief Media Officer. As Chief Media Officer, Laura will oversee our global investment, partnerships, media management, and activation teams and work closely with our global client teams and our technology organization to develop products that drive value for marketers and partners. Laura is joining us from IPG where she was previously Global CEO of Orion Worldwide. With more than three decades of experience across client leadership, product innovation, operational transformation, and talent development, she understands how to bring clients, teams, and partners together to turn ambitious ideas into business results. Welcome to WPP Media, Laura! We’re excited about what we’ll build together.
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Brian Lesser shared thisProud to share that we’re expanding our relationship with DoorDash as their global media partner! Since Wavemaker and DoorDash first teamed up in 2018, we’ve been partners through a period of extraordinary growth and change — from placing DoorDash’s first national media campaigns to supporting their evolution into one of the world’s leading local commerce platforms. Our partnership is a great example of the kind of growth partner we aim to be for our clients: combining global scale and local expertise with an operating model built around our clients' own data and proprietary intelligence. Now, through WPP Open and Open Intelligence, we will help DoorDash move faster, understand consumers better, and drive even more measurable, incremental growth. As media and commerce become more closely linked than ever, I’m excited about what we can build together in this next chapter. Thank you to Tim Castree and the entire DoorDash team for the trust they’re placing in us to continue accelerating their growth — and congratulations to Nancy Hall, Brad Backenstose, and everyone at WPP Media who made this expansion possible!
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Brian Lesser shared thisI’ve long believed that to be the best possible partner for our clients, we need to be the best possible partner in the broader advertising ecosystem as well. I’ve experienced partnership from all sides. At InfoSum, it was the trust and value we built through partnership that allowed us to make data collaboration possible in new ways. It reinforced my belief that innovation, progress, and genuinely new capabilities come when organizations solve problems together. That belief informs how we’re building the future at WPP Media. It's why WPP Open is designed to be as interoperable as possible. And it's why our approach to innovation starts with partnership. Clients deserve to be able to access the tools and data that best fit their needs - enhanced by our expertise, trust, and scale. That’s the thinking behind Made Together, a new series featuring candid conversations with leaders from companies we partner with across media, data, and technology. I’m pleased that our first guest for this series is Jeff Green, Founder and CEO of The Trade Desk. I’ve known Jeff since before he founded The Trade Desk, and it was a privilege to sit down with him to discuss the evolution of programmatic, the essential role of agencies, and why integrated, omnichannel planning is critical to creating better outcomes for brands. We also talk about the future of data and measurement, the importance of earning trust through transparent value creation, and why the next era of marketing will depend on partners working together around real client growth. Thank you to Jeff and The Trade Desk team for a thoughtful, honest, and forward-looking conversation. In upcoming episodes, we’ll talk to other important partners - let me know who you’d like to hear more from. Next up…Google and Amazon. https://lnkd.in/gd9Gjsai
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Brian Lesser shared thisCannes is always a special opportunity to connect with clients and colleagues from around the world, and to leave inspired by new ideas and groundbreaking work. What stood out to me this year is the increasingly essential role media is playing in how the most creative ideas in our industry are shaped, scaled, and brought to life. That made this year’s results especially meaningful. Not only did WPP teams and clients secure 140 Lions across the festival, but WPP Media ended the week as the industry’s most awarded media group for the second year running — with our teams playing a pivotal role in winning 70 Lions for clients, including 4 Grands Prix and 16 Gold Lions across 19 different client brands. From KitKat Heist for Nestlé to Original Forever for adidas, Dove’s r/eal reviews, and more, the work recognized this week demonstrates what’s possible when brave clients and brilliant teams bring creativity, data, technology, and media together in new ways. These results are a powerful reminder of the role media now plays in driving culturally relevant, creatively ambitious, and effective work for clients. I'm especially grateful to our clients for the trust they place in us to bring their ideas and brands to life, and I want to congratulate every WPP Media team member who contributed to this year’s winning and shortlisted work. I’m so proud of what we achieved this week — and even more excited for what comes next. As a unified company powered by media, data, and technology, this is just the beginning of what we can do for our clients, our industry, and the future of creativity.Brian Lesser shared thisWPP Media is the most awarded media group at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for the second consecutive year 🦁🏆 As the sun goes down on an unforgettable week, we’re proud to share that our incredible clients were awarded 70 Lions, including four Grand Prix trophies and 16 Gold Lions. 19 different client brands received Lions for WPP Media-credited entries, with Unilever, Nestlé, and The Coca-Cola Company the most awarded with 25, 10 and five, respectively. Together, we put creativity, ambition and effectiveness centre stage, and this recognition is a testament to the industry-leading work done by WPP Media teams on behalf of the world’s leading brands 🩵 Brian Lesser, Global CEO of WPP Media, said: "We are privileged to work with clients whose vision and willingness to push boundaries makes wins like these possible. We’re deeply grateful for the trust our clients place in us to bring their ideas and brands to life with audiences and communities all around the world. "These results are a powerful testament to their vision, the creativity and innovation of our teams across WPP, and the essential role of media in our industry." More on our success story 👇 https://lnkd.in/ga7eGfDd
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Brian Lesser shared thisWhen we launched Xaxis — a decade and a half ago — we were building for a programmatic future many could see coming, but few fully appreciated or understood. Today, we’re on the cusp of the next major shift in our industry: agentic media, which will be even more impactful than programmatic. If we approach this the right way, we can use agentic media to make every media decision more intelligent, more efficient, and more effective for clients. But to realize that potential, we need to build this next era on the right foundation. Without common standards for how buyer and seller agents interact, our industry risks creating more fragmentation, more complexity, and less transparency at exactly the moment clients need greater speed, confidence, and control. That’s why we’re developing a Buyer Agent for Video as part of a broader Agentic Standards Initiative with forward-thinking media owners, platforms, and standards bodies. Together, we’re working to create trusted infrastructure for better media decision-making — with clear controls, approval paths, audit trails, and human oversight and judgment built in. For our clients, the benefits are clear: faster and more consistent access to premium TV and video opportunities, reduced fragmentation, stronger financial and data controls, more transparent decisioning, better application of Open Intelligence, and a safer path to testing and scaling agentic buying. We’re grateful to have so many partners working alongside us to build the foundation for the agentic era, including Comcast Advertising and FreeWheel, Disney Advertising, FOX Advertising, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, IAB Tech Lab, and Prebid.org. And I’m especially grateful to Lauren Wetzel, Ingmar Zach, and our incredible data and technology team for their work bringing this to life. Just as we helped shape the programmatic era, we now have the opportunity to help define and lead the agentic era — making media decisions more intelligent, more transparent, and more interoperable for clients. I’m more excited about the future now than at any time since the birth of programmatic. Let’s build it together. James Rooke Jamie Power Jeff Collins Travis Scoles Anthony Katsur Michael Racic Nicolle Pangis Jon W. Ryan McConville Mark Marshall https://lnkd.in/gW-queTAWPP Media Launches New Agent to Unify Premium Video Across TV EcosystemsWPP Media Launches New Agent to Unify Premium Video Across TV Ecosystems
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Brian Lesser reposted thisBrian Lesser reposted thisO Brasil é um modelo de integração para a WPP globalmente — a forma de trabalhar que já exercitamos no país foi um dos destaques da entrevista de Brian Lesser (CEO global da WPP Media) e Jon Cook (CEO global da WPP Creative) ao Valor Econômico S/A publicado hoje. Na conversa, eles ainda destacam nosso excelente momento no Brasil, atraindo novos clientes com a oferta de soluções de mídia, criatividade, IA e tecnologia totalmente integradas e a serviço do crescimento de seus negócios.
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Brian Lesser reacted on thisBrian Lesser reacted on thisSome news: I’ve joined Omnicom Media MENA in Dubai as Chief Data & AI Officer, with responsibility for how this region leads in data and AI. After nearly a decade building data and technology capabilities for Omnicom in London, I’ve moved to a region of extraordinary ambition, in its people, its industry and its leaders. The job is to turn that ambition into a model of data-driven marketing the world will follow. I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about a piece of work. Three weeks in, I’ve already learned that the mornings here start early, the conversations go deep, and the view from the living room makes the early starts rather easy. (Photo attached. Yes, I’m still getting used to it.) Thank you to Elda Choucair and the leadership team for the trust, and to Dan Clays, Peter Poelzlbauer and everyone else in London who made the last nine years what they were. I’ve a great deal to learn about this region, and I’m grateful to be learning it here. If you’re in Dubai, Riyadh or anywhere else in the region, let’s talk.
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Brian Lesser reacted on thisFrom Scotch-Brite sponges helping us clean our home to Command adhesives helping us decorate it, 3M has been part of my life for years. Today, it feels like a full circle moment to join the company behind these iconic brands as Senior Vice President - Global Product Strategy, Consumer Business Group. My first few weeks have been inspiring experiencing the passion of people, the power of science, and the extraordinary possibilities ahead. Grateful to the entire 3M team for the warm welcome and trust. Looking forward to what we’ll build together!
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Brian Lesser liked thisBrian Lesser liked thisWhat a day at the #MetisStrategySummit in New York City! Thank you to every leader who took the stage and every executive who joined us from across banking, insurance, energy, construction, pharma, defense, healthcare, retail and travel. One idea ran through the whole day. Technology leaders are being asked to lead the business on AI, not just enable it, from the data center to the customer to the boardroom. A few themes that stuck out: • 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁. Everyone has access to the same models. The edge is the data, platforms and controls leaders build around them. • 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝘃𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. AI can chain small, years-old flaws into something critical and turn a newly published patch into an exploit in minutes. • 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁. One retailer already hears shoppers' agents haggling with its own over price matches and refunds, until a human steps in. • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝟭𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀. That's why one bank on stage trained its entire workforce, not only its engineers. • 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄. 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁. The leaders on stage judge AI by the outcome it delivers, like a heart condition caught early or time handed back to patients. • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱. That's where one board's conversation has already moved, and leaders are teaching directors hands-on so they can judge the answer. • 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆. By one board recruiter's count, just 13 of the 387 new board seats filled over the past year went to CIOs, CTOs and CDOs. The search panel's advice is to explain what technology did for customers and the business. A big thank you to our speakers for sharing their perspectives, including leaders from AGCO, Ascension, BAE Systems, Bank of America, Blitzy, BNY, CBRE, Conduct, Eli Lilly and Company, Heidrick & Struggles, HII, M&T Bank, Netomi, New York Life, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Priceline, Prologis, Rox, Simpson Strong-Tie, T. Rowe Price, Target, Trewstar Corporate Board Services, Turner Construction Company, Vertiv, Vine Ventures and Williams. Our next Summit is in May 2027, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Request an invitation: https://lnkd.in/eERUuuZX
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Brian Lesser reacted on thisBrian Lesser reacted on thisFor years, the advertising industry has treated identity as the end-all-be-all of data-driven marketing. Better matching. Bigger identity graphs. More persistent identifiers. But what happens when the infrastructure supporting that approach becomes increasingly fragile? It’s been clear for years that the clock is ticking on the longevity of identity-only approaches and Apple’s latest Safari changes are just the latest reminder that we need to fundamentally rethink how we approach data and intelligence. That’s the reason we built InfoSum and why I’m so excited about what we’re able to bring to clients across WPP. I’ve long believed that identity is just one input into intelligence. The real opportunity is connecting diverse sources of data, from first-party relationships and behavioral signals to contextual intelligence and proprietary insights, to better understand consumers and drive growth. And doing so without requiring data to be centralized or dependent on any single identity framework. Decentralized data collaboration, interoperability and data sovereignty aren’t just privacy considerations. They’re strategic advantages. My prediction? The next era of marketing won’t be won by whoever has the biggest identity graph. It will be won by whoever can turn the greatest diversity of data into actionable intelligence, responsibly and at scale. And increasingly, the architecture behind that intelligence will matter as much as the intelligence itself. Great to see Digiday digging into the implications of Apple’s decision and how it’s aligned with much bigger thinking from our team about the future. Cindy Rose OBE Stephan Pretorius Brian Lesser https://lnkd.in/ehNdxfHYApple’s Safari block hands WPP a fresh case for InfoSumApple’s Safari block hands WPP a fresh case for InfoSum
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Brian Lesser liked thisLove this work. 😱🎃Brian Lesser liked thisSpooky season just got a whole lot more flavorful. 🎃👻 The Haunted Fanta Collection is bringing the frights with Ghostface, Howlie, Drayk and Hay. Four icons, plenty of scares and a frighteningly delicious twist. Swipe through… if you're brave enough. 👀
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Brian Lesser liked thisBrian Lesser liked thisI don’t talk much about what it’s actually like being the person behind AdTechGod. For the past six years, I’ve put my thoughts, opinions, and frustrations out there almost every single day for anyone to read, criticize, agree with, or completely tear apart. And while I’ve gotten pretty comfortable sharing what I think, that doesn’t mean I don’t think about how people react to it. I’ve had thousands of conversations, debates, and probably pissed off more than a few people along the way. I know not everyone agrees with me, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who wish I’d just stop posting altogether. But I wanted to share something a little more personal about why I continue doing it. The opinions I share are my own. I am not always right. I’ve been wrong plenty of times, and I’m sure I’ll be wrong again. What matters to me is that I genuinely care about this industry and more importantly the people who are part of it. I don’t have to agree with someone to respect what they’re building or support what they’re trying to accomplish. And I certainly don’t expect everyone to agree with me. At the end of the day, I want to see a better advertising industry. One that delivers better outcomes for brands, creates more revenue opportunities for publishers, and gives the people and companies pushing innovation forward a real chance to succeed. If that means the industry looks completely different five years from now, I'm good with it. We should be willing to challenge the way things have always been done if we genuinely want to make things better. That’s a big part of why I started AdTechGod in the first place, and why I continue to share my opinions six years later. I care about this the people in the industry, I want to see them succeed, and I’m going to keep speaking my mind whether people agree with me or not.
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Brian Lesser liked thisBrian Lesser liked thisI recently completed my first week as Chief Operating Officer at Newell Brands. In my first few days, I’ve walked the halls of our Atlanta headquarters, met new colleagues, and started to learn the business. I appreciate the time people have taken to welcome me and share their work and love of our iconic brands. There is much for me to learn, and I look forward to meeting more of our teams and hearing their perspectives in the weeks ahead. I also want to congratulate the Newell team on the Q3 results released today. I see how much progress has been made over the past few years, and I’m energized to further unleash our potential and translate it into results. Thank you to everyone who helped me get started, shared feedback, and pointed out our greatest opportunities. I am glad to be here and look forward to what we can accomplish together. https://lnkd.in/ecpMkgxN
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