The news: Data shortcomings and sweeping layoffs led to WPP losing many of its top clients including Coca-Cola, PayPal, and Mars, according to Southern District of New York court filings from a consolidated class action and a wrongful termination lawsuit against the holding company and its executives.

WPP’s data fell short of the competition: Insider testimony claims that WPP had hoped to address complaints about its data with its AI platform, WPP Open, but issues like incorrect audience profiling left clients dissatisfied. In one case, a US popstar’s audience personas returned as Japanese anime fans.

Layoffs caused disarray: Major restructuring like the consolidation of GroupM compounded its data- and account-management issues. Efforts to cut costs led to an “admin nightmare,” one executive said. One former project manager who joined in 2024 said the company’s plan to turn a profit by 2027 “was not going to happen.” Layoffs aren’t over: The company plans to cut “hundreds” of jobs in 2026, Ad Age reported.

Data and management issues eventually led to WPP losing some of its most valued clients. Coca-Cola, Mars, PayPal, Paramount, Signet Jewelers, Sony, and others severed ties—with most going over to rival Publicis. Sony’s departure was especially prickly, involving a criminal trial in China over allegations that WPP pocketed millions in rebates that should have gone to clients.

Implications for marketers: WPP’s turbulent few years reveal two key takeaways about the state of agencies.

• Data is more important than ever. Clients want robust data sets and sophisticated audience profiling and are willing to end yearslong relationships to get them. It’s always been the case that clients want a clearer ROAS, but consumers’ growing economic stress in the last few years has made it an even higher priority. Simply repackaging capabilities as AI-first isn’t enough.
• Layoffs come with a cost. Cutting jobs is the easiest way for agencies to lower overhead, but WPP’s client losses reveal sweeping restructuring’s drawbacks. Key employees and teams may be cut, complicating internal processes and interpersonal client relationships.
• But it’s not all grim news for WPP. The agency slowed the fall in revenues to -4.4% YoY in H1 2026, versus -7.8% one year earlier. That suggests its Elevate28 plan, another return-to-profit initiative to put WPP in the green by 2028, may be taking hold.

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