Events & Resources

Learning Center
Read through guides, explore resource hubs, and sample our coverage.
Learn More
Events
Register for an upcoming webinar and track which industry events our analysts attend.
Learn More
Podcasts
Listen to our podcast, Behind the Numbers for the latest news and insights.
Learn More

About

Our Story
Learn more about our mission and how EMARKETER came to be.
Learn More
Our Clients
Key decision-makers share why they find EMARKETER so critical.
Learn More
Our People
Take a look into our corporate culture and view our open roles.
Join the Team
Our Methodology
Rigorous proprietary data vetting strips biases and produces superior insights.
Learn More
Newsroom
See our latest press releases, news articles or download our press kit.
Learn More
Contact Us
Speak to a member of our team to learn more about EMARKETER.
Contact Us

WPP hits Publicis over ad quality after losing $1.7 billion Mars account

The news: WPP has lost the $1.7 billion Mars global media account to Publicis, marking a significant blow just months after Coca-Cola moved its North America account to the rival holding company.

  • The deal, which accounts for roughly 1% of WPP’s global revenues, includes media planning and buying across Mars’ global brands, along with production, social, influencer, and connected commerce.
  • IPG’s Weber Shandwick will take over PR duties, while creative work remains with Omnicom’s T&P.
  • Mars’ shift comes as the brand aims to modernize its “Growth Playbook,” prioritizing integration, personalization, and co-creation across agency partners.

Holdco hostilities: WPP is responding to Publicis with an unusually aggressive tactic, Ad Age notes: an internal “intelligence report” circulated to clients that accuses Publicis-owned supply-side platform Epsilon of delivering low-quality programmatic inventory.

  • The report flagged poor viewability (43% overall, just 2% on one CitrusAd-linked site) and high rates of made-for-advertising (MFA) content, suggesting nearly half of impressions in some placements lacked real impact—and that’s a big deal to marketers (see chart).
  • Publicis denied the claims, alleging WPP manipulated the results by targeting low-quality buys and disabling brand safety tools. The move has escalated what was once a private rivalry into public confrontation, a rare tactic in the holding company world.

Zooming out: The timing compounds internal challenges for WPP, including CEO Mark Read’s planned exit at year’s end and the oversight of new chairman Philip Jansen.

  • The holding group has struggled with shrinking traditional media budgets, competitive pressure from digital-first platforms like Meta, and macroeconomic headwinds.
  • The intensity of the dispute reflects a shrinking pool of high-value media accounts, with agency holding companies’ share of US ad spend falling from 44.6% in 2019 to just 29.6% in Q1 2024 per Advertiser Perceptions.

Our take: WPP’s loss of Mars should serve as a wake-up call. The shift from client wins to client warnings suggests a company on the defensive, struggling to keep pace with Publicis’ momentum and the rising consolidation of agency power.

  • With Read’s departure looming, internal unrest growing, and the Omnicom-IPG merger looming, WPP’s leadership vacuum and public posturing point to deeper issues.
  • If the firm is to regain trust from both clients and investors, its next CEO will need more than spin—they’ll need a reset that focuses on clarity, capability, and client outcomes.

You've read 0 of 2 free articles this month.

Create an account for uninterrupted access to select articles.
Create a Free Account