WPP reshapes amid FTC talks

WPP is weighing a sale of Burson as it reshapes its business and faces Federal Trade Commission settlement talks over advertising practices. (marketing-interactive.com) (usnews.com) WPP said on April 10 that it had created a new chief transformation officer role and hired Anne-Isabelle Choueiri from The Estée Lauder Companies to run operations behind Elevate28, its three-year plan announced in February 2026. (wpp.com) Choueiri led enterprise-wide initiatives at Estée Lauder, including its “One ELC” operating model, enterprise marketing, data and analytics work, and AI implementation, WPP said. (wpp.com) At the same time, reports say Goldman Sachs is reviewing strategic options for Burson, including a sale. WPP declined to comment to Marketing-Interactive, and Provokemedia said WPP and Goldman Sachs both declined comment to The Times. (marketing-interactive.com) (provokemedia.com) Burson is not a small side business. WPP created it in 2024 by merging BCW and Hill & Knowlton, and the combined agency had more than 6,000 employees across 43 markets. (marketing-interactive.com) The pressure is showing up in the numbers. Burson’s revenue fell 6% in 2025, according to Marketing-Interactive, and Provokemedia reported WPP’s public relations segment generated £667 million in revenue less pass-through costs and £102 million in headline operating profit in 2025. (marketing-interactive.com) (provokemedia.com) WPP’s wider plan is to simplify the group into four divisions — WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions — and cut up to £500 million in costs by 2028. WPP published Elevate28 and its 2025 preliminary results on February 26, 2026. (marketing-interactive.com) (wpp.com) The Federal Trade Commission talks add a second front. Reuters reported on April 12 that the agency is negotiating with WPP, Dentsu and Publicis over whether they coordinated ad boycotts against platforms including X, and said no deal is guaranteed. (usnews.com) Reuters also reported that the proposed commitments would stop agencies from steering client budgets away from platforms because of political content, while leaving individual advertisers free to avoid specific sites. The Federal Trade Commission did not immediately respond to Reuters, and Reuters said it could not independently verify the Wall Street Journal report. (usnews.com) WPP is trying to move faster on structure, technology and costs while questions hang over one of its oldest communications businesses and a live United States antitrust probe. The next test is whether Elevate28 produces growth before more assets are put into play. (wpp.com) (marketing-interactive.com) (usnews.com)