Agencies push 'connected intelligence'
Agencies are shifting from buying bigger data pools to linking fragmented signals into “connected intelligence” as a growth strategy, a change framed by WPP’s Lauren Wetzel. That approach asks production teams to build assets that travel across hero films, retail media, creator cuts and event extensions rather than a single polished master deliverable. (bestmediainfo.com)
Advertising groups are recasting growth around “connected intelligence” — linking live signals across media, commerce and production instead of piling up more customer data. (bestmediainfo.com) Lauren Wetzel, WPP’s global president of data and intelligence, made that case in remarks published April 13, saying fragmented consumer journeys, tighter privacy rules and artificial intelligence are weakening older identity-based marketing models. (bestmediainfo.com) Wetzel wrote in a WPP essay on April 8 that “growth would no longer come from owning the most data but from connecting the right intelligence,” tying the idea directly to WPP Open, the company’s artificial-intelligence marketing platform. (wpp.com) In practice, that means agencies want one campaign system to feed many outputs: a brand film, retail media ads, creator versions, commerce placements and event extensions, rather than a single polished master asset. (bestmediainfo.com) WPP has been building the plumbing for that model. Its 2025 annual report says WPP Open is meant to connect creative, production, data, commerce and personalized media delivery inside one operating system. (wpp.com) The company also bought data-collaboration platform InfoSum in April 2025 and folded it into GroupM, now WPP Media, to strengthen what it called privacy-safe data sharing, audience targeting and artificial-intelligence model training. (marketingdive.com) That shift lines up with where ad money is moving. WPP’s global forecast said commerce-driven advertising would reach $169.6 billion in 2025 and retail media would account for 18% of total ad revenue by 2030. (wpp.com) The same forecast said creator-generated advertising revenue would hit $184.9 billion in 2025, a 20% year-over-year increase, pushing agencies to make campaigns that can travel across creator feeds as easily as television or search. (mobilemarketingreads.com) Wetzel and WPP executives have also framed the model as a response to privacy pressure. At InfoSummit London this month, WPP and InfoSum executives said brands now need to connect planning, creative, production, media and commerce around a shared intelligence layer built from “diverse data sources.” (infosum.com) WPP is making that argument after a weak 2025. Its annual report said like-for-like growth and margin were in line with guidance, but Chief Financial Officer Joanne Wilson called the year “disappointing” on performance. (wpp.com) The sales pitch is that agencies can still matter in an artificial-intelligence market if they connect the signals, the media buy and the asset factory faster than clients can do it alone. WPP’s version now has a name, a platform and a timetable attached to it. (wpp.com)
