i have spent some of my happiest working years in Y&R, DY&R, WCJ, impiric, Wunderman as well as a partnership between Y&R and Wunderman, at a time when integrated offerings were unheard of.
DY&R was the affiliation with Dentsu, back in the day.
this business of transformation is always a delicate balance between cannibalising your legacy and creating a fitter, speedier and more flexible model.
after a point, legacy becomes the victim of its own success.
but its also a delicate balance between sustainability in the model as well as fiddling around regularly, to time the market.
and i am sure WPP wouldnt have taken the decision lightly, to get rid of the biggest icons in their portfolio and name it after a lesser known alphabet soup, although i think Wunderman would have been a better fit than VML.
i guess, the key Q - how do you serve a new type of client, with a new set of challenges, from a legacy business?
but whats in a name if the new business is just a new name for the old business?
if the new business continues to monetise ad products, instead of solving big business problems?
RIP Young & Rubicam
RIP Wunderman
RIP J. Walter Thompson Worldwide
the easy part is done, now starts the tough part!
ps : its amusing to see people in the adland, that preach transformation, disruption, change mgmt blah blah to their clients, wanting to hold on to their own legacy.
#wpp #wunderman #jwt #yr #ogilvy #vml #advertisingagency
Strategist for Advertising & PR: brand marketing, creative & omnichannel comms. Drawn to purpose, health, innovation, growth and team building
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