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Why Ford Is Ready To Roll WPP After Making Ads For 75 Years
By: Forbes | April 21, 2018

Ford Motor Co. is giving WPP, the holding company that owns and runs such famous Madison Ave. brands as J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather, a gift to celebrate their 75th anniversary working toigether–a possible firing.

In the ad business, it is known as a “review.” Ford confirmed Friday that it is “reviewing” its relationship with WPP, which handles more than $4 billion in advertising business for Ford globally in more than 40 countries.

In the ad business, this is also called “a nightmare.”

The decision by Ford to entertain using non-WPP agencies has been percolating for some time. But three significant developments have occurred in the last year: Ford got a new CEO almost a year ago, Jim Hackett, and he has no ties to WPP, having come to Ford from the outside; the company appointed a new executive to be chief global marketer; and WPP’s long-time chairman Martin Sorrell suddenly stepped down from his post earlier this month following unspecified charges that he acted inappropriately toward some employees.


These days, the Ford business is handled by a dedicated agency doing business almost entirely for Ford, called GTB (stands for Global Team Blue). That agency was created by a roll-up of staff and operations that had handled Ford from separate WPP agencies–J. Walter Thompson, Young & Rubicam and Ogilvy and Mather. A spokesperson for GTB, said Friday that GTB and WPP had been “informed that its creative business with Ford is up for review.”

Ford confirmed the review. “We value the talented and creative women and men at WPP,” a Ford spokesperson said. “They are trusted partners and curators of the Ford brand. We don’t share private business matters but can tell you we have offered WPP more specifics about our marketing redesign and operational fitness aspirations…Ford is placing some portions of our advertising business up for bid with other agencies, including WPP, beginning in the coming weeks.”

GTB last year reduced its global staff serving Ford by around 100 staffers, including long-time Chief Creative Officer Toby Barlow, who worked out of the Detroit office, literally across the street from Ford’s “glass house” world headquarters.

It is almost impossible to overstate how close Ford and WPP’s agencies have been over the decades. As marketing and brand managers came and went at Ford, the ad agency staff and executives would school the new executives who might have come in from sales or product planning to a marketing job or which they were ill-prepared...

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkiley5/2018/04/21/why-ford-is-ready-to-roll-wpp-after-making-ads-for-75-years/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix&yptr=yahoo#2d1348572b6b

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