WPP is the world's biggest 'communications services group'. So what does that actually mean? Well, it owns a wide variety of subsidiary companies that specialise in these aspects of media:
Advertising - JWT, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
PR - Hill & Knowlton, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Cohn & Wolfe
Media investment (that means planning, negotiating and buying advertising) - Mindshare, MediaCom, GroupM
Research insight (finding out whether something will sell for a client) - Added Value, Millward Brown, Research International
Each company has its own separate identity, but WPP acts as an umbrella company, relieving all of the subsidiaries of the boring, administrative work, leaving them free to be all creative. As a result of the multiplicity of companies it owns, WPP can also offer a comprehensive service to its clients, while offering one single, central point of contact. For example, WPP manages Unilever's worldwide communications activities.
The company was set up by Sir Martin Sorrell in 1985, when he privately invested in the Wire Plastic Products company. He joined it full-time as Chief Executive a year later, coming from a 7-year stint at Saatchi & Saatchi. Since then, Sorrell has acquired many "below-the-line" advertising-related companies for WPP. Today, the company has revenues of £7.5 billion and owns more than 150 companies.
If you're considering a career with WPP, the company's flagship scheme is the incredibly competitive Marketing Fellowship for graduates. This 3-year programme entails working in three of WPP's subsidiary companies in three different countries.
The 2011 application process hasn't started yet, but if you want to have a look at last year's scheme see here: http://www.wpp.com/wpp/careers/marketing/graduates
WPP KINDLY SPONSORS OXFORD MEDIA SOCIETY'S NICHOLAS COLERIDGE EVENT
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