Group history

Group history

Below is an abbreviated history of WPP.

1985

• Martin Sorrell takes stake in Wire and Plastic Products Plc , a UK manufacturer of wire baskets, following his search for a public entity through which to build a worldwide marketing services company

1986-87

• Sorrell becomes chief executive of the renamed WPP Group
• Builds below-the-line capabilities with acquisition of marketing services companies in the UK and US

1987

• Acquires J. Walter Thompson Group for $566m, including ad agency JWT , PR firm Hill & Knowlton Inc and market research network MRB Group

1988

• Listed on NASDAQ exchange in New York
• Continued acquisition of US and UK-based marketing services companies

1989

• Acquires The Ogilvy Group for $864m, including ad agency Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide ,  Ogilvy Direct and  Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
• Research firms Millward Brown and Research International join WPP

1990-92

• WPP named the world's top agency group by Advertising Age
• Group financial re-structuring

1992

• Launches CommonHealth , an international healthcare communications network drawing on specialist skills of professionals across the Group

1994

• IBM consolidates its global advertising at Ogilvy & Mather, moving from 40 agencies to a single global agency

1995

• Establishes Kantar as internal parent company for the Group's research interests

1997

• Introduces worldwide stock option program for all WPP people
• Launches new generation media planning, buying and research company Mindshare , in Europe and Asia
• Invests in  Batey Holdings, Singapore-based advertising group,  Chime Communications and Latin American media research business IBOPE

1998

• Forms strategic alliance with Asatsu-DK Inc , Japan's third largest advertising agency
• Continued acquisitions (30+) across all disciplines to strengthen existing networks, including US-based global retail consultancy  Management Ventures Inc
• Joins the London Stock Exchange's FTSE 100 Index

1999

• Mindshare launches in the US
• Kimberly-Clark consolidates its global advertising account with JWT
• Acquires corporate identity specialists Lambie-Nairn,and sports marketing company PRISM Group

2000

• Acquires Young & Rubicam Group , including Y&R Advertising , Burson-Marsteller , Landor , Wunderman ,  Cohn & Wolfe and  Sudler & Hennessey
• 35+ acquisitions including  Spafax (in-flight media) and  Premiere Group (the sports marketing/sponsorship company)
• Commissions  BrandZ research tool from Millward Brown

2001

• Launches Red Cell , fourth agency network; acquires US creative advertising agency  Berlin Cameron & Partners
• Acquires Tempus Group plc. Tempus' media agency CIA joins forces with The Media Edge to form  Mediaedge:cia
• Acquires majority interest in Korean advertising agency AD Venture Worldwide; 25+ further acquisitions including Penn, Schoen & Berland , MJM, VML , Finsbury ,  Glendinning and Ziment

2002

• Strengthens presence in China and Taiwan through stakes in Shanghai Advertising Agency ,  H-Line Worldwide (China) and  Era Public Relations (Taiwan)
• Ogilvy & Mather and Young & Rubicam take controlling stake in LG Ad Inc , Korea's largest ad agency

2003

• Acquires Cordiant Communications Group, bringing Bates , Fitch , 141 Worldwide and  HealthWorld into the Group. Bates re-launches as a standalone Asian agency brand
• WPP forms  GroupM to oversee Group's media investment management interests
• Red Cell strengthens in UK via stake in HHCL

2004

• WPP teams win global HSBC and Samsung accounts, representing more than $1 billion in new business
• Strengthens creative and media presence in China and Taiwan
• AGB and Nielsen Media Research create international TV ratings company AGB Nielsen Media Research

2005

• WPP acquires  Grey Global Group
• Poster Publicity and Portland merge to create global outdoor media company  Kinetic
• WPP strengthens position in Russia via new venture with Video International
• WPP acquires Bridge Worldwide , a leading US-based interactive and relationship marketing specialist

2006

• China presence further strengthened by acquisitions in advertising, media, specialist marketing and market research
• WPP invests in digital partnerships with Visible Technologies , LiveWorld , WildTangent and Spot Runner
• Launch of BrandAmp , a musical and brand partnership between WPP's GroupM and Universal Music

2007

• WPP Digital created to harness digital media opportunities; forms further digital partnerships with 24/7 Real Media, JumpTap , iconmobile and mMetrics
• WPP adopts carbon neutral strategy by introducing a Groupwide carbon offset program and setting CO2 reduction targets
• Continued acquisitions and investments in strategically-important regions and disciplines
• Dell appoints WPP as worldwide marketing partner

2008

• Launch of PARTNERZ, a powerful sponsorship research tool covering the fields of sport, the arts, music, film, festivals and entertainment
• The Group’s digital capabilities strengthened with further acquisitions in China, Hong Kong, Europe and the US
• WPP creates a new UK-listed, Jersey incorporated parent company to be called WPP plc and changes its domicile to Dublin, Ireland
• TNS is acquired by WPP and joins the Kantar Group, which becomes the world's second largest market research group
• Google and WPP launch a Marketing Research Awards Program to support research into online media and its influence on consumer behaviour

2009

• Kantar streamlines its structure and combines TNS Custom with Research International to create the world's largest custom research group
• WPP forms strategic partnership with leading analytics company Omniture to help clients optimise their marketing spend
• Group companies accumulate a record number of awards at the Cannes International Advertising Festival
• WPP strengthens its presence in Africa through investments in Kenya-based Scangroup and The Jupiter Drawing Room & Partners and Smollan Group in South Africa
• OgilvyInteractive, VML and Wunderman named as Leaders in the Forrester Wave TM report on US interactive agencies