Scangroup rebrands to WPP Scangroup

18 Jun 2015

NAIROBI — Listed marketing services group, Scangroup Limited, has changed its name to WPP Scangroup Limited. Announcing the change of name, the chief executive of WPP Scangroup, Bharat Thakrar, said that the change of name signifies that WPP Scangroup and WPP plc are now fully together, with a shared vision, values and core principles for developing marketing communications across Sub Saharan Africa and a conviction about how this can be achieved.

“The synergy from the coming together of these two great firms will significantly transform the future of marketing communications across this fascinating continent. This is aptly captured by the famous African proverb that says: ‘If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,’” Mr Thakrar added.

WPP Scangroup, which is a subsidiary of WPP, is the largest marketing and communication group operating a multi-­‐agency model across multiple disciplines in sub Saharan Africa. It is the only marketing services that is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE); and has a geographical footprint across sub-­‐Saharan Africa.

Scangroup’s history dates back to 1982, when it started as a small independent advertising agency that was then known as SCANAD. Over the years, it has grown its service capabilities to include Media Planning and Buying, Public Relations, Market Research, Experiential and Digital. This is besides developing affiliations with international agency groups such as J Walter Thompson, Ogilvy and Grey. Scangroup was created in 2005 as a structured corporate entity to house all these diverse companies. It was listed on the NSE in 2006.

Scangroup and WPP entered a partnership in 2006, months after its listing on the NSE. This partnership included WPP taking up a minority stake in Scangroup as part of its efforts to expand its footprint in Africa. In 2013, WPP acquired additional shares in Scangroup Limited in Kenya, increasing its interest to 50.1 per cent.


About Scangroup
WPP Scangroup is a subsidiary of WPP and is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. It is the largest marketing and communication group operating a multi-­‐ agency model across multiple disciplines in sub Saharan Africa. Specifically, the group comprises of the ad agencies Ogilvy & Mather, SCANAD, JWT and BluePrint Marketing; media firms GroupM, MediaCom Africa, Mindshare and MEC; public relations agencies Ogilvy PR and H+K Strategies; market research agency Millward Brown and digital companies OgilvyOne, Squad Digital and SCANAD Digital. In all, over 1200 people are employed across the various organizations. For more information, please visit www.wpp-­‐scangroup.com

About WPP
WPP is the world’s largest communications services group with billings of US$76 billion and revenues of US$19 billion. Through its operating companies, the Group provides a comprehensive range of advertising and marketing services including advertising & media investment management; data investment management; public relations & public affairs; branding & identity; healthcare communications; direct, digital, promotion & relationship marketing and specialist communications. The company employs over 188,000 people (including associates and investments) in over 3,000 offices across 111 countries. For more information, visit www.wpp.com. WPP was named Holding Company of the Year at the 2014 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for the fourth year running.

WPP was also named, for the fourth consecutive year, the World's Most Effective Holding Company in the 2015 Effie Effectiveness Index, which recognizes the effectiveness of marketing communications.