Last year, WPP merged with MediaCom to form EssenceMediacom, with Nick Lawson as its Global CEO. During the ongoing Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Lawson met with Simran Sabherwal, Editor, Pitch Magazine and spoke on a range of topics. Addressing the merger of the two giants, he said, “Two strong agencies – Essence, data-driven, and MediaCom, a global powerhouse, putting these two together has given us a unique view of the marketplace. It’s gone well. Our people and clients are engaged with it.”
Speaking about the Indian market, Lawson agreed that it is one of the top performers and that they have won over 90 different media awards. He commended the India business saying, “WPP India pound for pound, pretty much our strongest market, but not our biggest.” He mentioned some of the impressive client work done by the India arm across Google, Coke, and P&G, among others.
“India is not our biggest market, but it is probably our strongest market,” he concluded.
Lawson further spoke about EssenceMediacom’s identity as a breakthrough agency that uses innovative marketing strategies. He said, “We have a programme called the Breakthrough Accelerator programme – a unique IP – which is a process that we go through with our clients that is great breakthrough thinking across the whole sphere of communications.”
He says that because messaging has become less effective across mediums, Breakthrough attempts to solve that equation, strike that balance, and ensure the right message in the right place.