
Media Intelligence
Welcome to Media Intelligence, the official podcast from WPP Media, WPP’s global media collective. Dive into the heart of the media industry with us as we explore topics like strategy, technology, marketing, and the role of media in society. Featuring experts from our global agencies and divisions, we'll unpack how we're shaping a future where advertising works better for everyone. Whether you're a business leader or a media enthusiast, join us for insights that matter.
Welcome to Media Intelligence by WPP Media.
Latest episodes

Dec 9, 2022 • 29min
46/ December 9: This Year Next Year End-Of-Year 2022
In this special episode, we discuss the findings from our This Year Next Year 2022 Global End-Of-Year Forecast, authored by Kate Scott-Dawkins. In the face of rising inflation and fears of economic downturns, the report outlines reasons for cautious optimism as we project positive growth for 2022 and 2023.
Related Links:
This Year Next Year: 2022 Global End-Of-Year Forecast (GroupM)
Music credit: Joseph McDade

Dec 2, 2022 • 39min
45/ December 2: Interregnum Bob
We review the latest economic data trends, highlight key points from investor days hosted by Nestle and P&G and provide a clear take on the "confusing and uncertain times" at AMC and Disney. With a deep dive on some of the key issues impacting global and local television trends, such as the state of the auto market, the challenges of diminishing audience reach and the importance of targeting desired audiences, our guest interview this week is Steve Lanzano, president and CEO of the TVB.
Related Links:
Disney Proposal to Restructure, on McKinsey’s Advice, Triggered Uproar From Creative Executives (WSJ)
Deep cuts at AMC Networks signals turbulent time for media industry (CNN)
Music credit: Joseph McDade

Nov 11, 2022 • 21min
44/ November 11: Murder Mystery: Who Killed TV?
We unpack the big television downgrade of Q3 and try to unmask the culprit that’s killing the medium. Hint: digital endemics and tough pandemic comparables are looking suspicious. We look at recent ad-tech earnings figures, and then put all the attention-grabbing headlines around Twitter in context with the platform’s actual share of attention among advertisers.
Music credit: Joseph McDade

Nov 4, 2022 • 31min
43/ November 4: Gearheads and Goggleboxes
We sift through yet another week of earnings, this time from big TV players like Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery and Canal+. Special guest Tom Narayan, Lead Equity Analyst for European Autos at RBC Capital Markets, joins to discuss the health of the automotive sector — a major contributor to the global advertising economy.
Music credit: Joseph McDade

Oct 28, 2022 • 34min
42/ October 28: Let Those Earnings Sink In
We look at earnings results from some of the world's top sellers of advertising, including Meta, which faced pointed questions from analysts on its results call. Traditional pay TV continues its slow decline, and questions abound as Elon Musk finally takes over Twitter.
Music credit: Joseph McDade

Oct 21, 2022 • 27min
41/ October 21: Snap, Borgen, Pop
We look at earnings from Snap and ask the question: "If a billion ad dollars were to come out of Twitter, where would it go?" Then it's more earnings breakdowns of Netflix and major CPG and luxury advertisers. Creative destruction is in full effect as digital endemics continue to gain share among the top 100 U.S. advertisers, and we dig through some academic literature for a little history lesson about the concept of reach.
Related Links:
Documents detail plans to gut Twitter’s workforce (The Washington Post)
Denmark’s producers ‘completely screwed’ as ‘greed, overestimation of demand’ blamed for streamer stand-off (TBI)
Music credit: Joseph McDade

Oct 14, 2022 • 42min
40/ October 14: What's French for Entrepreneur?
This week, we dive into the state of the economy in the U.S. and other parts of the world: from higher-than-expected new inflation data—but “less bad” than it could’ve been—to new retail sales data. As Q3 earnings reports begin to come in, we go through some key growth numbers from LVMH and PepsiCo. and discuss the impact of Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons for $24.6 billion. And, as we take you through Domino’s Q3 earnings, Brian tells us the importance of the proper water-to-dough ratio in making a "good"* pizza. Nidhi Shah, Business Intelligence Analyst with GroupM, joins the show to take us through the state of new business creation around the world and Kyle Roberts, CEO of AdImpact, joins to talk about current trends in political advertising.
*Not actually possible without NYC water.
Related Links:
https://adimpact.com/
https://www.jpmorganchase.com/content/dam/jpmc/jpmorgan-chase-and-co/investor-relations/documents/quarterly-earnings/2022/3rd-quarter/c363d5ac-0a3e-483e-88ec-89767a8e266e.pdf
https://www.oecd.org/industry/business-stats/
Music credit: Joseph McDade

Oct 6, 2022 • 59min
39/ October 6: The Unknown Deltas
We gut-check some comments from The Trade Desk's investor day and then look at the e-commerce ambitions of beauty companies. Kim K faced the equivalent of an SEC colonoscopy, while the Musk vs. Twitter saga continues. And we're joined by Phil Smith, director general of ISBA, to discuss advertiser sentiment in the U.K. amid political and economic uncertainty, and the need to push social media giants to ensure child safety and welfare on their platforms.
Related Links:
Social media firms ‘monetising misery’, says Molly Russell’s father after inquest (The Guardian)
GroupM's Responsible Investment Framework
Music credit: Joseph McDade

Sep 30, 2022 • 34min
38/ September 30: Got Meat?
A mixed EU economy facing possible recession is seeing rising inflation yet low unemployment levels. With this backdrop, Italy's Mediaset reported new results and provided limited commentary in the wake of news of an "auction" for France's M6. We look at proposed local ad bans in the U.K. and Netherlands, the growth of e-commerce for big apparel brands, the state of political advertising in the U.S. and the latest on Musk vs. Twitter among many other topics.
Related Links:
Musk vs. Twitter Court Documents
Eurostat Inflation Numbers
This Year Next Year: 2022 E-Commerce & Retail Media Forecast (GroupM)
Music credit: Joseph McDade

Sep 20, 2022 • 37min
37/ September 20: E-Commerce & Retail Media Forecast
In this special episode, we discuss the findings from our This Year Next Year: 2022 E-Commerce & Retail Media Forecast, authored by Kate Scott-Dawkins. The report tracks the growth of the medium throughout the pandemic and dissects the economic trends impacting growth across the globe. Mudit Jaju, Global Head of E-Commerce for Wavemaker, joins to share his deep insights on the space.
Related Links:
This Year Next Year: 2022 E-Commerce & Retail Media Forecast (GroupM)
Music credit: Joseph McDade