Grey moves to Ogilvy – The Hindu BusinessLine

In yet another structural shift, WPP has moved creative agency Grey from the AKQA group to Ogilvy. Grey’s global chief Laura Maness will now report directly to Devika Bulchandani, the global CEO of Ogilvy. An internal memo circulating in the media quotes Bulchandani as saying, “This is not a consolidation, but rather a realignment to better reflect how our agencies operate in practice.”

Although the memo says Grey will remain a standalone agency brand, observers expressed concern at the shifting of yet another storied agency brand, and wondered if it would go the J Walter Thompson route. Also, veterans wondered if bloated creative companies could really compete against nimble boutique agencies. Grey Global Group was founded in 1917 by Lawrence Valenstein and Arthur C Feinn, and the name reflected the colour of its walls. It was acquired by WPP in 2005.

Apple is most valuable brand, TCS shines: Kantar BrandZ

For the fourth year, Apple took top position with a brand value of $1.3 trillion, up 28 per cent on the previous year, in the 20th edition of Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands rankings. Google, Microsoft, Amazon and NVIDIA took the next four spots — notably the latter had a huge 152 per cent year-on-year growth. Among Indian brands, TCS shone, grabbing 45th spot at a brand value of $57.3 billion and an accelerated 28 per cent year-on-year growth.

Significantly, US brands now comprise 82 per cent of the total value of the global top 100, up from 63 per cent in 2006; however, a rise among Chinese brands and the volatility caused by escalating tariffs could threaten this order, the Kantar report noted. Chinese brands now account for 6 per cent of the overall value of the global top 100 and these shifts have come at the expense of European brands. ChatGPT premiers in 60th place, the highest newcomer since NVIDIA in 2021.

Outside the US, significant gains have been seen for Sweden’s Spotify, re-entering the global top 100 at 76; India’s Airtel, the fastest growing telecom brand in the world; Argentinian retailer Mercado Libre, the only Latin American brand in the global top 100; Spanish retailer Zara, which rose five places to 65th; and Canada’s RBC, which saw the biggest y-o-y brand value growth (43 per cent) among financial services brand outside the US.