DM and digital save day as Sorrell admits it's a slog

Direct, digital and interactive activity in the UK has come to the rescue of WPP’s division despite the company seeing a slowdown in growth overall in the domestic market in the third quarter while global net sales rose 3.3% to £2.5bn.
Boss Sir Martin Sorrell admitted the current market was hard going as growth slowed to 1.1%, hitting £435m, down on the 4% growth shown in the second quarter.
Of particular concern will be the group’s data division – what it calls “data asset management” – which saw a “softening”. Sorrell has previously warned that the rise of big data is having a detrimental effect on his business as more and more companies move activity inhouse.
Sorrell said: “It’s a slog” and said he expected the situation to remain broadly the same in 2016. What you see in the mature markets…can make up for the softness that you see in Asia and Latin America.”
WPP said that the slowdown was “partly offset” by strong growth in its PR and digital operations.
The company said that it was “characteristically cautious” about closing out the year but expected to beat its growth rate for the nine months trading so far this year.

TOPICS:WPP