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Brazil's unique advertising regulations stipulate that only companies responsible for creating an advertisement or communication have the right to place it in media channels. Historically, when campaigns were deployed across limited channels, such as print, out-of-home and occasional TV ads, this process was simpler and did not require deep expertise in media channels. However, as media channels have proliferated and campaign execution has become more complex, the need for specialisms beyond the scope of creative agencies has become evident.

Four years ago, WMS (WPP Media Services) was born out of the need for deeper media expertise to keep pace with the changes and innovation in media and social channels in Brazil. As a completely pioneering model from WPP in the market, WMS brings the best of WPP's global media investment capability found within GroupM and deploys it through dedicated teams who work within WPP's creative agencies in Brazil.

Carolina Buzetto, CEO of WMS, explains, "We handle a lot of global clients here. But the fact that we have a strong integration between media and creative means that we think differently about how we plan media." This integrated approach ensures that the full consumer journey is considered and deployed in its entirety, rather than relegating audiences and click-through rates (CTRs) to media planning teams and calls-to-action (CTAs) to creative copywriting teams.

Integration powered by AI

While AI has been a staple of the media investment business, generative AI is bringing the success of WMS' integrated approach to the fore. The scale and speed at which creative content can now be created means that media planning must keep up. WMS has been operating in this way for years, serving some of the country's biggest brands, including Colgate and The Coca-Cola Company.

Buzetto elaborates, "Now, what's changing is that we're not just scaling our capabilities in media alone; we're integrating them with creative messaging”. Leveraging WPP’s in-house production teams at Hogarth, teams across WMS are able to create high-quality media assets. “Plus, with WPP Open, we're bridging the gap across the entire spectrum of media planning and creative processes, connecting all the dots seamlessly,” adds Buzetto.

With WPP Open and WPP's proprietary AI tools automating many processes in the marketing supply chain, teams can focus on better and richer creative craft. From Buzetto’s perspective, this enables teams to have much more engaging creative discussions with clients, rather than just focusing on changing the colour of an asset or slightly modifying the text that appears on a media asset.

Buzetto adds, "Having a great media plan is important, but if the message audiences see is not appealing, it's redundant. Now, with AI, we are also applying it to the production and creation process, achieving the same level of customization that we have in media for different audiences and channels. By putting these two things together, we are seeing changes in how advertisers and clients perceive the value of our services. It can create significant savings in production that can be reinvested in higher-quality and better-performing assets."

The right data, the right talent

While the trend of integration is here to stay in Brazil, Buzetto is most excited about the strength of WMS' data and digital operations. She states, "We have strong senior leaders in all of media disciplines, delivering agile and innovative solutions for clients – and attracting and retaining some of the best local talent in the market."

As well as the integration of media and creativity, data and talent will drive the next phase of success for WMS. Buzetto emphasises, "Because our solution is not a standard solution, clients have different needs, and the way we built WMS allows us to offer the best of WPP without agency silos."

WMS' pioneering approach to integrating media and creative capabilities in Brazil has positioned the company as a market innovator. By leveraging the strength of WPP's global media investment capability, in-house production teams, and proprietary AI tools, WMS is delivering for the world’s leading brands and attracting top local talent. As the advertising landscape continues to evolve, WMS is poised to lead the market into the future.