Advertising important for the world economy, says WPP CEO Mark Read

Mark Read, chief executive officer (CEO), WPP Plc, which is among the largest advertising companies in the world, said that advertising is an important contributor to the world economy and that it is undergoing a fifth industrial revolution.

 

“Globally, advertising is a trillion dollar industry and advertising has long been part of successive technology revolutions,” he said in a keynote session at WAVES (World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit).

 

The global advertising giant has several agencies in India such as Essence Mediacom, Ogilvy, and GroupM. He added that the company is committed to four areas of development in India. 

 

“Driving collaboration through world-class campuses, equipping our global development centres here (in India), growing and supporting our enterprise tech, and then investing in new creative technology capabilities here (in India),” he said.

 

He further said that new advertising for technology companies like Google and Meta have made advertising available for small- and medium-sized enterprises and has also allowed a new generation of entrepreneurs to launch new ventures and reach new customers, creating  a vibrant economy.  

 

This factor has been a driving force of advertising in consumer and media businesses, particularly in India, Read said. “As new advertising models for search and social media grow, advertising is being democratised and much more widely available as soon as possible.”

 

He added that with all this, the contribution of advertising to the economy goes beyond its direct contribution to growth and that its total impact is more than that. 

 

“It makes a major contribution to society through funding it provides to media industries, giving incremental money to support drama, entertainment, and movies, (and) to technology companies that use it to fund search engine, free Google Maps, social media, email, and all the tools available as well as to creative platforms like YouTube,” he noted.