17591: More Motion Sickness At WPP.

MediaPost reported on motion sickness at WPP, whereby the single White operating company filed more motions to dismiss the whistleblower lawsuit.

The latest filings presented two versions of the motion to dismiss: one version available to the public redacts all mentions of the alleged Sony Pictures investigation, and a second version not available to the public features no redacted material.

At this rate, any future actions will probably involve AI-generated motions.

Given WPP’s fascination with AI, it’s surprising legal duties haven’t been executed by the wondrous technology. WPP certainly has enough data from countless past lawsuits and court proceedings for creating the algorithms to make it happen.

WPP Files Motion To Dismiss Foster Case (You Can Read The Redacted Version)

By Steve McClellan

WPP has filed a motion to dismiss the wrongful termination case brought by former GroupM executive Richard Foster.  

The firm filed two versions of the motion including one that redacts all references to a previously undisclosed investigation by WPP client Sony that Foster brought to light in an amended complaint last month. That version is available to the public. A second version of the motion with no redacted material has been filed with the court but is not available to the public. 

Many of the points made by WPP in the latest motion have been argued by the firm in previous filings. For one, the firm argues that Foster is not a “whistleblower,” who was dismissed in retaliation, as he alleges. Instead, the firm argues he was one of many let go in a reduction in force event that occurred in 2025 and is seeking an outsized payout rarely offered to laid-off employees ($100 million). 

All direct references to the Sony probe are redacted in the latest filing. The motion indirectly refers to it as a set of allegations that are “incendiary...scandalous, prejudicial, and utterly irrelevant,” to Foster’s claims. In earlier filings WPP asked the court to seal all references to the Sony probe. It has also demanded that Foster reveal how he obtained the heretofore undisclosed investigation materials, suggesting that he and his legal team acquired them improperly. 

Foster alleges that Sony’s investigation concluded that WPP pocketed $350 million in rebates belonging to clients in China in 2024. He asserts that the probe supports his own case that he exposed rebate schemes at the company that were inappropriate, which he alleges was the main reason he was let go.  

“Richard Foster’s seventeen-year run at GroupM was marked by his constant self-promotion, often through opportunistic business proposals advocating for greater investment in his division, Motion Content Group (“Motion”), over larger and more profitable divisions of GroupM,” WPP states in its latest motion. 

“In the wake of his ignominious termination—the result of Defendants’ global restructuring and reduction in force (“RIF”)—Plaintiff tried to extract a seven-figure severance from Defendants by threatening to file a messy public lawsuit. Those efforts failed, and this case (the “Action”) is the result.” 

Foster’s amended complaint, WPP adds, “suffers the same inevitable defects as Plaintiff’s original pleading, recasting Plaintiff’s longstanding self-advocacy as “whistleblowing,” construing ordinary workplace disputes as retaliation, and failing to allege any causal connection between Plaintiff’s activities and his termination. Setting aside those shortcomings, the Amended Complaint further piles on sensational and irrelevant accusations [the Sony probe] based largely on information obtained after Plaintiff’s termination.” 

Foster also fails to plead “essential elements” required for a retaliation challenge under both New York and California laws, WPP stated.  

William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and lead counsel to Foster issued a response to WPP’s latest filing: 

“In the three weeks since Mr. Foster filed his Amended Complaint, WPP has filed a flurry of motions which portray a Defendant panicked by the strength of Mr. Foster’s allegations against them—which include findings of clients that support his claims.”  

Brewer added that, “Mr. Foster alleges that on multiple occasions, he reported through appropriate channels what he reasonably believed was a systemic problem in WPP’s trading practices—naming names and providing specific, detailed reports. He believes those reports led to retaliation against him. Mr. Foster remains confident that he will prevail.”

17586: For Court Performance, WPP Scores A Triple-Trouble.

 

Adweek published a WPP cases study—that is, the trade journal spotlighted three separate legal cases arguably exposing the alleged “global crime scheme” orchestrated by executives at WPP Media (formerly GroupM).

WPP honchos are likely relieved to see the Adweek piece is subscription-only content, meaning a limited number of people will read the sordid details. Can’t imagine excerpts from such reporting might appear in WPP Media pitch decks.

At this point, the single White operating company is probably considering launching another unit: WPP Legal Defense.

17375: WPP Media Whistleblower Lawsuit Blowing Up…?

 

Digiday reported the latest news involving a $100 million whistleblower lawsuit filed against WPP last year.

 

The accusations target WPP and GroupM, the latter which was rebranded under the WPP Media banner in 2025.

 

If the lawsuit ultimately impacts WPP Media, will the former GroupM shoulder the bulk of financial burdens or will all media firms in the network equally share the troubles?

 

Expect a crumby reduction of performative promises made to Black-owned media too.

 

In fighting a whistleblower suit, WPP put its own account of media agency trading on the public record

 

By Seb Joseph

 

The $100 million whistleblower lawsuit Richard Foster filed against WPP last November is back in focus. New court filings — including WPP’s motion to dismiss and exhibits that place Foster’s own internal documents into the public record for the first time — have added significant texture to both sides of a case that initial headlines only scratched the surface of.

 

Most notably among the exhibits is Foster’s own internal report to GroupM CEO Brian Lesser, which contains internal data on client opt-in rates, platform spend, and income targets that haven’t been public until now. The materials were first reported by The Times.

 

Before unpacking those materials, here’s a recap of how the case reached this point. 

 

Who’s suing whom

 

Foster spent 17 years at GroupM, ending as global CEO of Motion Content Group — the division that co-produced Love Island, managed roughly $500 million in annual entertainment investment, and by his own filed data was posting 140% US revenue growth in his final year. He was fired on July 10, 2025, the day after WPP’s stock dropped 18% on a trading update disclosing serious deterioration at WPP Media. He filed suit in November 2025 against WPP and GroupM (since rebranded WPP Media), seeking at least $100 million, Business Insider reported. 

 

What Foster alleges

 

Foster claims GroupM, which according to the complaint controlled roughly $60 billion in annual client ad spend at its peak, ran a hidden profit center by systematically retaining rebates that should have gone back to advertisers. Allegedly, GroupM’s media trading arm would aggregate client budgets to hit volume thresholds with vendors, triggering rebates in the form of free or discounted inventory. Rather than returning those benefits to clients, GroupM allegedly reclassified the inventory as “proprietary media,” sold it back through opt-in agreements, and booked the spread as “non-product related income.” Foster estimates GroupM generated $3 to $4 billion in rebate-driven deals over five years and improperly retained $1.5 to $2 billion of it.

 

The executives Foster implicates include Mark Patterson, now global president of WPP Media, whom he identifies as the primary architect of the rebate strategy and who publicly called rebates “not a dirty word” in 2016; Andrew Meaden, global chief investment officer, who allegedly institutionalized the practice and in one meeting proposed diverting client spend away from Meta because Meta refused a proprietary deal; and WPP general counsel Nicola McCormick, who Foster alleges privately described the rebate situation as “existential” while declining to formally investigate.

 

The document at the center of everything

 

In December 2024, at incoming GroupM CEO Brian Lesser’s request, Foster submitted a 36-page internal report, dubbed “Project Claridges”, laying out both a critique of GroupM’s trading’s practices and a proposal for a new consolidated entertainment division with projected net sales of over $2 billion by 2029. The report contains internal data that is now in the public court record, including a breakdown showing that among GroupM’s top 30 U.S. billing clients, representing $13.5 billion in total billings, only 5% of eligible spend was actually used through the proprietary inventory deals. 

 

Breaking it down further: among the top 10 clients alone, representing $8.5 billion in billings, 62% of their spend went through non-proprietary channels entirely, and 91.9% of the proprietary inventory generated went unused. Google, GroupM’s single largest US client at $2.3 billion in annual billings, utilized just 0.51% of the proprietary inventory its budget was helping to generate, meaning 99.5% went unused. These were the clients whose collective spending was being used to hit the volume thresholds that triggered the rebates in the first place.

 

Lesser acknowledged the report’s concerns and said he’d investigate further. He then asked Foster to send Patterson a “sanitized” version excluding criticism of GroupM’s trading arm. Before Foster could do so, Lesser forwarded the unedited original to Patterson. Patterson, having read a detailed critique of his own practices, told Foster he had “all he needed.” Within hours, Foster’s division was placed under Patterson’s oversight. Six months later he was fired.

 

Where the money was being spent

 

The internal documents also show the scale of GroupM’s platform relationships in 2023, establishing the leverage at the center of the alleged scheme. Globally: Google accounted for $9.4 billion in spend, Meta $3.7 billion, TikTok $1.1 billion, Amazon $1.1 billion, and The Trade Desk $1.1 billion. In the US: Google represented $4.9 billion, Meta $1.4 billion, Disney $835 million, NBCU $700 million, Paramount $540 million, and Warner Bros. Discovery $417 million. Total tracked global platform spend: $18.5 billion. U.S. network and platform spend: $9.8 billion.

 

With that volume to direct, GroupM had considerable power to pressure vendors into proprietary arrangements — and, the complaint alleges, to penalize those who refused.

 

WPP’s defense

 

WPP’s motion to dismiss makes three arguments worth taking seriously. 

 

First and most damaging to Foster: according to a sworn affirmation from Lesser, Foster’s counsel sent WPP a draft complaint on October 10, 2025 — more than two months before filing — and threatened to go public unless GroupM agreed to a large severance payment within 30 days. WPP refused, and the lawsuit followed. WPP argues that offering to stay silent for a payout is fundamentally incompatible with being a whistleblower.

 

Second, WPP contends that the Project Claridges report — Foster’s supposed evidence of protected disclosure — contains no mention of illegal activity. Its position is that it’s a business proposal for Foster’s own promotion, not a whistleblower document, and that Foster is retroactively reframing an ambitious pitch.

 

Third, Foster was among hundreds of U.S. GroupM employees and thousands globally let go in a documented restructuring. His entire division was eliminated. Six months elapsed between his last alleged report and his termination.

 

Why it matters beyond the lawsuit

 

The China backdrop lends the allegations weight. In October 2023, Chinese authorities raided GroupM’s offices and detained more than 30 employees for systematically retaining client rebates — precisely what Foster claims was happening globally. WPP hit a 27-year stock low in October 2025 when new CEO Cindy Rose publicly conceded WPP Media had “lost its way”. 

 

Where it likely ends up

 

A settlement would not be surprising. WPP cannot afford the discovery process, with internal communications about rebate practices potentially feeding both the shareholder litigation and client contract reviews. But the extortion allegation gives WPP real leverage to limit the payout.

 

The bigger question the case raises has nothing to do with Foster specifically: if GroupM’s own internal data shows its largest clients were almost entirely not benefiting from the proprietary inventory deals that generated nearly $1 billion in annual agency income, what exactly was the business model? That’s a question advertisers, regulators, and shareholders are now all asking — with or without this lawsuit.

 

WPP declined to comment.

17059: GroupM = WPP Media = WTF.

 

Adweek reported White media company GroupM—which was recently rebranded to WPP Media—told employees on Friday that corporate rejiggering will impact up to 45% of its total US workforce. However, “impact” was not clearly defined, and staffers were left to wonder if layoffs are part of the grand plan.

 

So, yesterday TGIF stood for Today GroupM Is Fucked.

 

EXCLUSIVE: GroupM US Staff Told Up to 45% Will Be Impacted by Restructure

 

A spokesperson said the figure indicates the number of staffers who will move into a new division

 

By Audrey Kemp

 

Sharb Farjami, CEO of GroupM North America, told employees during a company-wide town hall Friday afternoon that a sweeping organizational restructure will “impact about 40% to 45% of our entire workforce,” according to a recording of an all-hands obtained by ADWEEK.

 

“This has been a pretty tough week for us,” Farjami said. “There have been colleagues that have left our business… It can feel very destabilizing.”

 

When asked what ‘impacted’ meant, a GroupM spokesperson said the 40%-45% figure “does not refer to people who are departing the business” but “is in reference to how we’re bringing teams together.”

 

The spokesperson also clarified that the figure refers to U.S.-based employees specifically. They declined to comment on whether the shift will include future layoffs.

 

The new department—Media Management and Delivery, or MMD—will absorb investment, Nexus, and campaign reporting functions into a unified division. The leaders at the meeting did not clarify whether the impacted roles would include layoffs, reassignments, or other organizational changes.

 

Agency brands won’t go away

 

During the 2 p.m. ET meeting, agency leadership reiterated that the changes are part of a broader plan to shift to a “single operating model” across GroupM North America. “The agency brands will continue to exist… What they cease to be is individual, distinct business units,” said one executive, whom ADWEEK was unable to identify. “They will cease to operate business P&Ls in the market, but they will continue to be homes for our clients.”

 

Employees were told to expect a follow-up email detailing the next steps, as well as a question form they can fill out.

 

The update follows ADWEEK’s earlier report that layoffs had begun at the media network earlier this week—days after the agency reportedly rebranded from GroupM to WPP Media.

 

The meeting reiterated details from a leaked memo.

 

A leaked memo sent by GroupM CEO Brian Lesser on Monday, which has been obtained by ADWEEK, also outlined changes including the shift to a single operating model, agency title restructuring, and the integration of Nexus and investment functions.

 

“As part of this process, we’ve had to make difficult decisions as we work to improve our team structure and reduce overlap,” Lesser wrote. “This will affect some roles across our markets.”

 

GroupM leadership sent a new memo to employees after the meeting

 

Following the meeting, Farjami sent a note to employees reiterating the changes. In the note, obtained by ADWEEK, he acknowledged: “This has been a challenging week, especially for those whose roles were impacted. We’re providing support through WPP’s Employee Assistance Program for team members leaving the business, and we have internal employee resources to help you navigate the changes, too.”

 

Read the full memo below:

 

Team,

 

Thank you to everyone who joined today’s all-hands. For those who couldn’t attend, I want to acknowledge this week’s changes and what they mean for all of us at GroupM. 

 

This has been a challenging week, especially for those whose roles were impacted. We’re providing support through WPP’s Employee Assistance Program for team members leaving the business, and we have internal employee resources to help you navigate the changes, too. These decisions were not made lightly, but they are necessary. As we evolve, we’re building a stronger, more unified GroupM that delivers more opportunity for our people and greater value to our clients. 

 

Evolving our agency brands, simplifying our structure, and integrating Nexus, Investment, and Campaign Reporting into one unified integrated media team will bring the full power of GroupM to market. This team is a strategic response to the market’s demand for something different. The focus areas — marketplace & partnerships, media activation, media solutions, product innovation, and commerce — position us to lead in an AI-enabled era. We’re also formalizing a client growth & operations team at the center to better support our client teams with greater agility.  

 

Many of our clients see the value in this vision as they evolve their own businesses. They are optimistic, and so am I. 

 

As this new chapter takes shape, we’ll grow into it together. Ensuring we listen to you through this change will always be at the front of my mind. Please reach out to your manager or the People team for guidance, and you can continue to ask questions or share feedback here. I’ll keep you updated as we move forward. 

 

Thank you for your passion and dedication to GroupM, our clients, and each other. 

 

Sharb

 

Correction 5/9 at 6:25pm ET: The headline has been changed to indicate that U.S. staffers are affected by the change.

16429: GroupM To Lose M—McDonald, That Is.

MediaPost exposed more drama at GroupM, where North America CEO Kirk McDonald will bail out “for the next chapter in my journey” at the end of the year. There’s some sloppy reporting on the story, as MediaPost incorrectly claimed McDonald joined GroupM in September 2023, while Digiday noted his start date at 2020. Regardless, McDonald did erect a few heat shields in his relatively short stint. AdExchanger saw fit to state that McDonald—prior to landing at GroupM—had no experience running a media company. Well, now he’s running from a media company…

 

GroupM NA CEO McDonald Departing At Year’s End

 

By Steve McClelland

 

GroupM North America CEO Kirk McDonald is stepping down from his role at the end of the year, the company has confirmed.

 

Mindshare Global CEO Adam Gerhart will serve as interim head of GroupM NA until a successor is found for McDonald.

 

McDonald joined GroupM in September 2023 from Warner Media’s Xander, where he served as chief business officer and before that CMO. Earlier he was president of Pubmatic. He succeeded Tim Castree at GroupM, who had left the previous November.

 

It wasn’t clear why McDonald is leaving. He issued a statement about leaving “for the next chapter in my journey,” but provided no details.

16425: GroupMoney Problems?

 

Adweek reported WPP CEO Mark Read spoke about the 1.8% decline in revenue for Q3, as well as a plan to simplify GroupM. Maybe the revenue drop—along with potential employment instability at GroupM—prompted certain Chinese executives to resort to desperate and drastic measures…?

16422: WPP GroupMess.

MediaPost reported on a WPP employee in China who was terminated from GroupM after being detained in Shanghai by Chinese authorities. Two former employees were also detained, and the story revealed that GroupM China CEO Patrick Xu was questioned by police. While details were sketchy, the alleged violation involved charges of bribery.

 

One thing is certain—Black-owned media, influencers, and publishers did not financially benefit from the Shanghai shenanigans.

 

Additionally, the scenario lets WPP boast that its people “represent perhaps the most diverse example of criminal diversity of any single organisation.”

 

WPP Employee, Others Under Investigation By Authorities In China

 

By Steve McClellan

 

A GroupM employee and two former employees were detained last week in Shanghai by Chinese authorities, according to multiple reports including the Financial Times (which broke the story) and Reuters.

 

Also GroupM China CEO Patrick Xu was reportedly questioned by police but not detained. Xu is also WPP’s country manager for China.

 

It isn’t precisely clear what is behind the detentions and investigation. A source for Reuters said it was related to “rebate mismanagement,” but that is not confirmed. A WPP statement issued midday Monday indicated that the GroupM executive was arrested on charges of bribery and that he has been terminated from the company. The firm said it was cooperating with Chinese authorities on their investigation and conducting its own separate investigation as well.

 

A source familiar with the situation stressed that WPP itself is not a subject of the investigation being conducted by Chinese authorities. That probe for now is limited to the individuals previously employed by the firm who were detained and others outside of the company.

 

The development is significant as WPP sees Greater China as a major growth driver for the firm. It is the firm’s fourth largest market, and has three major hubs there including campuses in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

 

The third campus opened earlier this year in Guangzhou. At the time, WPP said that 5,000 of the firm’s 8,100 people in the region were located on one of the three main campuses.

 

Here is the full WPP statement issued on Monday:

 

“Following the detention of a GroupM China executive on charges of bribery last week, we are cooperating with the authorities and conducting our own investigation with an independent third party.

 

We cannot comment on the details of an active police investigation. However, we are terminating the executive’s employment with the company, and GroupM is suspending trade with any external organisation we understand to be part of the police enquiries.

 

We are absolutely committed to behaving in accordance with the law and our own code of conduct, and will take all necessary action to ensure this is the case within our business.”

 

This story has been updated with input from WPP and other sources.

15447: GroupM Gives 2% Effort For Diversity.

 

Advertising Age reported GroupM is making a 2% pledge to invest in Black-owned media. “We don’t have enough Black-owned media, which is a bigger issue,” said GroupM North America CEO Kirk McDonald. “We don’t want to just share up the pie differently, we want the pie to grow.” Okay, but it sounds like Black-owned enterprises will still be served crumbs—and get a pie in the face.

 

Exclusive: GroupM Makes 2% Pledge To Invest In Black-Owned Media Over The Next Year

 

Agency looks to support diverse and Black creators, producers and studios with accelerator program

 

By Jeanine Poggi

 

GroupM is the latest agency to unveil efforts tied to helping to grow and support diverse and Black-owned media companies.

 

The WPP-owned media giant is making a 2% pledge, calling on its clients to invest at least that amount of their annual media spend in diverse and Black-owned media. While GroupM is planning these investments now, the goal is to start these activations in the next 12 to 18 months.

 

“We wanted something that could start now and not point too far into the future,” says Kirk McDonald, GroupM North America CEO. “We wanted to move investment into Black-owned media companies now and give them a chance of being included in economic opportunity now.”

 

The other part of GroupM’s new Media Inclusion Initiative is a “diverse voices accelerator,” which serves as a positive-impact fund to support diverse and Black creators, writers, producers, directors, talent and studios. The platform will look to support Black people and groups in the development, funding, distribution and marketing of content for GroupM’s clients. The “diverse voices accelerator” will initially focus on Black-owned initiatives and companies and will subsequently expand its reach.

 

“We don’t have enough Black-owned media, which is a bigger issue,” McDonald says, adding that GroupM’s 2% commitment could represent support and investment in up to 30% of all available Black-owned media.

 

“We don’t want to just share up the pie differently, we want the pie to grow,” McDonald says. “We need to find a way to support more diverse media ownership, not just support what’s out there.”

 

To this end, the Media Inclusion Initiative is designed to invest in the Black-owned media companies and creators that exist today and invest in supporting new Black-owned media companies and creators for tomorrow, McDonald says.

 

This initiative falls under GroupM’s “responsible investment” buying framework, which focuses on brand safety, data ethics, diversity, equity and inclusion, responsible journalism and sustainability. In February, the agency struck a two-year deal with OZY, a multi-platform media and entertainment company that boasts a connection with diverse audiences and is owned by Carlos Watson.

 

The announcement comes ahead of the Black Owned Media Upfront this week, which will put the spotlight on Black-owned media companies including Revolt, Ebony Magazine, Urban Edge Networks and The African Channel. Black-owned media companies, led by media mogul Byron Allen, have rallied together in recent months to call for brands to spend a minimum of 2% of their ad budgets in Black-owned media.

 

Last week, IPG Mediabrands announced it is committing to invest a minimum of 5% in Black-owned media across all of its clients in aggregate by 2023.

15391: GroupM DE&I BS—OMG OZY.

Advertising Age reported on the latest philanthropic PR and heat shield from GroupM, promoting the media company’s new partnership with OZY—a media and entertainment company providing connections to diverse audiences—designed to bring a “responsibility-focused approach” to GroupM’s business. It appears to be a twist on delegating diversity via contracting content of color.

 

GroupM Takes A Responsibility-Focused Approach To Media Buying

 

The media agency strikes a two-year deal with OZY to further its DE&I efforts

 

By Jeanine Poggi

 

As GroupM heads into the annual upfronts, making ad commitments worth millions of dollars on behalf of clients, the media-buying powerhouse is changing its approach to investment that focuses on social responsibility.

 

To this end, it has struck a two-year deal with OZY, a multi-platform media and entertainment company that boasts a connection with a diverse audience of 75 million people, most of whom are millennial or Gen Z.

 

GroupM has historically been revered for its ability to use its scale to drive better deals—including pricing—for its clients with media partners.

 

“Inside of GroupM there has been a conscious awareness that, as the media industry is evolving, you can’t do investment like we had in the past—leveraging our scale and buying power,” says Kirk McDonald, CEO, GroupM North America. “There needs to be more substance.”

 

The OZY partnership falls into GroupM’s “responsible investment” buying framework, which focuses on brand safety, data ethics, diversity, equity and inclusion, responsible journalism and sustainability. The goal, according to McDonald, is to make advertising work better for people and maximize media dollars through socially conscious buying to fund positive change.

 

This investment approach evolves valuation and measurement methods to account for social and environmental impact like a media placement’s carbon emissions, the diversity of audience makeup and a concerted emphasis on local journalism and credible news sources.

 

This comes as the ad world looks to course-correct its role in supporting systemic racism, both internal and in the ways it has done business. While GroupM’s efforts aim to support DE&I efforts, they also extend to other forms of social good.

 

“Socially-conscious media buying is really the only way to support so many of the initiatives our clients are talking about,” McDonald says. “We want to make sure the dollars they are using aren’t just driving businesses, but also doing good.”

 

The deal with OZY will include the creation of original video, audio and written series for GroupM clients, and consultation services on trends and what’s new and next. While OZY is perhaps best known for its morning newsletter, it also has podcasts, produces TV shows and an events arm with festivals like OZY Fest.

 

McDonald points to OZY as the type of media company GroupM will be looking to partner with more deeply moving forward—those that support and expose fresh perspectives and audiences, he says.

 

Responsible investment doesn’t mean GroupM will compromise its standards on where it places media, McDonald adds, noting that OZY is “hot.” Instead, they will implement new standards on top of the ones already in place that will force the team to work harder to find outlets that not only drive scale but make a difference.

 

GroupM is the latest agency to strike a long-term deal with OZY. Last month, Dentsu Media announced it had entered into a three-year partnership with the brand as part of its “meaningful media” investment strategy. The length of both the GroupM and Dentsu deals with OZY are notable, and speak to the media company’s efforts to create long-term relationships rather than one-off sponsorships.

 

“We want to strike partnerships that allow brands to work with us in creative ways, and doesn’t feel like we are doing a one-off,” says Carlos Watson, CEO and co-founder of OZY. “We want to build something that will have real value for clients and partners, both addressing their immediate needs and in the medium term.”

 

The entire industry plans to take a closer look at their media dollars heading into this year’s spring ad haggle to see how companies can shift more dollars into minority-owned and diversity-targeted media.

 

Media mogul Byron Allen is leading a call for brands to shift 2% of their media spend into Black-owned media. And other media agencies like IPG Mediabrands are looking to educate clients on these types of media companies through so-called “Equity Upfronts” and other similar types of programs that feature minority-owned and targeted media companies.