Watch: Media agency clients nervous about being ‘behind the curve’, says Wavemaker UK CEO
The Year Ahead 2024
“Clients will keep knocking our doors down about ‘Why are we still on telly? Can’t we be on more of TikTok?'”
The year ahead, according to Wavemaker UK CEO Kelly Parker, is going to feature more “noisy” conversation around AI and clients worried about being left behind amid advances in tech and measurement.
Speaking to The Media Leader at The Year Ahead 2024, Parker said: “I think a number of our senior clients are nervous that they might be behind the curve, particularly those in categories like consumer packaged goods, where TV plays a huge role and always has done.
“[TV] is effective and is brilliant, [but] budgets aren’t increasing; budgets are staying the same or declining.”
Asked about what will happen in the market this year for media accounts, Parker predicts a higher volume of large advertisers putting business up for review. Earlier this month, Unilever announced a review of its global media (handled by Wavemaker’s sister WPP agency, Mindshare).
“Last year was relatively quiet in terms of big UK ‘whoppers’,” Parker said. “We might see three or four big, hotly contested whoppers in the UK go up and then there will always be the medium- to small-sized ones ticking along.
“Last year was very driven by global and Europe — for us, anyway. I think we’ll see a bit more UK action this year.”
The Year Ahead, hosted by The Media Leader and Adwanted Events, is an annual get-together for UK media and advertising’s most influential people.
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