WPP set to stress digital plans in strategy update

london — WPP chief executive officer Mark Read will put online ad technology and data intelligence at the heart of a turnaround plan for the world’s biggest advertising group on Tuesday in his most detailed strategy update since the departure of company founder Martin Sorrell.

Read will stress WPP’s capabilities in technology and data at an investor day in London, according to three people familiar with the plans. He is also expected to give an update on the sale of a majority stake in market research unit Kantar and may reveal a new company logo, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the details are not public.

Read is set to announce a restructuring charge of several hundred million pounds and is expected to lay out a timeline for when WPP will recoup the benefits from those savings, according to a separate person familiar with the matter.

WPP probably won’t give specific guidance on future revenue targets but could give more clarity on cost savings, Barclays analysts Julien Roch and Emily Johnson wrote in a note to clients on Friday. A precise schedule of restructuring costs and their benefits over the next three to five years would be “extremely useful,” the analysts wrote.

A WPP spokesman declined to comment on the content of Tuesday’s strategy update.

Since taking over from Sorrell in April, Read has repeatedly said there are “no sacred cows” as he tries to restore stability to WPP’s myriad different agencies that create, deliver and measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Sorrell abruptly left the company he founded following an investigation into misconduct, but has denied any wrongdoing. Read was made permanent CEO in September.