Clear joins WPI partner agencies at Global Summit in Paris

Worldwide Partners, Inc, (WPI), one of the world’s largest agency networks with more than 60 agency partners in 40 countries on five continents, is hosting a Global Summit in Paris for agency partners, like Clear, in their network.

As big brands lose confidence in larger holding-company media shops, independent agencies like Clear and those in the WPI network are rising to the top. The Global Agency Summit is an opportunity for WPI’s partners from around the globe to gather and discuss this trend, as well as other important topics impacting their network and the constantly-evolving advertising industry as a whole. It allows them to collaborate face-to-face, learn from and empower each other and innovate to help guide their clients into a new era of advertising.

“There is definitive trend in major brands turning to independent agencies, not just for project work, but for AOR roles as well,” says John Harris, President and CEO of Worldwide Partners.

“Holding-company agencies are not the sole purveyors of great talent, diversified and specialized capabilities, or even global collaboration. Independent agencies continue to build credibility and confidence with their clients, and the entrepreneurial spirit that permeates their cultures is extremely attractive to brands.”

Worldwide Partners has brought together experts from around the globe to speak about topics important to the network, such as remuneration, media transparency, the changing competitive landscape, finding and retaining talent, and the latest trends in social media and video. Kelly Reilly, VP of Global Marketing at Ocean Spray Cranberries, Ben Wood, Director of Agencies for EMEA at Facebook, Greg Fournier, Executive Director, Strategic Partnerships APAC with Unruly, Victor Knaap, CEO of MediaMonks, and other speakers from global brands, agencies and media partners will be sharing their expertise.

The theme of the Summit is “Ad/vant Garde,” alluding to the experimental, radical, or oftentimes unorthodox freedom afforded to WPI as an independent network. The Summit’s setting will echo the progressive theme, with events taking place at Palais de Tokyo and Le Musée de Montmatre.

“This is not a question about whether an independent agency is better than a holding-company agency. But you can make the case that the operational freedom independent agencies enjoy better positions them to support the requirements of speed, agility and accountability, without sacrificing creativity, innovation and scale, that brand marketers are demanding from their agencies today,” says Harris.

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