Our Future's DIM, in Sorrell's Digital New World

WPP is to accelerate its move towards digital sources and fast-growth markets, raising longstanding targets for the proportion of business from each, according to a LinkedIn post by CEO Sir Martin Sorrell. He also appears to be phasing out the words 'research' and 'insight' in favour of a catchy new expression...

Sorrell has upped the percentage of business to come from each of the two key growth areas from '35 to 40 percent' to '40 to 45 percent'.

WPP remains committed to four strategic pillars: new markets, new media, 'data investment management' and 'horizontality', between them representing a 'strategic response to trends in client behaviour', says Sorrell. Stepping up 'horizontality' means adding more client leaders and country managers, for effective deployment of the group's 165,000 workers in 110 countries.

Data investment management, 'previously known as consumer insight or market research', constitutes about 25 percent of the business and that is about right, says Sorrell, who had formerly talked of growing the relative importance of insight within the group. Did we miss something there, Sir Martin? At least it's a great acronym - the future's DIM.

Elsewhere in the post, Sorrell talked about Amazon's recent buying of the Washington Post, which he believes to be 'an era-defining announcement'. He adds: 'a new breed of media owner has very much arrived'.

Thanks to www.mediapost.com and www.warc.com for information in this article.