Advertising giant WPP opens London hub to produce faster, AI-assisted ads. The hub brings AI-powered production, modular studio environments and post-production capabilities under one roof. Published Sep 23, 2026, 08:10 AM Updated Sep 23, 2026, 08:10 AM LONDON - WPP opened a production facility in London on Sept 23 which the British company said was the first of a global roll-out to meet demand for high-quality ads that can be deployed across social media and other platforms at speed. Cindy Rose, WPP's CEO for the past year, brought together its production capabilities in WPP Production, one of four operating units, early in 2026 as part of her turnaround plan. WPP's clients, who include Coca-Cola, Unilever and Ford, needed to influence consumers through hyper-local, community-led engagement at scale, while also impacting algorithms so they could be discovered by AI chatbots and other services, she said. The 3,160 sq m Devon's Point hub, in East London, would help address this need, Rose said, with rapid shooting and editing facilities, advanced AI production and creator collaboration spaces. "It's about winning new business, because a lot of the pitches that we respond to these days are integrated mandates across creative, production, media and increasingly enterprise solutions," she told Reuters. "It's also about expanding our footprint across the addressable spend of our existing clients as well." The hub brings AI-powered production, such as putting a real Ford Capri into a virtual Paris street, modular studio environments and post-production capabilities under one roof.

WPP Media New Zealand creates two new senior roles. WPP Media New Zealand has evolved its leadership structure by creating two new managing director roles. Hannah Joseph has been appointed as managing director - clients, and Jodie Little has been appointed as managing director - investment & operations. The roles have been established in response to the increasing complexity of the media landscape in the AI era and shifting client expectations. Matching the market. The evolution brings sharper focus to two areas that are critical to client growth: trusted client leadership, and the investment and operational capability that turns strategy into impact. It also recognises the contribution Joseph and Little already make to the business. WPP Media New Zealand chief executive John Halpin says the appointments reflect the reality of how the industry is evolving and position the business to move with greater clarity, pace and confidence. "This is about making sure our leadership matches the market we're operating in. It's more complex, it's moving faster, and it requires a closer connection between client leadership, investment and operations. Hannah's built real trust with clients and gets commercial results. Jodie combines investment smarts with operational capability. That combination quickly gives clients clarity in their decisions. It's great to be able to recognise their contribution in this way, and I'm looking forward to what we build from here." Limitless possibilities. Joseph will lead client stewardship, commercial performance and senior client relationships across the business. Her appointment creates a dedicated executive focus on client performance, revenue growth and commercial governance, strengthening alignment between strategy and outcomes. She says this role is really about creating stronger partnerships and limitless possibilities for WPP Media clients. "The environment is more complex than it's been before, but expectations haven't changed - clients still want clarity, accountability and results. My focus is on making sure we're set up to deliver that consistently and our teams have clarity, confidence and commercial focus to deliver meaningful growth, consistently." Uncompromised execution. Little will lead media investment strategy, trading performance, media partnerships and operational infrastructure across the agency portfolio. Her remit will strengthen the systems, partnerships and processes behind planning, buying and delivery, helping teams move faster and deliver with greater precision and accountability. "Investment and operations are the engine room of our business; it's where strategic ambition meets uncompromised execution," says Little. "My focus is on sharpening our infrastructure and scaling our capabilities so that our teams are backed by the best systems in the market. We aren't just looking for incremental improvements, we are building an operational architecture that translates raw data and investment clout into better decisions, better delivery and more meaningful growth for our clients and partners."

MIPCOM 2026: a "convergence" point for every entertainment industry to talk vertical series, branded content, gen AI, and more. When more than 10,000 people arrive on the shores of the French Riviera for MIPCOM 2026, they'll be greeted by an event designed with one theme in mind: convergence. MIPCOM, which Director Lucy Smith calls "the global gateway to the media and content business," has long been a meeting, networking, and dealmaking tentpole of the TV, film, and advertising industries. In 2025, it officially recognized the growing importance of digital creators in both entertainment and branded content-and for 2026, it's expanding creators' footprint while adding programming around current trends in its space, like vertical series and generative AI. But Caroline Bernet, Head of MIPCOM Conference Programme, tells Tubefilter the approach here is not simply adding separate programming tracks for separate industries. MIPCOM wants to put everyone from every industry in rooms together, giving them chances to connect, learn about one another's businesses, and maybe even broker some partnerships. "MIPCOM is really about how these businesses can meet inside the same global market for audiences, IP financing, and distributing," Bernet says. "This is what we are achieving for 2026, with a new set of networking and conferencing formats and an all-new set of players alongside the traditional players." The convergence of new and traditional will have leaders from Netflix, BBC Studios, Banijay Entertainment, FOX, Fremantle, and Lionsgate in direct conversation with folks from YouTube, TikTok, Tubi, Samsung TV Plus, Holywater, Crazy Maple Studio, and dentsu, as well as creator studios like Dhar Mann Studios and the Sidemen. Participants will attend workshops, showcases, invitation-only summits, and curated matchmaking sessions. And as for new networking and conferencing formats, MIPCOM 2026 is introducing nexus points like MIP BrandWorks, the Global Microdrama and Vertical Leaders' Summit, and the MIP AI Entertainment Forum. MIP BrandWorks will invite senior leaders to attend an exclusive CXO Summit, hear from Meta, Dentsu, and Ferrero Rocher about vertical dramas, and head to the BrandWorks Showcase for an Upfronts-style presentation highlighting individual brands and their content. Those brands include Webedia-Elephant (with Dassault Systèmes' series The Engineers of the Future on Prime Video, L'Oréal Luxe's cultural dive on YouTube, and an exclusive sneak peek at a new upcoming project); Baby Teeth (Jamie Oliver and Life360's "Finding Jamie" vertical); Vinted with its new "Live Better for Less" format in partnership with WPP, Fan Club, and Electric Robin; and Bluelemon with "Three Economies, One Platform: Brands, Rights Holders and Creators on YouTube." "It's a real-time marketplace for IP development," Bernet says. The invitation-only Global Microdrama and Vertical Leaders' Summit will bring together people like Scott Brown (Second Rodeo), Cassandra Yang (RisingJoy), Anatolii Kasianov (Holywater), Timothy Oh (COL Group), Stephen Liu (NetShort), Lior Friedman (RoseBerry), Angela Colla (Globo), Dawn Yang (TikTok), Tomas Escobar (SHORTA), and Lukasz Wisocki (MediaSpurs). "We are creating a closed-door event for vertical entertainment at the C-level," Bernet says. "We're creating something specific for them in the global market." She adds that MIPCOM is also expanding its established speed matchmaking sessions, which are usually split into scripted and unscripted (and sometimes children's entertainment), to include vertical series. Bernet says MIPCOM intends for these sessions to be "truly impactful for the vertical business." The MIP AI Entertainment Forum is aimed at examining "creative and business use cases" for generative AI, Bernet says. The forum will feature a keynote from former Google engineer turned UTOPAI founder/CEO Cecilia Chen and a roundtable discussion for attendees to speak with gen AI experts. "We have a very dedicated agenda to push for a more educative and practical understanding of how AI is applied," Bernet says. "Whether it's AI startups coming to explain the solution they can provide to entertainment companies or entertainment companies launching their own AI initiatives or divisions within their organizations, we have the two worlds coming together to talk under the same roof. Again, it's all about convergence and collaboration." Of course, these examples (while important) are just a fraction of what MIPCOM is offering this year. To see the event's full agenda, check out its website. MIPCOM Cannes runs Oct. 12-15 at the Palais des Festivals. Tickets are still available here, starting at €1,780. MIPCOM is a Tubefilter partner. Subscribe for daily Tubefilter top stories. Stay up-to-date with the latest and breaking creator and online video news delivered right to your inbox.