WPP Holds Steady Despite Challenges in Key Accounts

WPP has managed to hold onto its share price gains following its better-than-expected H1 results, keeping it above the important £4bn valuation.

If you had bought WPP shares at their year-low, when people were questioning the company's survival, you would have doubled your money.

According to Stephen Armstrong, writing in the Observer, making better use of its people is key to WPP's fortunes. The group's big win with Jaguar Land Rover was led by Johnny Hornby, who handled the account despite being involved in his new business venture with Jeremy Clarkson.

Hornby's skills were crucial in securing the deal, which will be paid on an output basis, making it a massive test for WPP. The company also needs to hold onto its flagship Coca-Cola account at WPP Open X, which Publicis is chipping away at by winning Coke's North America media.

WPP has formidable human resources and will rely on some of them to land the business it badly needs. Ogilvy in the UK, now headed by James Murphy, David Golding, and Tammy Einav, is a case in point.