WPP wins The Star’s PR account, creates bespoke agency

WPP AUNZ has created an agency model ‘The Constellation’ in response to winning The Star Entertainment Group’s PR account.

The Constellation will be lead by Pulse – the consumer and brand marketing agency of Opr – and combines communication experts from across WPP AUNZ agencies including PPR, Maverick and Etcom.

It will also be working in partnership with WPP AUNZ media agency Ikon, which won The Star Entertainment Group’s media account late last year.

WPP AUNZ has created agency model ‘The Constellation’ in response to winning The Star Entertainment Group’s PR account

George Hughes, CMO for The Star Entertainment Group, said in a statement: “We went through very thorough process to find the best partner to support our public relations function and strategy. This transition to one agency is a core part of marketing and brand transformation efforts as group.”

Managing director at Pulse, Jacqui Abbott, said: “We are thrilled to be working with The Star Entertainment Group to build its brands, support its rapid transformation plans and promote visitation to all three properties. The Star chose to work with us based on our broad expertise, a clear strategy that delivered its vision, and our clear understanding of its brand, as well as our appreciation for the nuances of the entertainment industry. We partnered with our sister agencies across WPP AUNZ to assemble a bespoke team of communications experts.”

Richard Brett, CEO of Opr, said: “The Constellation brings together the very best experts across WPP AUNZ to build a highly proficient team that will deliver an outstanding and strategic communications function for The Star Entertainment Group.”

Following the appointment of Mark Read as WPP CEO last year, he alluded to the idea of drawing together agencies in order to provide clients with full-service offerings.

“Our industry is going through a period of structural change, not structural decline, and if we embrace that change we can look ahead to an exciting and successful future. Our mission now is to release the full potential that exists within the company for the benefit of our clients, to accelerate our transformation and simplify our offering, and to position WPP for stronger growth.

“To achieve that we need to foster a culture that attracts the best and brightest: inclusive, respectful, collaborative, diverse. What makes our company special is its people, and I am very proud to have been given the chance to build a new WPP with them.”

Since Read’s appointment, a number of WPP AUNZ agencies have merged. In September 2018, creative agency Y&R and digital agency VML merged to create VMLY&R.

Then in November, advertising agencies JWT and Wunderman merged to form Wunderman Thompson.