The government has appointed a lead media agency to provide strategy, planning and buying services across the public sector.
WPP Media will plan “high-impact public sector campaigns to engage and inform citizens across the increasingly diverse media landscape”, the Cabinet Office has announced.
The firm has also been awarded the “out-of-home buying duties” on behalf of the government, meaning the planning and purchasing of billboards, transit advertising and other forms of outdoor advertising.
By uniting media planning and buying under a single agency, the government hopes to streamline its work to more effectively reach target audiences across platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Reddit, as well as traditional television, radio and print media.
WPP will be asked to drive a "new targeted online audience-led approach" that moves government communications beyond traditional advertising and PR.
The Cabinet Office said the New Media Unit, launched in November 2024, “has proven the value of this approach and this appointment gives the government the ability to replicate this approach at scale across all government campaigns”.
The company will support recruitment campaigns for essential frontline roles such as nurses, teachers, social workers, and prison staff, as well as life-saving campaigns for NHS blood, plasma, and organ donation, and initiatives such as the THINK! Road Safety, Fire Kills and Violence Against Women and Girls campaigns.
WPP Media will also be responsible for promoting the UK globally through the GREAT campaign – the UK’s flagship international communications programme – which in 2024-25 delivered £218m in foreign direct investment and more than £300m in trade wins.
The firm will also "play an important role in ensuring that the UK public receives clear, accurate, and authoritative information from the government", the Cabinet Office said.
Through the contract, the government also expects to benefit from advances in AI-powered advertising technologies and audience insight to personalise messaging to the public.
Announcing the agreement, David Dinsmore, the permanent secretary for government communications, said: “Today’s media landscape is unrecognisable when compared to even a decade ago. The public has changed where and how they get their information and government needs to communicate its story with the best tools available.
“Our appointment of WPP Media means that we will transform how we deliver communications and secure the best value for money for the taxpayer. “
The Cabinet Office said the aproach will:
- Reduce the number of suppliers from 33 to 23 across the whole agreement;
- Reduce campaign planning times and management costs;
- More effectively reach its citizens across the UK with messaging relevant to the platforms they use;
- Unify cross-government messaging to ensure every pound of public money is spent effectively; and
- Support British jobs and investment through WPP’s extensive UK operations.
Kate Rowlinson, chief executive of WPP Media UK, said: “It is such a huge privilege to be the first agency group to bring government planning and buying together to oversee hundreds of vital national campaigns. Our deep expertise in planning public sector communications, combined with our exceptional talent and innovative WPP Open platform, puts us in a brilliant position to ensure every government message resonates and drives action.”