Beer giant Heineken has selected WPP as its global marketing and commerce partner, as it looks to leverage AI to enhance its retail and customer experiences.
Under the new agreement, the ad giant will use its AI-powered operating system, WPP Open.
Together, both companies will collaborate to optimise in-store activations, retail strategies and various e-commerce initiatives.
WPP, which owns the likes of Ogilvy, Grey and GroupM, will also help develop shopper experiences around Heineken’s sponsorships such as Formula 1 and UEFA Champions League and experiences for live music events.
Rogier Leliveld, chief client officer for WPP Netherlands, said that the collaboration presents a significant opportunity for the drinks giant.
He said: “Commerce and shopper experience are such important drivers of brand power and sales in this category, which makes this opportunity even more exciting.”
This is a noteworthy win for the global communications giant, which has been battling several high profile client losses and stalling revenue.
Most recently, WPP lost Coca-Cola’s planning and media buying work to Publicis after it was put up for repitch earlier this year.
But it has wrestled this Heineken brief off its French rival, which had set up a bespoke agency model to service it in 2020.
WPP’s recent push to integrate AI into its operations forms part of a broader industry trend of leading advertising firms increasingly pivoting towards AI to stay competitive.
Publicis has already committed €300m (£251m) to its AI efforts with the launch of its own CoreAI platform.
Meanwhile, WPP is focusing on agility in its AI development, rolling out up to 30 software releases a day to quickly adapt to the fast-changing advertising landscape.
Publicis’s approach to has earned the company a reputation as a leader in the tech space and helped it become the largest advertising holding company, kicking WPP – once the largest ad firm – off the podium last year.