WPP JOINS EUROPEAN COMMISSION STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION ROSTER

WPP has been appointed to the European Commission’s new strategic communication roster, led by Ogilvy Social.Lab Belgium, with support from WPP Media, VML Hogarth, Scholz & Friends and Burson. The mandate strengthens WPP’s longstanding partnership with EU institutions and enables high-impact, multi-country communication campaigns across Europe.

WPP has secured a significant mandate with its appointment to the European Commission’s new strategic communication roster, reinforcing the company’s longstanding engagement with European Union institutions at a time when strategic communication, citizen outreach and multi-market cohesion are becoming increasingly central to EU policy execution. The consortium, led by Ogilvy Social.Lab Belgium, brings together the capabilities of WPP Media, VML Hogarth, Scholz & Friends and Burson, forming a multidisciplinary network equipped to handle complex Europe-wide communication needs ranging from information campaigns to integrated digital outreach and behavioural engagement.

For WPP, the appointment represents both a renewed vote of confidence from the EU and a continuation of its governmental practice in Europe, which has grown to span public education, institutional branding, political communication and citizen engagement across diverse policy areas. Within the consortium, Ogilvy Social.Lab Belgium will serve as the lead agency, drawing on its experience in orchestrating multi-market social communication and large-scale digital-first campaigns. Meanwhile, WPP Media and VML Hogarth will strengthen capabilities around media planning, content production and campaign performance at scale, while Scholz & Friends adds a strong creative dimension from its established base in Central Europe and Burson contributes policy-oriented strategic communications, stakeholder engagement and reputation advisory expertise. Together, the group reflects WPP’s integrated model, designed to help public institutions not only communicate but also reach different demographic cohorts across fragmented media platforms.

The appointment also deepens WPP’s partnership with EU institutions through its Government and Public Sector Practice, a specialist vertical that has evolved from traditional public-sector communication support to a systems-level advisory role encompassing trust-building, disinformation resilience, climate communication, digital transformation, regulatory communication and societal change campaigns. Within the Brussels ecosystem, such capabilities have become increasingly important as the EU navigates a more contested communication environment shaped by geopolitical shifts, digital acceleration and significant regulatory milestones such as the Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act and the Green Deal. The Commission has placed growing emphasis on ensuring its policy actions are widely understood and that citizens can engage with institutional priorities beyond legislative documents and policy statements.

By joining the new communication roster, WPP will support the Commission in producing multi-country campaigns and multimedia content that reflect the linguistic, cultural and political diversity of the Union. This includes the challenge of designing messages that resonate across 27 member states while maintaining consistency of purpose and accuracy of information. Agencies working within EU frameworks must balance a high level of technical communication with creative execution that is accessible to citizens, often translating policy topics such as carbon neutrality, cybersecurity, mobility, consumer protection and digital rights into formats suitable for broadcast, social media and community-led platforms. For WPP, such mandates also provide a platform to leverage data and evidence-led tools that help institutions understand public sentiment, behavioural triggers and information gaps.

Industry observers note that the Commission’s communication needs have evolved markedly over the past decade, shifting from traditional institutional outreach to a more dynamic, campaign-oriented model that mirrors contemporary consumer communication. The rise of digital ecosystems, short-form video, audience segmentation and social listening technologies has pushed public institutions to adopt more sophisticated strategies for narrative shaping and myth-busting, particularly in areas where misinformation or low awareness can affect policy outcomes. WPP’s integrated approach positions it to handle these heightened demands while offering scale, multilingual capacity and specialised public-sector experience that smaller agencies may lack.

The appointment also underscores the EU’s continued interest in working with large-scale networks capable of deploying campaigns rapidly across borders. Within the context of European identity-building and democratic participation, communication plays a role in linking EU initiatives to citizens’ daily concerns, from travel benefits and job mobility to climate resilience and digital rights. By strengthening its communication architecture, the Commission aims to foster clearer connections between policy decisions and public experience, particularly ahead of key political cycles, regulatory rollouts and upcoming cross-border programmes.

For WPP, the strategic roster provides an opportunity to further demonstrate the value of creative government communication done at scale. Success in such mandates often depends on the ability to produce measurable outcomes in public awareness, engagement and attitudinal shifts — areas where data analytics and media performance tracking have become increasingly central. In recent years, the company has invested heavily in capabilities such as AI-driven media optimisation, digital ethnography, message testing and behavioural insights to serve both private and public sector clients. The EU appointment allows WPP to apply these tools in service of civic objectives, positioning communication not merely as information dissemination but as a public good.

As EU institutions work to connect with 450 million citizens across a rapidly changing media landscape, the role of strategic communication continues to expand beyond institutional branding into the realm of participatory governance. With this appointment, WPP’s consortium stands to contribute to that mission through campaigns designed to inform, inspire and increase accessibility to European initiatives. The partnership reflects the Commission’s recognition that communication is not peripheral to policymaking, but an essential component of democratic function — one that requires creative expertise, data fluency and a cross-disciplinary perspective.