WPP pulls out of Facebook's agency review over liability clause

The bone of contention is the social media giant's requirement that the agency takes on greater liability

by exchange4media Staff
Published: Jul 24, 2021 7:22 AM | 1 min read

WPP's media agency GroupM has backed out of social media giant Facebook's media agency review in which rivals like Dentsu, Havas Group, and Publicis Groupe are also participating. Facebook's media account worth $1 billion is split between Mindshare and Dentsu.

According to a media report, GroupM has pulled out of Facebook's agency review due to the social media giant's requirement that the agency takes on greater liability. The report added that the agency will continue to work with Facebook until the review is over.

Currently, the contracts between agencies and marketers are structured in such a way that the agencies have to take a certain level of liability in case an issue arises around the ad-buying process.

Facebook's media mandate includes media planning and buying across Facebook’s entire businesses which includes Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

“While we will not be participating in the review, we look ahead to future opportunities building on the successful work we created together since 2014,” a GroupM spokesperson commented.

“We’re sorry that GroupM has decided to withdraw from the RFP [request for proposal] process; however, we look forward to continuing to partner with their talented team as we move forward with our review of global media capabilities,” a Facebook spokeswoman said.