UM Worldwide

11/05/2025

Our Global Chief Strategy Officer Dan Chapman hit the stage again this week, this time on the closing panel at Adwanted Events' Future of Media London. In a conversation about what the agency of the future looks like, Dan discussed how agencies need to adapt the conversations they are having with CMOs to move away from traditional marketing theory and embrace brands’ beautiful complexity in the world. He also talked about how our industry’s obsession with "Humans vs. AI" can actually be quite reductive (and ironically, "human" is exactly what we would be defined as in an AI simulation). Instead, Dan calls for us to value the unique nature of people--their empathy, risk-taking, curiosity, messiness, and creativity--to unlock the best that technology has to offer.

11/04/2025

Our Global Chief Strategy Officer Dan Chapman joined The Drum onstage today at their B2B World Fest, to discuss what future B2B buyers--Gen Z and Millennials--expect from B2B brands. Dan shared how B2B marketers must learn and take inspiration from B2C brands, particularly the critical use of character & emotion when building connections with Gen Z and Millennials. As AI becomes increasingly prominent in B2B discovery, it’s more important than ever for brands to stand out and have a clear differential.

11/03/2025

Bravo to our LATAM team for taking home an incredible 9 WINS in the Effie Awards Latin America 2025! 🏆

Each one reflects our UMers' commitment to living in Full Color and bringing forth ideas that connect with people, defy the predictable & transform challenges into effectiveness.

10/28/2025

In a piece for The Media Leader UK, UM London Planning Partner Lawrence Dodds explores the rise of the “shadow internet” --a hidden layer of the web where AI agents make decisions on people's behalf-- and how it could redefine marketing. Dodds also discusses how brands can make their information clear and credible to these AI agents and the importance of making a Stand Against Bland, particularly when it's machines, not humans, who are the first audience.

A shadow internet is emerging that isn’t the dark web or criminal. It’s lighter, faster, and crafted not for humans but for machines.

10/21/2025

Our US Chief Investment Officer Marcy Greenberger recently took the stage at Cynopsis Screen Shift to talk all things FAST, including its role in the video mix, how marketers consider FAST relative to AVOD platforms, the evolution of the space + ways sellers are increasing monetization.

10/16/2025

In a piece for The Drum, our Global CSO Dan Chapman discusses two of the most significant obstacles to brand growth and how identifying “brand patterns” helps marketers avoid a future of AI-driven monotony: “If AI is left leveraging category norms, benchmarks, best practice, and marketing theory reinforced by its aggregated data, then brand building will quickly become brand ‘blanding’ – a sure and certain drift into indifference. This is our rallying cry for brands around the world to take a stand against bland."

Read on: bit.ly/4n54fbf

10/09/2025

Our US Chief Investment Officer Marcy Greenberger and EVP, Client Business Lead Renee Whittingstall were honored at Cynopsis' 2025 "Top Women in Media" gala last night. Congratulations to all of the honorees, especially those from our IPG Mediabrands community, and thank you Cynopsis for an enjoyable and inspirational evening!

10/03/2025

Our US teams joined fellow UMers around the world last week for our inaugural Stand Against Bland Day! Global Chief Creative Officer Rob Hersey kicked off our “Ways to Smash Bland” morning sessions by sharing what it takes to produce unforgettable work, followed by IPG Media Lab’s Tom Trudeau showing how people can use AI to increase efficiency without sacrificing creativity. The day continued with local partner panels focused on sparking bold ideas and rejecting outdated thinking, and in the afternoon, our strategy team members led fast-paced, “Full Color Concept Carousel” ideation sessions.

Our U.S. Town Hall and Happy Hour capped off an inspirational, invigorating event. Thank you to our partners at FOX in Detroit, SiriusXM Media in NYC, and Warner Bros. Discovery in Los Angeles for helping us make our Stand Against Bland Day extra memorable!

09/25/2025

From our Global Brand President Susan Kingston-Brown:

"Today, our One UM UM Worldwide community will come together across the globe to build big ideas and team energy to continue to embed Full Colour Media and continue to be an agency that dares to be different: Today is a day dedicated to our agency philosophy & 'call to action': Stand Against Bland Day.

In a world where AI and automation risk compounding sameness, the greatest danger isn’t rejection, it’s indifference. At UM, we believe difference is what drives growth, meaning, and impact for brands. That’s why we Stand Against Bland.

What excites me most is seeing how our teams are bringing this philosophy to life in their own unique ways. In UM London, we’re hosting a creativity workshop with Global Street Art to inspire bolder thinking. In UM Australia, the day will be woven into their OPEN House platform with panels and media partner activations. Our UM USA teams are embracing a full day of ideation, showcases and collaboration to fuel bold thinking and creative impact.

From Lodestar UM India’s jingle to Malaysia’s culture speed dates, and UM APAC Thailand’s live SAB workshop, every market is making this day their own, and I couldn’t be prouder of how our people are epitomising anti-bland in their approach.

I want to take a moment to thank every team around the world for the energy, creativity, and passion you’ve poured into this day. From the incredible ideas I’ve already seen in action this morning in our APAC markets, to everything I know is coming up over the next 24 hours across Europe and the Americas, you’re showing what Full Colour Media looks like in action.

Stand Against Bland Day is a catalyst for us to keep challenging norms, embracing complexity, and creating the kind of bold, vibrant work our clients deserve - work that won’t just be noticed, but remembered.

To everyone across UM Worldwide: thank you for personal commitment and energy to make this mission real and tangible for our people and our clients. Together, we are Full Colour Media. Together, we Stand Against Bland."

09/24/2025

Tourism Ireland has appointed UM as its new global media agency of record, supporting their mission to grow inbound tourism, strengthen communities, and showcase Ireland on the world stage. Thank you to our incredible teams for your hard work and passion in making this happen--we can't wait to bring the power of Full Color Media to Tourism Ireland!

Tourism board switches agency following statutory review.

09/23/2025

Congratulations to UMer Casey Harsh, SVP, US Commerce, on being named to Path to Purchase Institute's 2025 "40 Under 40" list! View the 2025 class here: bit.ly/4my0jzp

09/18/2025

In T-minus one week we will have liftoff on our first-ever, Stand Against Bland Day! UM teams all over the world will unite for a full day of fearlessness, inspiration, ideation + collaboration. The golden age of media is in FULL COLOR and bland doesn't stand a chance!