Creativity for Equality: WPP for UN Women

WPP is taking a more focused approach to its partnership with U.N. Women this year, the holding company said at a media briefing on Thursday. Its Creativity for Equality initiative is centered on the U.N.’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, building on its commitment to Common Ground, a collective effort by the major holding companies to solve global issues. Starting on November 25, the holding company will roll out local campaigns in six markets – the U.S., the U.K., Thailand, Turkey, Mexico, and India. Tailoring culturally sensitive approaches to these U.N. "priority markets" is critical, according to Lindsay Pattison, chief transformation officer at WPP. "We’ve had 26 campaigns supporting different aspects of gender equality [from] 33 agencies," she said. "While they have been incredibly important...they were quite disjointed. [Now, we want to] focus our efforts and resources and creativity." J. Walter Thompson is leading on creative in every country, while GroupM is the lead shop on media partnerships and investment strategy, Pattison said. Hill+Knowlton Strategies is leading the central communications strategy, according to Kate Grundy, director and founding partner of Better Impact. The H+K team is comprised of Candace Kuss, director of social media; Becky East, associate director; Laura Byrne, content lead; and Grundy.