GroupM Next is a new innovation unit to support the ongoing efforts of its four agencies Maxus, MEC, MediaCom and Mindshare. The focus is on providing insights on the developments at both core partners and emerging players in online, mobile, social and addressable spaces.
Together with its agencies and clients, GroupM Next will assist in the creation and management of partnership opportunities, integration into its technology and data systems and education to deliver best practices. The new unit also will build on GroupM’s body of original research focusing on consumer use of new platforms and devices and the impact of that usage on brand marketing.
“GroupM Next is dedicated to creating, capturing and ensuring the implementation of the best thinking and new insights from our community in the digital, social, mobile and addressable media markets,” said GroupM North America CEO Rob Norman. “Our goal is to create an active partnership across GroupM and our clients to develop actionable insight and a clear path to action on the platforms that are changing our industry.”
Chris Copeland, CEO of GroupM Search, has been named CEO of GroupM Next and Cary Tilds, currently N.A. Leader of Digital Media Operations at Mindshare, has been named Chief Innovation Officer. Copeland will leverage his multi-year experience with emerging media companies to steward the GroupM Next program in partnership with GroupM agency leadership. The focus will be participating with those companies leading changes that most impact consumer media consumption, brand favorability and purchase behavior.
Tilds is charged with identifying and implementing specific technology and platform opportunities into existing proprietary systems and workflows to ensure that GroupM agencies and their clients can participate. She joined Mindshare in 2007 to lead Digital Media Operations for Team Detroit, where she managed a team of digital media strategists for multiple clients including Ford, and later worked on evolving digital strategies for clients including Unilever North America.
