Prescott to head new WPP digital unit

by Kunal Dutta, Media Week 28-Aug-08, 15:45

LONDON - WPP Digital, the marketing group's digital arm, has created a new digital production unit and hired Neal Prescott, the former executive vice-president of Publicis-owned Digitas, as its chief executive.

Called Deliver, the unit is built on a "distributed model" that will offer clients the ability to match digital briefs to the most suitably resourced and cost-effective agency involved with Deliver. It will initially operate across Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and South Africa.

WPP agencies involved with Deliver are: Aqua (South Africa), Actis Systems (Russia), AGENDA (China), Studiocom (via its offshore Guys Subsidiary in Columbia), ZAAZ (Seattle) from the Wunderman network and WPP digital agencies BLUE (China/Singapore), Quasar (India) and Schematic (Los Angeles/Costa Rica).

Before joining WPP, Prescott was executive vice-president and global head of technology enablement at Digitas, where he created a similar offshore digital production unit. He left earlier this year.

Prescott said: "The agencies that will contribute their expertise are already outsourcing work for their own clients to more economical production facilities in Costa Rica or Eastern Europe.

"For example, Schematic maintains a large staff in Cost Rica. Studiocom does the same in Columbia via its Offshore Guys subsidiary. BLUE produces online work for American and European client in its facilities in Singapore. Aqua has similar capabilities in South Africa."