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WPP Media's first growth in eight quarters coincides with DoorDash-Instacart merger creating **$1.65bn** commerce network as CPG budgets migrate toward transaction data.
$500m
Coca-Cola and expanded its relationship with DoorDash three months…
$9.3bn
acquisition of Instacart closed in August
75m
monthly active users across restaurant delivery and grocery
$4.2bn
on paid media globally in 2023
WPP's media division posted its first year-over-year growth in two years during Q3, ending eight consecutive quarters of contraction as the holding company retained $500m Coca-Cola and expanded its relationship with DoorDash three months after the platform's $9.3bn acquisition of Instacart closed in August.
The turnaround arrives as commerce media platforms consolidate. DoorDash now controls 75m monthly active users across restaurant delivery and grocery, creating a first-party data asset that spans 850,000 merchants. WPP's expanded mandate includes media planning across both surfaces, positioning the holding company to capture budget migration from Google and Meta as consumer-goods clients chase intent signals closer to transaction. Coca-Cola's retention matters here: the beverage multinational spent an estimated $4.2bn on paid media globally in 2023, with 18% allocated to retail and commerce channels according to COMvergence tracking data.
The timing creates asymmetry. Publicis completed its $500m LiveRamp acquisition three weeks ago, absorbing the identity-resolution platform that WPP and Omnicom both use for audience targeting. WPP now faces a vendor relationship with its largest competitor for the infrastructure underlying addressable media buys. Meanwhile, DoorDash's commerce media network generated $780m in ad revenue over the trailing twelve months, growing 89% year-over-year while Instacart Ads contributed $871m in its most recent fiscal year. The combined $1.65bn run rate positions the merged entity as the fourth-largest retail media network in North America behind Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger.
WPP's media growth reversal matters less for the percentage—management declined to disclose the exact figure—than for the client mix driving it. Consumer packaged goods and quick-service restaurant categories together represent 34% of WPP's global revenue base. Both sectors are reallocating spend toward commerce channels at 22-26% annual rates as third-party cookie deprecation forces migration to walled gardens with deterministic purchase data. A holding company with embedded relationships across a platform controlling both grocery and restaurant delivery captures that shift at the planning layer, not just the buying layer.
Operators should watch three developments over the next six months. First, whether WPP's organic growth sustains into Q4 and Q1 2025, when easier year-over-year comparisons disappear and the Coca-Cola retention anniversary passes. Second, how Publicis monetizes LiveRamp access for competitors—pricing changes or data-sharing restrictions would force WPP to accelerate its own identity infrastructure, likely through acquisition. Third, DoorDash's commerce media product roadmap: the company plans to launch a self-serve ad platform for long-tail merchants in Q1 2025, which would expand inventory beyond endemic brands and pull budget from Google Local Services Ads.
WPP's media business generated $4.8bn in revenue over the trailing twelve months. The division returns to growth the same quarter Omnicom and Publicis each reported mid-single-digit media gains, suggesting the sector's two-year contraction reflected structural repositioning rather than terminal decline. DoorDash now briefs 120 WPP planners weekly on its combined commerce surface, triple the cadence from six months ago.
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