First Global MarCom Firm in GBA, WPP Media Eyes 2026 and the Next Decade

As the year turns over to a new page, businesses are looking at emerging trends, the overall business landscape, and sentiment.

WPP Media China CEO Rupert McPetrie says the bustling Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is a key stop for the company's future operations and is optimistic about the coming year.

WPP Media is leveraging the area's unique advantages in policy incentives, industrial clusters and open connectivity.

The company was the first multinational marketing communications group to establish a presence in the Greater Bay Area more than a decade ago.

Beyond Shenzhen, it has also established local operation teams in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Its dedicated Greater Bay Area business team has been operating for six years.

McPetrie holds optimistic expectations for 2026, a year marked by increased certainty, confidence, and a clearer understanding of business success.

"We remain steadfast in serving as a growth partner for clients, and we want to advise them on where they can find growth and how their businesses can thrive in China and the rest of the world," he told Shanghai Daily.

As an executive with over 20 years of industry experience, he identifies himself as someone who thrives in diversity.

He also points out the unique mixture in the GBA fosters confidence for businesses and consumers, encourages investment and innovation, and gives local firms a form of institutional resilience: operating across one country, two systems, and three legal jurisdictions teaches them to be agile, regulatory savvy, and culturally adaptable – capabilities that transfer well when they expand overseas.

"The GBA, with its varied cultures and consumer segments, serves as an ideal test bed for shaping global narratives and teaches brands that one size does not fit all and that they must anchor on universal consumer truths while tailoring execution market by market," he said.

Under this backdrop, WPP has been serving as both a deeply engaged participant and a key driving force of regional economic and overseas expansion for a wide range of clients.

WPP Media China serves as a comprehensive global growth partner, utilizing robust GBA teams, global processes, and the AI-powered WPP Open platform to generate insights, plan, activate, and measure campaigns across the globe.

In taking the game Black Myth: Wukong abroad, WPP Media China focused not on cultural explanation alone but on what gamers everywhere value: high-impact visuals and epic "big boss" battles.

According to McPetrie, Chinese brands are at a pivotal moment as they move from competing mainly on product and price with lower funnel performance marketing to balancing this with serious upper funnel brand building and storytelling.

"Looking ahead, we also see a broader basket of categories as various kinds of clients are looking at overseas expansion, not only tech and gaming but packaged goods as well," he added.

"This is really exciting for us, and something that I know we're ready for," he said.