Holding Companies Bleed in China as Bribery Scandal Slashes Ad Revenues
The recent sentencing of a former WPP Media exec in a bribery case and Meta’s aborted Manus acquisition signal that Western ad holdco’s access to China’s $9bn market is collapsing. Revenue for WPP fell 12% in Q1 and overall Chinese ad spend is shifting to e‑commerce, KOLs and platforms, leaving only a few groups like Publicis still growing.