WPP's GroupM restructuring stresses tech-driven ad-buying

By Tim Baysinger

Nov 14 (Reuters) - WPP Plc (Frankfurt: A1J2BZ - news) 's GroupM, one of the world's largest media buying firms, said on Monday it would restructure its North American operations as the industry relies more on technology to place ads.

Rino Scanzoni, GroupM's North America chief investment officer since 2005, will become executive chairman and chief executive of WPP's Midas Exchange and Modi Media, the company said in a statement.

Midas Exchange allows advertisers to trade products for media space in lieu of cash. Modi Media uses technology to target ads toward specific households instead of using the same commercials for all viewers.

Ad agencies are increasingly relying on research and technology to place ads as viewers watch more and more video on digital gadgets.

Scanzoni, who had worked in various roles in WPP for 30 years, was a pioneer in the push for incorporating delayed viewing for commercials on DVRs or video-on-demand platforms.

Lyle Schwartz, who helped build GroupM's research department, was named president of investment for North America. GroupM said Lyle would be the first head buyer at a major media investment group with a research and analytics background.

GroupM has also consolidated its resources into two groups.

The Investment group, led by Schwartz, includes the TV ad buying team and its research unit.

Platform Services includes digital ads purchased using software, search marketing, social media, digital operations and digital analytics. It will be lead by former MediaCom North America CEO Phil Cowdell.

GroupM's media buying agencies, including Mindshare, MEC (Other OTC: MYEC - news) , MediaCom, Maxus and Essence, will continue to operate independently. (Reporting by Tim Baysinger; Editing by Richard Chang)