WPP officially opened Devon's Point, a 34,000 sq ft production hub in Bromley-by-Bow, East London, last week (23 September). The company says it's the first of a set of hubs planned for every continent where WPP Production operates.
The centrepiece is a 7,000 sq ft virtual production stage with a 16m x 14m LED wall, which WPP calls one of the UK's largest. Around it sit creator and live-streaming studios, a working kitchen for food shoots, modular stages and edit and grading suites, all connected to WPP Open, the group's AI marketing platform. At the launch, chief executive Cindy Rose said clients' money no longer needs to go on "expensive shoots abroad", Campaign reports.
The ambition goes well beyond kit. Richard Glasson, global CEO of WPP Production, told The Drum he's on a personal mission to stamp out the idea that production is "non-working media". Rose was blunter with Reuters: the hub is about winning integrated pitches and "expanding our footprint" across what existing clients already spend. The government turned up too, with reindustrialisation minister Blair McDougall welcoming the investment in WPP's release.
Why it matters: production has long been the budget line clients squeeze first. WPP is betting AI turns it into the bit they pay for, and it wants that money to stay inside the group. The timing is awkward. Campaign and The Drum both reported this month that WPP Production guidance urged staff to "actively convince" clients to send it all their production work. That guidance has since been taken down. UK independent production companies should read Devon's Point as a competitor, not just a studio. And anyone signing off production budgets should keep asking for outside bids.