UM

WPP Tops Q1 Global New Business; Loss Leader

COMvergence’s Q1 Global New Business Barometer shows signs of a rebound for WPP’s media business: the holdco generated $1.5 billion in new client billings in Q1 2026, driven by account wins including Jaguar Land Rover, Estée Lauder and SC Johnson North America. Omnicom Media Group ranked second with $1 billion in new wins and an additional $1 billion in retentions; the group’s total combines results across its agency networks (Initiative, Hearts & Science, Mediahub, OMD, PHD and UM) following its acquisition of Interpublic Group, according to the report. The Adweek story, written by Hannah Bowler and published May 21, 2026, frames the results as early signs of a new-business bounceback for major media holding companies while also noting WPP was the quarter’s loss leader.

Adweek’s 2026 Creative 100: Agency Leaders Spotlight

Adweek published “The 2026 Creative 100: Agency Leaders Reclaiming the Narrative” on 2026-05-05, profiling a range of agency founders and creative chiefs and the high-profile work they led between 2024–2026. The feature highlights agencies that pushed creative storytelling, including campaigns for ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Coinbase, Lululemon, Eli Lilly, and others. Entries note business outcomes (revenue growth, new client wins), creative approaches (brand-integrated storytelling, experiential activations, use of AI/AR), and personnel moves such as R/GA’s return to independence under Tiffany Rolfe. The piece is a curated industry recognition focused on creative leadership and notable campaigns rather than a technical or product announcement.

Chrome Developer Dashboard Adds Expanded Member Roles

Google updated the Chrome Web Store Developer Dashboard (April 28, 2026) to introduce four distinct member roles—Viewer, Item manager, Editor, and Admin—each with defined permissions to better support cross-functional extension teams. The dashboard now offers an "Invite member" flow that lets publishers add team members to existing publisher accounts without requiring the full developer registration process or the $5 registration fee; creating a new publisher still requires a fully registered developer account and fee. All existing publisher accounts have been migrated to the new role model (prior Admins remain Admins; prior Members become Editors). The change also replaces the previous Google Group-based sharing workflow and centralizes role changes in the Members table, where Admins can update roles directly.