WPP Media has landed a major win in the beauty marketing world after securing L’Oréal Australia & New Zealand’s media planning, buying, advocacy, and influencer account, estimated at more than $190 million in annual billings.
The account was decided after a competitive review involving major agency groups. Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Media were reportedly in the running, while Dentsu left the pitch during the earlier stages.
For WPP, this is not just another media account renewal. It keeps the group close to one of the biggest beauty companies in the world at a time when influencer marketing is becoming harder to separate from mainstream media buying.
L’Oréal Keeps Its Media and Influencer Work With WPP
L’Oréal Australia & New Zealand confirmed that it had completed its media agency tender and selected WPP as its media partner following what it described as a thorough and competitive review process.
That matters because L’Oréal is not a small single-brand client. Its portfolio includes names such as CeraVe, La Roche-Posay, L’Oréal Paris, Kiehl’s, YSL, Lancôme, NYX Professional Makeup, Maybelline, and Redken.
Each of those brands has its own audience, creator strategy, retail pressure, TikTok rhythm, beauty community, and campaign calendar. One agency model now has to serve all of that without making everything feel like it came from the same machine.
Not easy. But clearly, that is where L’Oréal wants the work to go.
Influencer Marketing Is Now Part of the Core Media Machine
The most interesting part of this win is the influencer side.
WPP’s relationship with L’Oréal goes back to 2021, when Wavemaker won the brand’s media planning and buying account from Carat. In 2024, the partnership expanded with the launch of Beauty Tech Labs, a dedicated unit combining Wavemaker, WPP Media, and Ogilvy PR to manage advocacy and influencer marketing.
That says a lot about where beauty marketing is heading.
Influencer campaigns are no longer being treated as side projects handled after the “real” media plan is finished. They are now sitting closer to paid media, data, creative, PR, and brand advocacy. For a company like L’Oréal, that kind of integration is valuable because beauty buyers often discover products through creators before they ever see a traditional ad.
A skincare routine on TikTok. A foundation review on Instagram. A creator talking about a product in a way that feels messy, personal, and believable. That is media now.
WPP’s Integrated Model Gets Another Test
The structure around the L’Oréal account reflects the kind of bespoke agency model WPP has been building for major clients. According to Brand Communicator, the setup is similar to WPP’s Open Era model for Suncorp, bringing media, influencer, and advocacy capabilities into one operating system.
WPP Media ANZ Chief Executive Aimee Buchanan said the win reflects how the group is bringing its capabilities together to help clients grow, adding that the model was built not only for L’Oréal’s current business but for where the company is going next.
That line may sound like agency language, but the point is clear enough. L’Oréal wants speed, scale, creator access, measurement, and consistency. WPP wants to prove that one connected agency group can deliver all of it better than a scattered roster.
Why This Matters for Creators
For creators and influencer agencies, this deal is worth watching.
When a beauty giant consolidates media, advocacy, and influencer strategy under a larger agency structure, it can change how creator partnerships are planned and measured. Campaigns may become more data-led. Creator selection may become more centralized. Performance expectations may become sharper.
That can be good for creators who can prove impact. It can also make the market tougher for creators who rely only on follower count or soft engagement.
Beauty brands still need personality. They still need trust. They still need creators who can sell without sounding like they are selling. But the business around that influence is becoming more structured.
Less random gifting. More accountability.
A Big Win in a Competitive Agency Market
Wavemaker CEO Peter Vogel said the agency was proud to continue its long-running relationship with L’Oréal, adding that the review process pushed both sides to evolve how they work together.
That is probably the quiet lesson here. Retaining a huge account now means more than defending old work. Agencies have to show they can rebuild the model while keeping the client.
For L’Oréal, the decision keeps WPP deeply involved in its next phase of media and creator marketing across Australia and New Zealand. For WPP, it is a major signal that integrated media-plus-influence models are becoming more valuable to global brands.
And for the creator economy, it is another reminder that influencer marketing has moved out of the experimental budget.
It is sitting in the middle of serious money now.
