WPP launches Hex studio testing ad talent
WPP launched Hex, a studio it describes as a combined creative-production house, R&D lab and consultancy focused on generative and agentic AI, gaming, immersive experiences and robotics. According to WPP and trade coverage, Hex is staffed largely by roughly 50 creative technologists drawn from the company's Creative Tech Apprenticeship, a nine-month paid program WPP founded in 2022 with a stated goal of training at least 1,000 people by 2030. The recruits skew Gen Z and come from outside traditional advertising and engineering tracks, which WPP frames as a way to address the advertising industry's AI skills gap. Reported early work includes AI-driven campaigns and experiential projects for major brands. The move is primarily an organizational and talent-pipeline play rather than a new product or model.
Key Points
- 1What: WPP launched Hex, positioned as a production studio, R&D lab and consultancy for generative and agentic AI, gaming, immersive media and robotics.
- 2Who: It is staffed by about 50 Gen Z creative technologists from WPP's nine-month Creative Tech Apprenticeship (founded 2022, targeting 1,000 trainees by 2030).
- 3So what: WPP frames the studio as a response to advertising's AI skills gap; it is a talent-pipeline move, not a new product.
Scoring Rationale
A talent-pipeline and organizational initiative from a major ad holding company, with a genuine AI-skills hook but no new model, research or tool for practitioners. Corroborated by WPP's own announcement and multiple trade outlets; tangential to core AI/DS/ML work, so pulled from 5.2 to 4.8 and kept as a short-by-design item.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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