On the heels of a significant rebrand in 2022, Stagwell media agency Assembly has hired Bria Bryant as its new CMO. Bryant, who has already begun the new role, succeeds Mary Beth Keelty, who will take an elevated leadership role within Stagwell’s Brand Performance Network, of which Assembly is a subsidiary.

Bryant is based in New York and reports to Assembly global CEO James Townsend. Her hire comes after Assembly directed significant investments this year toward upgrading its brand identity and messaging. In February, it rolled out a new website, logo and color palette. Its new business wins have a similar sheen. Newer clients on Assembly’s roster include Breezeline (formerly Atlantic Broadband), Con Edison, amika, Elevance Health, Emaar, Warner Music Group and Aesop. Assembly’s crown jewel is undoubtedly the Lenovo account, though, which it won in April.

“Our brand is not as big as our business,” Townsend told Adweek of the agency’s current predicament. He added that the agency’s rebrand gave it “the platform to begin that conversation on solid footing.”

It’s a pertinent time to be an agency CMO, since there’s an industry-wide debate over whether or not holding company agency brands should be strongly differentiated from their sister agencies. There are two schools of thought: Some holding companies increasingly amplify their group-level offerings, perhaps at the detriment of their individual agency brands. Others, like IPG and Stagwell, encourage agency subsidiaries like Assembly to develop differentiated brands. Agency brand building is a more traditional approach that some industry leaders criticize for its tendency to increase competition between sister agencies. But there are many employees and clients who prefer to work for (or with) an agency with caché, rendering branding crucial and raising the stakes of the ongoing debate.

“Watching what Assembly has been building over the last two years has been incredibly inspiring, and I’m happy to join at such a pivotal period of growth and expansion for the company,” Bryant said in a statement.

Developing a modern agency brand

Bryant brings a range of experience to the top job. Most recently, she was head of communications in North America for Havas Creative. There, she led network public relations and marketing communications. Before that, she was an svp at MSL, where she oversaw launches within P&G’s global brand portfolio. PRWeek previously recognized Bryant on its 40 Under 40 list.

“I am a perpetually curious person. And I love a challenge. I’ve spent many years collaborating with media teams in interagency environments across my career,” Bryant told Adweek. The CMO has never worked in a media agency environment before this, but as creative and media assignments increasingly collide, media agencies are turning their attention to leaders with creative backgrounds. Currently, Assembly is considering how to combine creative media and commerce disciplines; according to Townsend, Bryant’s creative understanding will help the agency position its approach to doing so.

Bryant will also guide the agency as it repositions itself as a modern alternative to legacy options. The agency’s tech stack—including its Stage audience insights platform—is what swayed the Lenovo decision in Assembly’s favor, Adweek reported in April. The agency’s ability to work alongside Lenovo’s in-house agency effectively was another differentiator. Touting technology expertise and structural flexibility in that instance reveals that Assembly wants to market itself as a technologically-advanced, consultative agency.

“We’re trying to present ourselves as a modern alternative…a dynamic environment for people to spend time, but also as a dynamic environment for clients that are looking to transform and put themselves in a position where they’re changing and growing,” said Townsend. “It’s now a chance for us to tell that story on a larger and more global stage.”