Within Townsend’s new remit is M&A as well as a focus on unlocking greater vertical integration across agencies to help clients do more with less and navigate an increasingly fragmented media landscape.
Procurement specialist Tina Fegent, who has handled agency pitches involving Stagwell believes that while there is a desire for digital expertise, not all clients want their agency partner to be digital-first. “Brands want a mix,” she said.
“The individual agencies are strong, especially in the States,” said Fegent, “but they need to be more connected and talking more about clients that are already using them across multiple agencies.”
A return of the business’ Sports Beach activation at Cannes Lions for a second year is another example of Stagwell’s growing ambitions, with Penn describing plans for this summer as “Sports Beach Plus” as it aims to go bigger.
AI to recreate the customer experience
Stagwell has recently worked with Google and Oracle to develop AI applications to add to its tech stack.
“We don’t forsake or minimize the role of human creativity,” said Penn. “We believe you’ve got to have high levels of talent and technology and combine those into a modern offering.”
Rather than generating creative assets or efficient market research, he views AI as useful for recreating the customer experience and brand connection.
“There are many companies now that do no external advertising, their entire brand image is created through the experience that people have interacting with them online, that experience is going to fundamentally change,” he said.
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