Advertising Firms Continue to Hold Importance, As Shown in Stagwell's Assembly
Stagwell's Assembly Rebrand Signals Shift Towards Full-Service APAC Agency
In the rapidly evolving advertising industry, consolidation is becoming increasingly common. Last week, Stagwell, Inc.'s media agency, Assembly, refreshed its brand as part of a broader strategy to establish a full-service challenger agency across 12 APAC markets.
The rebrand follows two recent Stagwell Media Network mergers. Most notably, the consolidation of agencies MMI and Media Kitchen, which now go to market as MMI. Just last month, these agencies merged, aiming to offer connected, omnichannel brand experiences that integrate performance media with storytelling and local relevance.
Post-merger, Assembly's strategy is centred around the integration of media and creative under equal footing. This approach avoids a hierarchy between the two, allowing both to feed each other in real time to move client business effectively.
The merged entity will also deploy Assembly’s proprietary AI-powered platform, STAGE, across the expanded network. This will enable predictive media planning, optimization, scaled creative, and digital commerce, driving measurable brand growth at scale.
The consolidation aims to leverage the merged footprint for growth in high-potential APAC markets such as Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, and China, effectively doubling the presence in those regions. Assembly targets double-digit revenue and margin growth by 2026, with 2025 being a year of stabilization and activation, including new client opportunities enabled by the merger.
Preserving local leadership is crucial to maintain client continuity while benefiting from larger-scale integration and the global strengths of the Stagwell network. The strategy is to disrupt traditional holding company models by unifying creative, media, data, and technology under one network that is AI-enabled and culturally tuned for the complexities of the APAC market.
This consolidation creates opportunities for other agencies like Assembly to expand and challenge the status quo in the advertising industry. In September 2021, Stagwell announced the combination of agencies ForwardPMX and Assembly under the Assembly name. Frequent mergers in the industry result in the end of some agency brands, but Stagwell's approach seems to be focused on creating a unified network that is well-positioned to meet the evolving needs of clients in the APAC market.
[1] Stagwell's Assembly and ADK Global Merge to Form Full-Service APAC Agency - Adweek [2] Stagwell's Assembly and ForwardPMX Merge to Create Global Performance Marketing Agency - The Drum [3] Stagwell's Assembly Rebrand Signals Shift Towards Full-Service APAC Agency - Campaign Asia [4] Stagwell's Assembly and ADK Global Merge to Form AI-Powered APAC Agency - Marketing Dive
- The rebranded Assembly, now a part of Stagwell's business, aims to offer integrated media and creative solutions in the finance sector, establishing a full-service APAC agency.
- With the merger of Assembly and ADK Global, Stagwell is positioning itself to provide a unique blend of creative, media, data, and technology services in the APAC region, challenging traditional holding company models and fostering growth in the business and finance landscape.
