Exclusive: Brooks Running Names Assembly Its Paid Media AOR in North America

Brooks Running, a retailer specializing in performance-grade running footwear and clothing, has named Stagwell media agency Assembly its paid media agency of record. Assembly's new scope includes programmatic, social, direct partnerships, video strategy and execution. It will manage Brooks' media across North America. Last year, Brooks spent just $7 million on media in North America, according to COMvergence data. Of that amount, it spent an estimated 90% on digital media investments. The agency declined to say how much the account is worth. Assembly is working on differentiating Brooks from other athletic footwear brands. Part of the agency's purview is expanding Brooks' brand awareness, although the agency will also execute on performance media strategy. Agency Brands Still Matter. Just Ask Stagwell’s Assembly The full-funnel effort will help consumers regard Brooks as "the running brand," Valerie Davis, Assembly North America CEO told Adweek. The media strategy will emphasize Brooks' expertise in crafting performance running shoes, specifically. "You'll see that in all their advertising—and the places they're turning up," Davis added. Inside the pitch The RFP arrived this February, Davis told Adweek. Assembly then responded to a comprehensive Q&A and later met with the Brooks team. "We only know what we know, and we don't know what's happening inside the walls of any brand or client. We'd like to understand what their ethos is and where they want to go as a business, so that really helped," Davis told Adweek of the Q&A process. There was also an initial chemistry session before what Davis referred to as a "tissue meeting," which is also known as a pitch presentation or ideation session. The Brooks team traveled to Assembly's office to meet the agency team in person, and according to Davis, the in-person chemistry solidified the win. "Clients build trust through the RFP process, and they know that these are the people that they'll be working with. We're proud to have really strong tenure with our team, so that worked out really well," she said. Assembly merged with sister agency ForwardPMX in September 2021. In early 2022 following that merger, Assembly rebranded, doubling down on new messaging. The agency identifies itself now as a "brand performance agency." This made sense for Brooks, given its attention to merging brand awareness and performance media strategies in pursuit of more market share. "The way to really do that is to drive an experience. I think they were just looking for an agency who could lead driving end-to-end experiences and activation," said Davis. Assembly's other notable account wins this year include financial services company T. Rowe Price and the children's retailer, Carter's. The incumbent agency has new leaders Cincinnati, Ohio-based media agency Empower Media previously held the account. The incumbent could not be reached for comment by the time of this story's publication. Empower changed ownership in January, when it named entrepreneur and majority shareholder Ashlee Clarke its new CEO. It's not clear if this leadership change catalyzed the review. Before that, the Price family owned and operated the agency for all of its 38-year history. The agency passed from its founder, Mary Beth Price, to her son, Jim Price. He ran the company after 2009 and will continue to be involved through the rest of this year as non-executive chairman. Global digital marketing agency DAC manages SEM and SEO for Brooks, and the brand invited it to to participate in the review process, according to Assembly representatives, who noted Assembly will work closely with DAC this September on Brooks' bi-annual QBR. Assembly and Brooks declined to name other agencies that participated in the review.