Why Stagwell Is Rebranding Its Media Network as a Brand Performance Network

Stagwell is the first major holding company to slash its media network's branding in favor of telling the market a more comprehensive story. Stagwell Media Network, which launched last August, is reintroducing itself now as the Stagwell Brand Performance Network. The name change comes as no surprise to marketers keeping up with Stagwell's strategy. During its most recent quarterly earnings call, Stagwell leaders announced that legacy creative agency Crispin Porter Bogusky (CPB) was moving out of Stagwell's creative-focused Constellation network and into its media network. Agencies Forsman & Bodenfors, Observatory Vitro, Goodstuff and commerce agency Brand New Galaxy also joined the network last year. Following the August earnings call, Adweek reported that Stagwell leaders planned to rename the group to more accurately reflect its makeup and mission. Every major holding company has its own media network. Take Omnicom Media Group, Publicis Media, GroupM, Dentsu Media and Mediabrands, most of which respond to RFPs at the group level. Stagwell, by contrast, is turning away from a dedicated media network in favor of a brand performance network inclusive of creative and commerce agencies. Now that the holding company is retiring its media network branding, it stands out as the only holding company without a media agency network, but rebranding as a Brand Performance Network means Stagwell clients and potential clients will view the network as a holistic marketing partner as opposed to a media-exclusive offering. The rebrand also comes as Stagwell Media Network is on a growth spurt relative to the broader holding company, growing 33% in this year's second quarter compared to the same time last year. “We do see clients wanting to commit more to less partners," said James Townsend, global CEO of Assembly and the Brand Performance Network. The decision to rebrand was "a direct reaction to a client request. A scaled collection of clients all around the world are asking this of us, and they're asking for brand performance." What's in a network name? Since its 2021 launch, Stagwell Media Network housed non-media agencies, like the creative consultancy Gale, b-to-b agency Multiview and multilingual marketing agency Locaria. Adding more—especially one as well-known as CPB—meant the media moniker made increasingly less sense. "We wanted to start with something that was clear and instructive in terms of where the scale was in the organization, but on the basis that really, media is a shorthand for audiences," said Townsend of the initial decision to coin the Stagwell Media Network. Media as a concept has expanded to the extent that everything from branded content to email, influencers or some aspects of CRM might technically qualify, Brad Simms, president and CEO of Gale and global chief product officer of the Brand Performance Network, told Adweek. Marketers (and marketing reporters), find that many legacy media agencies dislike being referred to as such. Leaving the media descriptor behind makes sense for many shops because agencies have evolved to do more than just simply plan and buy media. Now, they're offering clients various services and competing with consulting groups like Accenture Song or Deloitte Digital. The holding company has streamlined its media network in recent months, merging media agencies Assembly and ForwardPMX and rebranding the combined agency, and then doing the same with media agencies MMI and MediaKitchen. Its leaders told Adweek in August that mergers within the network are complete for the time being. "Our media agencies want to be media agencies," said Townsend. "They just want to be modern media agencies. What we're trying to do is create a greater proximity between them, creative companies, ecommerce companies—and then create an environment where they can work together." Uniting brand and performance Choosing to highlight brand and performance in the agency comes at a time when marketers are tearing down the walls traditionally separating the two practices. "CMOs are looking for integrated offerings, realizing that brand and performance are actually a false choice because you have to do both. Frankly, that pace is accelerating quicker than we thought, and we are seeing that in our growth," Simms said. The new network name is, according to the leaders, a response to clients' shifting needs, which include the desire for both individual and network-level services. Right now, the network is competing in roughly 25 agency-led pitches compared to about six running at the brand and performance level. The ratio underscores that Stagwell continues to prioritize its agency business lines, but is customizing its structure for clients that want network-level solutions or bespoke teams. The holding company's other networks—the Anomaly Alliance, the Doner Partners Network, the Communications Network and Constellation—are creating "scaled network level pipelines," said Townsend. Customizing business lines "puts a lot of pressure on us internally from a financial administration point of view, but it emancipates all of our people working on the front line to focus on building a client's business," he added. Now, over 6,000 marketing experts make up the new Brand Performance Network, representing more than 60 locations across 20 countries and managing more than $5 billion. "We are building networks that solve clients' problems [and] don't solve holding companies' problems. We're not putting a ton of similar assets together so that we can get efficiencies between CFOs...that's not the play," said Simms. MDC Partners Forms New Agency Network With Doner at the Helm