Artificial Intelligence-powered media platform by Stagwell aims for increased efficiency and intelligence
The Stagwell Media Platform (SMP), a centralized team of media, technology, and data investment experts, was launched on July 9, 2021, by Stagwell. Led by Matt Adams, Global CEO of SMP and COO of Assembly Global, and Marissa Jimenez, Global Chief Trading and Solutions Officer, the platform aims to deliver smarter, more efficient media investment benefits for Stagwell's network of over 70 agencies worldwide.
SMP's primary objective is to create client advantages by leveraging Stagwell's scale, technology, and partnerships. By centralizing media investment across all agencies, SMP seeks to secure better deals, access richer and deeper audience data and inventory, and utilize AI-powered tools for trading strategy, audience and data modeling, and media optimization. The platform also models, forecasts, and optimizes media spend towards better efficiency and outcomes, all while supporting global partnerships and digital transformation without taking over local agency decision-making.
The platform is built on 'agentic AI principles', which means AI agents will eventually connect directly to publishers, removing manual work and technical inefficiencies. This will enable real-time, audience-driven media inventory access through automated, agent-to-agent connections.
The development of SMP represents a coming-of-age moment for Stagwell, according to industry insiders. Matt Adams insists that the launch is not a cultural U-turn for Stagwell but rather an evolution of the group's infrastructure.
SMP's vision is more aspirational than widely implemented in the industry, but many view AI-powered media buying as a long-term bet, not a short-term fix. The promise of SMP includes faster optimization, fewer intermediaries, and a better return on investment.
However, SMP needs to prove it can deliver global consistency without flattening local nuance. The platform's operations will be guided by the privacy framework of each country worldwide, and it aims to provide benefits to clients within the privacy framework of each country.
Every Stagwell agency has access to SMP, and the platform does not take over local decision-making but leads global strategic partnerships for enriching client plans. Marissa Jimenez, who joined SMP from Dentsu US, will oversee these partnerships.
In summary, SMP centralizes and automates media investment operations using AI and data science to create smarter scale benefits for clients, while still empowering individual agencies locally. This leads to better media deals, richer data insights, and more efficient spending optimized via AI-driven tools and global collaboration.
The Stagwell Media Platform (SMP) involves the utilization of artificial-intelligence in its operations, particularly in AI-powered tools for trading strategy, audience and data modeling, and media optimization. Furthermore, SMP's vision for the future includes the development of AI agents that will directly connect to publishers, leveraging media-technology to streamline processes, reduce manual work, and improve real-time media inventory access.
