Media Buying Briefing: Crossmedia’s global goals are to localize where holdcos can’t

While the driving goal most often is to deliver better and broader services to attract new clients and expand existing client work, growth across the agency landscape can take different forms. And one is to grow a network without actually buying agencies. 

That’s exactly what independent Crossmedia is up to — putting its “Worknet” approach to loose partnerships with agencies across the globe while having them adhere to a central services agreement. Crossmedia currently has business strongholds across North America and most of Western Europe, but wants to develop hubs in Asia Pacific (possible locations include Singapore or South Korea) and Latin America and expand its EMEA hub further into the Middle East, said Martin Albrecht, co-founder and partner at Crossmedia, who’s based in London. “We’re a little bit like the UN,” he quipped.

To help that expansion, last week Crossmedia promoted its U.S. CEO and co-founder Kamran Asghar to global CEO, essentially flattening out the independent media agency’s corporate structure to go after global growth in a unified way. 

The aim is to compete with holding companies for their smaller global clients without applying a cookie-cutter approach that the latter tend to offer for larger multinational clients, said Asghar. Key to the network of agencies in 120 countries is letting them maintain their independence rather than being acquired all out, he said. Asghar described three models Crossmedia pursues in finding its global partners: besides the wholly owned mothership hub that’s based in the U.S., London and Germany, the other two are joint business partnerships (which Crossmedia operates in Canada) and potential investment in founder led agencies anywhere in the world. 

“The idea is that the network remains truly independent,” said Asghar. “Our experience … shows that preserving independence ensures the system works — because we are all aligned by our values and mission, not just by our business structure.”

Although both execs declined to identify the client, Crossmedia expects to announce landing new global business in coming weeks, to join existing clients including Etihad Airways, Invesco, German firm Zalando and Airbus.

“The holdcos have abandoned any idea of independent thinking or entrepreneurship in favor of transactions, quantity and scale. We think that’s an overcorrection,” said Asghar. “While having smooth, consistent operating standards are essential — which our worknet provides — the magic is in having founder-led agencies come together to work on clients’ challenges. This breeds commitment, ingenuity, and innovation over just scale.” 

The model, as Asghar describes it, is a hybrid of centralized technology around data, media operations, and digital media performance with “boots on the ground” for local expertise, insights, and contextual activation of media buys. Crossmedia works non-exclusively with a broad array of independent media agencies, including, for example, Heroiks in France or Team RedDot in United Arab Emirates. 

“It’s relationship based, not transactional. We choose to work with each other because we believe in the same mission and values,” he explained, adding that Crossmedia is looking to harness “the energy in a room full of entrepreneurs who all want to do media the right way,” without “bureaucracy and fighting over P&Ls.”

It may not be rocket science, said Albrecht, but it does require a level of coordination to execute locally on global plans — he called it “glocalization.” 

“We have 15 people sitting in London and 30 in Germany who are doing nothing but international media coordination,” said Albrecht. “Not only do you provide the central services, but you also know how to make these people sing from the same sheet [music] around the world.”

Agencies who are partnered with Crossmedia — rather than owned — prefer the looser structure while operating with aligned goals for the clients they collaborate on. 

“We have serviced the Etihad business as one of 17 Worknet partners since 2018,” said Raksha Khimji, CEO and co-founder of Team RedDot in Dubai. “We are all very proud of the work that comes out of this collective: the [holdco] networks just cannot match our agility.”

And David Ringrave, founder and CEO of French shop Heroiks, who’s worked within Crossmedia’s Worknet for eight years, said, “The difference is that Crossmedia provides central resources and globally minded teams that understand exactly what global clients require.”

The end result, said Albrecht, will be growing share of revenue that derives from international work — although the U.S. Crossmedia hub forms the biggest chunk of business today, said Albrecht. He declined to share actual revenue numbers. 

Will the approach work? One global media consultant who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that it’s an uphill climb to compete with the size and scale of holding companies, who have the ability to invest more in technology like AI. But there is a window of opportunity if they target companies a rung below the giant multinationals. 

“What that leaves is a certain archetype of client who may want to double down on strategy or talent, or maybe category expertise,” said the consultant. “Independent specialists may over-index in certain categories … But the reality is, they will be complementary partners — it’s unlikely that they’ll ever be exclusive partners.”

Color by numbers

Generation Alpha hasn’t received the same number of headlines that Gen Z attracted when that segment came into focus for agencies and marketers a decade ago. But that’s soon to change. And given concerns over improper marketing efforts to target younger kids, who comprise Gen Alpha, the timing’s good. A new study out from Precise TV spoke with 2,000 parents and kids aged 2-12. Overall, YouTube remains the dominant platform for kids’ entertainment, but their content preferences shift significantly as they grow older. Some findings:  

• Younger kids (ages 2-5) gravitate toward cartoons (63%) and nursery rhymes (40%), up to age 6.
• 42% of boys ages 6-9 and 57% of boys ages 10-12 listing gaming as a favorite category.
• Toys & Games content ranked at 50% among kids ages 6-9 before declining in the 10-12 age group (38%).
• Girls favor creative content, with strong engagement in music (47%), arts & crafts (30%), and fashion & makeup (25%). These categories surge in the 10-12-year-old age range.
• 40% of kids ages 10-12 watch comedy-related content, indicating that humor-driven advertising can be highly effective.

Takeoff & landing

• Newly formed media agency Mile Marker landed three new clients: Bridges Consumer Healthcare, Carlin Consumer Health, and business insurance brand Hiscox USA.
• Other account moves: Omnicom’s Hearts & Science won the media assignment for Warner Bros. Discovery‘s theatrical and streaming divisions across several Asia Pacific markets … Independent Novus Media landed the media AOR assignment for broadband service Fidium Fiber … Independent Colle McEvoy was named media agency of record for Bob Evans Farms … Independent 22Squared retained media duties for grocery chain Publix, but lost the creative work to Fig.
• Personnel news: Havas Media Network hired Jon Stimmel to be its new chief investment officer, reporting to North American CEO Greg James. Stimmel has experience with UM and Starcom Mediavest Group. Also, Mike Bregman moved from chief activation officer to chief data and product officer … Dentsu’s Carat U.S. hired Jeni Gardner to the new role of chief clients solutions officer, coming over from Verizon where she was svp of marketing effectiveness and media … Media buying platform IQM promoted two people: Darshan Khatri bumped up from head of ad operations to chief customer officer while Matthew Dybwad moved from svp of political to chief revenue officer.

Direct quote

“I think generative AI will come to a point where procurement teams may start pushing agencies or suppliers to use more of it to push down costs. But why do you want a tool that just makes advertising look like wallpaper, when there’s a human being who can bring insight to say, ‘Why don’t you put this piece of creative in this weird place, and it will drive an outcome for you?’”

— A head of brand and market planning discussing the negative impacts of generative AI on marketing and media. 

Speed reading

• Seb Joseph offered a top-notch analysis of Omnicom and IPG CEOs’ meeting with pitch consultants. In short, they plan to behave more like operating companies than holding companies. 
• Sam Bradley explained the various reasons behind Google’s drop in market share for search ad revenue — and which directions ad dollars are shifting.
• Antoinette Siu looked into Publicis’ latest acquisition, of BR Media Group, a Brazilian influencer marketing agency, and how it helps to build out the holdco’s growing influencer reach.

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