IBM has named Stagwell as its lead creative partner, ending Ogilvy’s 32-year relationship with WPP’s Ogilvy.
Stagwell’s Anomaly and Code and Theory will jointly lead the account, helping evolve IBM’s ‘Let’s Create Smarter Business”’campaign across channels and geographies.
Ogilvy declined to participate in the review. It follows IBM naming Omnicom as its global media agency earlier this year. Again, WPP Media was the incumbent and declined to defend the account.
The review prioritised strong creative, strong tech and an ability to help IBM “move in a lot more flexible way, with a lot more speed” than it “had in the past,” said Jonathan Adashek, IBM’s senior VP, marketing and communications told Ad Age.
“Flexibility is about taking advantage of opportunities that come quickly and really shortening the creative cycle for us,” Adashek said.
“At IBM, we believe that innovation happens at the intersection of human ingenuity and technological capability. Code and Theory and Anomaly bring the creative and strategic strength we need, along with modern tools and an operating approach that will help us move faster, work smarter and deliver more connected experiences,” Adashek said in a press release.
Mark Penn, chairman and CEO of Stagwell: “What this moment demands is creative force and operational precision simultaneously, at the speed the market now requires. Code and Theory and Anomaly bring the full range of what that takes, and operating as one team, under one accountability structure, they will deliver it. The convergence of the C-Suite is where this partnership lives, and that’s where IBM will win.”
Stagwell’s first work with IBM is expected in August 2026.
Stagwell is currently the world’s 13th-largest agency network. Its main agency in Australia is 72andSunny.
