#24: Jill Kelly on the Evolution of Media and Her Vision for Assembly
Agency Business · Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley
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Show Notes
Jill Kelly, North America CEO of Assembly, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss her first few months leading the Stagwell media agency—and how she’s thinking about pricing models, technology, and talent in an increasingly complex media ecosystem.
Jill shares her unconventional path to executive leadership, which spans media buying, corporate communications, and group-level leadership roles across several major holding companies. She reflects on how the practice of media has evolved—from basic reach and frequency toward nuanced brand performance KPIs—and why Assembly is leaning into both agility and simplification to meet marketers’ changing needs.
She also explains how her team is approaching AI implementation, platform strategy, and compensation innovation—including her take on why Assembly’s size and client mix allow it to experiment with alternative pricing structures.
Plus, Olivia, Brian, and Jill discuss:
- The new WPP Media—and the retirement of the GroupM name
- Accenture Song’s next chapter as David Droga steps down
- Johnny Hornby’s expanded role at WPP
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