Tyler Goldberg, North America director of political strategy at Assembly, will head the new ACT platform.
Assembly is launching a platform aimed at guiding clients’ media strategy while keeping their brand reputation authentic.
Called Advocacy Consulting Technology, or ACT, the practice marks a new foray into corporate reputation from Assembly’s politics and advocacy practice launched in 2019. The platform will be led by Tyler Goldberg, North America director of political strategy at Assembly.
ACT is a response to Assembly's insight that consumers are increasingly making decisions on brands based on advocacy, purpose and authenticity, according to Global Chief Operating Officer Rick Acampora.
A new study released by its parent, Stagwell, found that 68% of respondents worry that when companies speak out it is a marketing ploy; 60% insist a company speaking out must be living the same values; and 71% of Americans believe a company's history on social values are important.
Related: Purpose marketing hits and misses
The launch is especially well timed—evidence Bud Light, which is reeling from the fallout of its partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The brand gifted a custom can with Mulvaney's image on it that she posted on social media, drawing the ire of conservatives and right-leaning celebrities and politicians. The brand has since failed to make a statement in support of transgender rights as it seeks to appease distributors and retailers whose Bud Light sales have fallen—and this lack of support has angered progressive groups.
More: Trans actor, ex-Bud Light endorser Ian Harvie critiques brand
ACT was created to proactively guard public figures and brands against woke washing, greenwashing, rainbow washing and other types of performative advocacy. As companies dive deeper into social issues, ACT uses data to help clients take a more strategic approach to their corporate social responsibility efforts, identify what drives consumer trust and protect their brand reputation.
Using STAGE, Assembly’s performance operating system, ACT tracks cause or policy-forward advertising content, spend and performance across mediums to better inform buying and messaging strategy. It also identifies what percentage of advertising has favorable or unfavorable effects on brand reputation.
“It’s natural for clients and businesses to try to get to the solution as fast as they possibly can, and our point of view is you don’t race to the external solution before you have your internal house in order,” Acampora said. “It requires more data and an informed point of view in real time, which is what ACT does.”
Assembly’s new platform is part of a trend of the advertising sphere bleeding into public relations, an area that has been throwing around terms like “purpose” and “corporate responsibility” for years.
This week, global brand consultancy Interbrand also launched its Brand Integrity & Ethics offering with Principia Advisory. The ethics practice helps brands through potential crises that can come about when companies commit to social change.
Marla Kaplowitz, 4A's President and CEO, isn’t surprised by the interest because brand integrity and ethics have always been critical in marketing.
“Given the increased use and application of generative AI, there's even greater scrutiny on the veracity of communication and information shared—especially as misinformation in the form of AI hallucinations raise considerable concerns,” Kaplowitz said. “Now more than ever, agencies want to ensure employees and partners are educated as well as understand the implications and ramifications of unethical practices.”
Acampora says Assembly isn’t looking to replace the functions a full-service PR agency offers. The agency works with client PR agencies and Stagwell PR agencies when needed.
“In a perfect world, there’s a bit of a blend in working together, but some of the data in our platform would help inform a PR agency to do their job better with a client,” he said. “They have an expertise that we’re not necessarily taking away from.”
Acampora said brands overall can use guidance when it comes to their advocacy marketing efforts. “When you do it right, there’s an exponential impact,” he said. “When you do it wrong, there’s an exponential impact.”
