Programmatic advertising just got a strategic upgrade.
Assembly, the global media agency under Stagwell’s challenger network, has launched Assembly Control, a proprietary platform designed to give advertisers tighter grip over where their ads appear—while dialing up campaign performance. The rollout begins this July, supported globally by Assembly’s hubs in New York, London, Singapore, and Dubai.
Built in collaboration with a major ad verification platform (whose name remains under wraps), Assembly Control isn’t just another checklist brand safety tool. It’s a custom-built, performance-driven solution that blends proprietary categorization tech, advanced suitability controls, and curated inclusion lists to create a cleaner, more accountable programmatic ecosystem for advertisers.
“Programmatic is powerful—but messy,” said Matt Adams, Global COO at Assembly. “Assembly Control isn’t just about protecting brands. It’s a lever for business growth, letting clients appear in the right spaces with the right partners.”
Why It Matters Now
Programmatic accounts for more than 90% of U.S. digital display spend (IAB, 2024). But with that scale comes risk: fraud, ad misplacement, and suitability issues continue to plague advertisers, especially as campaigns stretch across global markets, apps, and devices.
Assembly Control’s key features include:
- Strategic inventory selection to improve performance
- Suitability controls across publishers, platforms, and formats
- Fraud prevention and compliance guardrails
- Tiered risk settings to fit varying advertiser standards
- A proprietary, vetted inclusion list of trusted sellers and publishers
In short: a cleaner supply path equals a better-performing campaign—and fewer brand headaches.
“As budgets tighten, advertisers need every dollar to deliver impact,” said Wayne Blodwell, Global SVP of Programmatic at Assembly. “We’re protecting brand equity and amplifying performance at the same time. That’s the point of Assembly Control.”
The Bigger Picture
Assembly’s move reflects a growing industry shift from blunt brand safety tools to more context-aware, performance-linked solutions. With mounting pressure on media teams to prove ROI and avoid costly misplacements (think ads showing up next to misinformation or unsafe content), demand for integrated, adaptive control tools is rising fast.
It’s also a competitive differentiator. While major holding companies have touted partnerships with verification vendors, Assembly Control is fully embedded into the agency’s core stack—designed not just to monitor risk, but to unlock smarter media strategies.
The agency is aiming for 75% global client adoption by the end of 2025, signaling its intent to make Assembly Control a foundational part of its programmatic operations.
