The Albany Gazette - Stagwell (STGW) Launches 'The Machine': Marketing's First Agentic Operating System

LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESS Newswire / January 5, 2026 / Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing, today announced the launch of "The Machine," marketing's first agentic operating system. Built by Code and Theory, Stagwell's digital transformation agency and Adweek's Most Innovative Agency of the Year, The Machine doesn't replace marketers' tools; it makes them more effective and predictive.

The Machine enhances the data systems and tools marketers already use, including Figma, Slack, Teams, Adobe, and performance dashboards. The Machine turns disconnected workflows into a unified system powered by AI agents and amplified by Stagwell's agencies, products and data. With The Machine, every brief, creative asset and media plan feeds a system that learns, adapts and compounds. Each campaign makes the next one faster, smarter and more effective.

"The launch of The Machine, combined with our recent release of newvoices.AI and strategic partnerships with Palantir and Gradial, marks another milestone in cementing Stagwell as a leader in marketing AI," said Mark Penn, Chairman and CEO of Stagwell. "This moment underscores Stagwell's ability to deliver best-in-class solutions for clients and lead the industry through the AI era."

"Most marketing AI tools ask you to rip out your infrastructure and start over," said Dan Gardner, Founder and Chairman of Code and Theory. "The Machine does the opposite. It works where you work, improves and AI enables the tools you already use, and transforms existing operations into an agentic system. That's the shift from isolated tools to a unified operating system."

Code and Theory clients are already adopting The Machine's early model. Stagwell will offer demos of The Machine at CES January 6-9 at booth #L2-P2, where attendees will see real use cases across the marketing organization, including:

• Cross-functional orchestration: Strategy, creative, production and media work from shared intelligence rather than siloed handoffs, reducing friction and accelerating time to market.

• Intelligence in context: Mini-Machine plugins directly into the tools marketers already in use, eliminating app-switching and workflow friction.

• Unified strategic spine: The Machine connects brand strategy, creative production and media performance into a single source of truth, ensuring every new campaign builds on what has already been learned.

• Creative content production at scale: AI-assisted workflows maintain brand integrity while dramatically increasing output velocity.

• Real-time tracking: Feeds into creative and strategic decisions, creating a closed loop where optimization happens continuously.

The Machine represents the culmination of Code and Theory's work transforming marketing operations for enterprise clients including Qualcomm, TIME, Stanley Black & Decker, Henry Schein and T. Rowe Price. The agency's historic 2024 included 11 top industry recognitions from Fast Company, Adweek, Ad Age, the ANA, Digiday, Campaign and the Shorty Awards.

"Clients have been asking for a solution that connects people, content, data, and technology to truly realize the value of AI, and The Machine delivers just that," said Michael Treff, CEO of Code and Theory. "We've turned marketing operations into a unified system rather than a collection of tools to enable marketers to embrace the next phase of AI transformation."

The Machine will be available for enterprise deployment in Q1 2025.

About Stagwell
Stagwell is the challenger holding company built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world's most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our specialists in 45+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for our clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com.

About Code and Theory
The Code and Theory Network is the only technology and creative network with a balance of 50% creative and 50% engineers. Our unique makeup makes us the place where CMOs, CTOs and CIOs come together to drive results for their businesses. We partner with our clients to redefine what is possible to create lasting impact and drive long-term growth. Part of Stagwell, Code and Theory offers a global footprint and the capabilities to work across the entirety of the customer-facing journey, and implement the technology that powers it. The network includes the flagship agency Code and Theory as well as Kettle, Instrument, Left Field Labs, Truelogic, Create. Group, Rhythm and Mediacurrent. Code and Theory clients include Amazon, JPMorganChase, Microsoft, NBC, NFL and Yeti. For more, visit codeandtheory.com.

Contact:
[email protected]

SOURCE: Stagwell

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(F.Allen--TAG)