Attivo has appointed three senior media executives to lead its U
The Signal
Attivo has appointed three senior media executives to lead its U.S. operations two years after acquiring Hill Holliday and Deutsch (now DNY) from Interpublic Group. Former Mediacom CEO Sasha Savic and the agency's former chief strategy officer Anush Prabhu are joining the New Zealand-based marketing services holding company alongside Dave Weist, Hill Holliday's former chief creative officer. The leadership changes represent Attivo's strategy to infuse media expertise into the creative agencies as it works to establish a stronger presence in the U.S. market. The new executives are positioning their approach around addressing what they characterize as industry-wide "misalignment" between creative and media functions. The hires mark a significant investment in senior talent as Attivo attempts to revive two agencies that were once considered premier creative shops within the IPG portfolio. The company is betting that combining media-side strategic thinking with creative execution will differentiate its offering in an increasingly competitive agency landscape.
Why It Matters
Attivo's media-heavy leadership reshuffle reveals a holding company desperately trying to solve the wrong problem. While they frame this as addressing "creative-media misalignment," the real issue is that Hill Holliday and DNY lost their creative mojo years before IPG sold them—and media strategists rarely resurrect dead creative cultures. The choice to lead with Mediacom veterans signals Attivo believes process optimization can substitute for creative firepower, a fundamentally flawed premise that's killed more agencies than it's saved. Yes, creative-media integration matters, but it's table stakes, not a differentiator. Meanwhile, Attivo is asking these executives to rebuild two brands simultaneously while establishing the holding company's U.S. credibility—a triple mandate that's historically proven impossible to execute well. The broader context makes this even riskier: consultancies continue eating agency lunch on strategy while in-house teams handle more execution. Attivo's betting on a "best of both worlds" positioning precisely when clients are questioning whether they need traditional agencies at all. The window for creative shop revivals is narrowing as clients increasingly view agencies as interchangeable service providers rather than strategic partners. For CMOs watching this unfold, the lesson is clear: when evaluating agency partners, focus on recent creative output and cultural energy, not organizational charts or strategic frameworks. Attivo may succeed, but they're swimming against powerful currents with a strategy that prioritizes structure over the creative talent that originally made these shops valuable.
The Exploit
Opportunity
CMOs can poach top creative talent from Hill Holliday and DNY over the next 6 months as Attivo's media-heavy leadership creates cultural friction. Creative directors and senior strategists will jump ship when they realize media executives are restructuring their shops around process over craft, creating a rare talent arbitrage window.
Risk
Companies that wait until late 2026 will face a barren talent market as the best creatives get snapped up by competitors or join boutiques. Worse, they'll be stuck negotiating with the same destabilized Attivo agencies everyone else is evaluating, losing leverage and creative firepower to faster-moving rivals.
The Move
Instruct your talent acquisition team to build relationships with Hill Holliday and DNY creatives before Q1 2027 planning begins. Target creative directors with 8+ years at these shops who haven't worked extensively with media-side leadership—they're most likely to leave when Attivo's integration efforts intensify this spring.
First-Mover Advantage
Gains
Risks
Companies that wait until late 2026 will face a barren talent market as the best creatives get snapped up by competitors or join boutiques. Worse, they'll be stuck negotiating with the same destabilized Attivo agencies everyone else is evaluating, losing leverage and creative firepower to faster-moving rivals.
Window
Winners & Losers
Winners↑
Independent media planning and buying agencies
Attivo's strategy validates that media expertise is increasingly viewed as the primary driver of campaign success, elevating the perceived value of pure-play media agencies. These shops should aggressively pitch their focused competency against Attivo's diluted approach, emphasizing how trying to be both creative and media specialists typically results in mediocrity in both disciplines.
Creative automation and AI content tools
As traditional creative agencies struggle with identity crises and restructuring, brands will increasingly turn to technology solutions that promise faster, cheaper creative production without organizational complexity. These platforms should accelerate their enterprise sales efforts and develop more sophisticated creative templates to capitalize on the growing skepticism around traditional agency models.
In-house marketing teams at mid-to-large brands
Attivo's public admission of 'misalignment' between creative and media reinforces the case for bringing these functions in-house where coordination is inherently easier. CMOs should use this industry uncertainty to justify budget shifts toward internal capabilities and direct platform relationships, reducing dependence on agencies experimenting with their business models.
Losers↓
Traditional creative-first advertising agencies
Attivo's media-heavy leadership approach signals that the industry is devaluing pure creative expertise in favor of data-driven media strategy, putting pressure on all creative shops to demonstrate quantifiable business impact beyond awards. These agencies must rapidly develop proprietary performance measurement tools and hire more analytically-minded talent to avoid being relegated to pure execution partners.
Other creative-focused holding companies
Attivo's high-profile bet on media-led integration creates competitive pressure for other holdcos to follow suit or risk appearing outdated, forcing expensive leadership changes and potentially disruptive reorganizations. They should consider preemptive acquisitions of specialized media talent or partnerships with independent media agencies to demonstrate their own integration capabilities before clients start making comparisons.
Strategic Outlook
This move comes as holding companies increasingly struggle to justify their traditional creative-media separation to clients demanding integrated solutions. Attivo's timing reflects broader industry desperation—WPP spent 2025 restructuring around similar integration principles, while Publicis has been pushing its "Power of One" model for years with mixed results. The choice of Mediacom veterans is particularly telling given that agency's recent client losses and Attivo's need to rebuild credibility fast. This represents a reversal of the typical holding company playbook, where creative agencies usually acquire or partner with media shops, not the other way around. But with creative differentiation becoming harder to achieve, Attivo is betting that media-first thinking can resurrect brands that IPG essentially gave up on. The broader context is challenging: consulting firms like Accenture Interactive continue expanding creative capabilities while in-house teams handle more tactical execution. This leaves traditional agencies fighting for a shrinking middle ground. Attivo's approach signals a recognition that pure creative plays are increasingly unsustainable without strong media integration, but they're attempting this transformation at scale across two major brands simultaneously—historically a recipe for diluted focus and cultural confusion. The next six months will reveal whether media expertise can actually revive creative cultures or simply accelerate their commoditization.