Going up against larger shops is possible, also because shifting media trends continue disrupting media agencies’ buying models and rendering buying power obsolete. Before programmatic media and now, proliferating channels like retail media and CTV became relevant, holding companies could wield their clout (relationships with suppliers and bulk ad buys), to secure the best deals for their big clients.

“Scale today is not what it meant in the past in my former life [as MediaCom’s global CEO],” Allan said. “I go back over those four decades [and] scale was important in terms of, for example, the TV-buying market … In terms of having the biggest fist slamming the table, [scale] is just not relevant,” he said.

Now, Allan finds scale to be synonymous with organic growth, plus an aggressive acquisition strategy. More acquisitions, and especially those that would allow Brainlabs’ expansion to new global locations, are likely ahead.