Jellyfish vs R/GA

Brandtech's Rebecca Sykes on AI Implementation Challenges

In a podcast interview, Rebecca Sykes, partner at The Brandtech Group and head of its emerging technology practice, argues that generative AI can work with messy, siloed data, contrary to conventional wisdom. She emphasizes that brand-specific data, even if disorganized, prevents AI outputs from becoming generic. Sykes highlights that many AI pilots fail at scale because companies only automate isolated steps without re-engineering the entire workflow, using the 'frog in a sock' analogy. She advocates for building new operating models around AI capabilities, focusing on people, processes, and new roles like AI governance. The episode also discusses Brandtech's new global data and AI practice, Jellyfish's 'share of model' tool, and the importance of video in AI brand recommendations.

• Rebecca Sykes is a partner at The Brandtech Group and leads its emerging technology practice.
• Sykes argues that generative AI can work with messy, siloed data, not just pristine data.
• She uses the 'frog in a sock' analogy to illustrate how existing operating models hinder AI transformation.

Black History Month: Culture Chats, with Global Chief People Officer, Annabelle Walters

Annabelle Walters, Global Chief People Officer at Jellyfish, joined The Digital Voice™ Black History Month Culture Chats for a candid discussion, unpacking what it truly means for black women to own their space in executive leadership, whilst navigating the nuanced reality of vulnerability at the top.

Harvard Study: AI Does Not Truly Boost Developer Productivity

A study by Harvard researchers Fiona Chen and James Stratton, based on data from the engineering analytics platform Jellyfish covering 300 million work outputs from over 700,000 employees at 718 companies (January 2021 to March 2026), finds that while AI coding tools increase code output, these gains do not translate into actual productivity improvements. Reactive AI assistants led to a 12% increase in lines of code and a 9% increase in commits, but only the commit effect was statistically significant. Semi-autonomous AI agents showed larger increases (30% more code lines, 20% more commits, 23% more pull requests), but the review bottleneck negated these gains. The average time to review a pull request rose by 49%, the share of pull requests requiring changes nearly doubled, and comments per pull request increased by 35%. The proportion of engineers doing code reviews rose by 14%. Qualitative interviews with 21 professionals confirmed that AI speeds up routine tasks but requires more manual checking for complex tasks.

• Harvard researchers analyzed 300 million work outputs from Jellyfish, covering 718 companies and over 700,000 employees from January 2021 to March 2026.
• Reactive AI assistants increased code lines by 12%, commits by 9%, and pull requests by 5%, but only the commit effect was statistically significant.
• Semi-autonomous AI agents increased code lines by 30%, commits by 20%, and pull requests by 23%.

AI Labs Own the Next Software Moat: Distribution

In an opinion piece for The Drum, R/GA's global chief technology officer Nick Coronges argues that agentic AI is not killing SaaS but shifting the value layer. He contends that AI labs like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google are building a new moat through distribution, owning the general-purpose surfaces (desktop apps, agents, plugins) where work happens. The piece highlights Anthropic's partnership with Salesforce ('Claudeforce'), enabling Claude to access Salesforce data and workflows. Coronges predicts a Cambrian explosion of short-lived, composable software products, where enterprises assemble custom tools. He also notes that services firms like R/GA are increasingly delivering 'tools that make things' rather than just outputs, blurring the line between software and services.

• Nick Coronges, Global CTO at R/GA, authored an opinion piece on the future of SaaS with agentic AI.
• The article cites Salesforce's expanded partnership with Anthropic, named 'Claudeforce', allowing Claude to access Salesforce data and workflows.
• The piece argues AI labs (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google) are building distribution moats through desktop apps, agents, and plugins.

Droga5 Creative Mariano Jeger Joins OutFront, Launches IRL Studios

Mariano Jeger, former executive creative director at Droga5, has joined OutFront Media as the first chief creative officer of its new division, IRL Studios. The unit combines OutFront's creative agency, Creative Studios, with its innovation tech unit, XLabs, into a single offering. Jeger will report to Stacy Minero, OutFront's chief marketing and experience officer. He brings experience from Droga5, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, and R/GA, where he led creative for Latin America. IRL Studios aims to unify OutFront's creative and tech capabilities in out-of-home advertising.

• Mariano Jeger joined OutFront Media as chief creative officer of IRL Studios.
• IRL Studios combines OutFront's Creative Studios agency and XLabs tech unit.
• Jeger reports to Stacy Minero, chief marketing and experience officer at OutFront.

Google Health Launches AI Wellness Coach with R/GA

The article discusses the shift in wellness technology from data-driven optimization to holistic, AI-powered guidance. Google's new Health platform, built on Fitbit and Gemini AI, moves beyond passive monitoring to offer personalized, adaptive support. R/GA served as Google's end-to-end creative partner, defining brand strategy, design system, and launching an integrated campaign featuring Stephen Curry. The article highlights consumer trends like 'data-induced fitness shame' and the growing demand for proactive, holistic wellness, citing McKinsey and R/GA research. It also emphasizes the importance of 'Brand DNA' in the age of AI agents.

• Google launched Google Health, a platform built on Fitbit and Gemini AI, offering personalized health coaching.
• R/GA served as Google's end-to-end creative partner for Google Health, defining brand strategy and launching a global campaign with Stephen Curry.
• McKinsey research shows 84% of US consumers consider proactive, holistic wellness a top priority.