July, 2026.- Asher Gordon has returned to Tug after four years at dentsu X and PHD, where he managed some of the world’s biggest global household brands. Operating at that level meant extreme discipline around scalability. He built structured frameworks and collaborated with global tech partners to keep complex operations running seamlessly across multiple markets. Now, he is bringing that blueprint back to an independent agency.
In this interview, Gordon discusses the defining advantage of an independent like Tug: close alignment with client needs. Recommendations, media plans, and deliverables are never shackled by holding company spend targets, internal margin requirements, or pressure to prioritize specific “high-profit” channels. Output is governed solely by what achieves and exceeds client KPIs. It is unbiased, highly objective strategic advisory—exactly what modern CMOs are craving.
Gordon also explains the fundamental difference between traditional paid search and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Traditional paid search is about pointing users to a link. AI search is about being the answer. GEO is about convincing AI models like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to trust, select, and name-drop clients directly in their conversational answers. Tug is already helping clients reallocate 15% to 20% of their search budgets toward GEO readiness and AI visibility.
The most overhyped trend in the industry, Gordon notes, is hyper-complex data setups. Agencies love to sell brands on massive tracking tools and clean rooms that most brands do not have the internal teams to manage. The area that is severely underserved is GEO. Many brands still treat it as a future project, but search habits are changing rapidly today. Consumers are asking AI tools for recommendations now. Brands that do not start building “AI trust” today are going to find themselves completely invisible in two years.
This is a conversation about scaling global performance without losing the speed, entrepreneurial spirit, and high-touch client service that defines independent agencies.
1. Returning to Tug After dentsu X: You’re coming back to Tug after four years at dentsu X and PHD. What did you learn about global performance marketing at the holding companies that you’re now bringing back to an independent?
I’ve had the privilege of managing some of the world’s biggest, global household brands. Operating at that level meant I was extremely disciplined around scalability. My responsibilities ensured that processes, quality checks, and communication across time zones were seamless across multiple markets. Me and my team built structured frameworks and collaborated with global tech partners to keep complex operations running irreproachably.
It’s great to be back at Tug. The agency already has fantastic agility, deep expertise, and robust processes in place, it’s what makes us so competitive. What I will bring back is a blueprint to elevate a strong foundation. By applying scalable frameworks to our agile independent model, we can seamlessly deliver global-standard performance marketing without losing the speed, entrepreneurial spirit, and high-touch client service that defines Tug.
2. The Independent Advantage: Nick Beck said clients are placing “greater scrutiny on the value delivered by holding group structures.” What specific value does an independent like Tug deliver that a holding company cannot, and what does Tug still need to learn from the networks?
The defining advantage of an independent agency like Tug is close alignment with client needs. Our recommendations, media plans, and deliverables are never shackled by holding company spend targets, internal margin requirements, or pressure to prioritise specific ‘high-profit’ channels. Our output is governed solely by what achieves and exceeds our clients’ KPIs. It is unbiased, highly objective strategic advisory, which is exactly what modern CMOs are craving.
That said, where the networks historically excel is in packaging and ‘productising’ their capabilities. For example, our GEO Brand Inclusion Tool provides a proprietary monitoring solution that benchmarks and optimises a brand’s visibility, citations, and advocacy across generative AI experiences. This is now a business imperative as brands need to quantify how and if they appear in LLM responses as users increasingly rely on these models for trusted recommendations.
Tug already has a phenomenal suite of proprietary technology that solves massive client pain points. One of my immediate goals as Managing Director is to take a leaf out of the network playbook: package, productise, and showcase our tech suite to the market, ensuring we are getting the commercial credit we deserve for the innovation we are already delivering.
3. AI-Powered Search vs. Traditional SEO: Tug specializes in AI-powered search (GEO). How is optimizing for AI-generated answers fundamentally different from traditional paid search, and what percentage of your clients’ budgets are shifting to GEO?
The fundamental difference comes down to a simple shift: traditional paid search is about pointing users to a link, whereas AI search is about being the answer. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), is about convincing AI models like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to trust, select, and name-drop our clients directly in their conversational answers.With AI search expertise built directly into our teams, we are already positioning brands where audiences are looking for them today and will be tomorrow.
To win in the ‘zero-click’ world, we are building ‘AI trust.’ We make sure our clients’ technical data is perfectly structured for AI scrapers to read, and we heavily focus on getting them mentioned on authoritative platforms like Reddit, Wikipedia, and other specialised directories. Those are the places AI engines go to verify which brands are credible.
Regarding budgets, we are starting to see a shift. Currently, Tug is helping clients reallocate 15% to 20% of their search budgets strictly toward GEO readiness and AI-visibility. Because Tug is independent, we’ve been able to run fast, agile GEO testing pipelines immediately, giving our clients a massive head start versus legacy holding companies.
4. From Head of Biddable Media to MD EMEA: You previously ran biddable media at Tug. Now you’re Managing Director for EMEA. What’s the biggest leadership shift you’ve had to make—from managing channels to managing markets?
The biggest shift comes down to moving from running a department to running a business.
As Managing Director for EMEA, my view is much broader. Success is no longer just about the output of one department, it’s about driving cross-market collaboration, aligning processes across our global offices and fostering collaboration and effectiveness across all departments and agency services. My job is to make sure all of our teams have the right tools, and that we are growing the business as a whole.
My background is still a huge help. Because I’ve worked in detail and know how to lead specialist teams, I can speak their language and spot operational issues instantly. Tug is growing, both in the UK and globally, my focus is overseeing it’s overall commercial growth, client partnerships, while ensuring that Tug works as one cohesive team across EMEA.
5. Mitchells & Butlers, Merlin: Tug has won a diverse range of new clients. Which of these was the hardest pitch, and what capability closed the deal that the incumbent networks couldn’t match?
The pitch for Mitchells & Butlers was one of the toughest we’ve worked on, purely because of the scale and diversity across their brand portfolio from All Bar One to Toby Carvery, each with a completely different customer, tone and local market dynamic. I’d imagine the incumbent networks pitched a fairly standardised, one-size-fits-all approach across the estate. We won because we workshopped a detailed operational workflow with them that mapped out exactly when specific tools and tactics would be used. That gave every brand the flexibility to be managed on its own terms, rather than being forced into a generic template.
We also focused heavily on how growth could be delivered even within a shrinking market, by identifying where the real opportunity was shifting to things like local map search, AI Overviews, and social search. Rather than just chasing volume, we built a strategy around where their audience’s search behaviour was actually heading next.
On top of that, our day-to-day model was something they hadn’t experienced from an agency before. It was a clearly laid-out way of working with access to multiple touchpoints across our business whenever they needed them, not just a single point of contact. That transparency and accessibility, combined with a strategy built around their commercial reality rather than a generic playbook, is what positioned Tug as a long-term partner.
6. GEO, Data, Paid Media, Global Accounts: Your remit spans all of these. Which of these four is most overhyped by agencies right now, and which is genuinely underinvested by brands who will regret it in two years?
The most overhyped is definitely the trend toward hyper-complex, over-engineered data setups. Our industry loves to sell brands on massive, expensive tracking tools, data warehouses, and clean rooms. The reality is that most brands don’t have the internal teams to manage them, meaning they spend thousands on complex reports that just gather dust. It is complexity for complexity’s sake.On the flip side, the area that is severely underserved is GEO, getting ready for AI-powered search. Many brands still treat this as a future project. But search habits are changing rapidly today. Consumers are asking AI tools for recommendations now and are clicking fewer links. Brands that don’t start building ‘AI trust’ and structuring their content today are going to find themselves completely invisible. It is a massive blind spot, and the ones ignoring it are going to get left behind.
