EY launches Studio+ to boost growth with AI & digital focus
EY has introduced Studio+, a new global service offering that brings together 37 acquired agencies and in-house teams to support organisations in driving growth through customer-first strategies, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence.
Integrated capabilities
EY Studio+ combines expertise from agencies such as Blackdot, Doberman, Freshworks, Fabernovel, and others with EY's own sector knowledge, collaborating with ecosystem partners and leveraging the EY.ai artificial intelligence platform.
The new offering aims to provide guidance for brands seeking to connect with customers by combining creative design methods, advanced digital technologies, and commercial strategy. EY Studio+ offers a range of services spanning customer experience design, product and service innovation, as well as the transformation of marketing, sales, and service functions.
The objective is to help clients reimagine how they engage with their customers and modernise front office operations, driving business value through digital channels.
Service focus
EY has indicated that Studio+ will support the development of emotionally resonant, high-impact customer experiences. This includes building empathy in customer experience design, co-creating and launching new products and services with speed and scale, and transforming marketing, sales, and service to deliver measurable commercial results.
Through Studio+, EY brings together design, sales, marketing, and customer experience technology expertise integrated from multiple acquisitions such as Digital Detox, etVenture, Future Friendly, Italia Brand Group, Seren, Team Collective, VODW, and Zilker.
The suite of services is supported by industry insights and advanced platform technologies, aiming to help businesses retain their competitive edge as market demands and customer expectations continue to quickly evolve.
Leadership perspective
Jad Shimaly, EY Global Managing Partner – Client Service, commented on the context of the launch:
"Business leaders are grappling with tremendous uncertainty driven by geopolitical tensions, hyper-inflation of customer expectations, digital disruption and more. Organizations that anchor in the rapidly changing needs of their customers can continue to deliver distinctive experiences while helping to ensure high-stakes investments in transformation drive critical outcomes."
Laurence Buchanan, EY Global Leader EY Studio+, highlighted the role of artificial intelligence in shaping customer-centric transformation. Buchanan said: "Agentic AI has thrust us into a new era of digital transformation with unprecedented opportunity to redefine what it means to be distinctive, capture market share and increase customer loyalty. But to do so, customer-centric transformation must be rapid, continuous and multi-disciplinary, embracing the combination of creative design, technology and commercial insights."
John Rudaizky, EY Global Chief Brand and Marketing Officer, discussed the value Studio+ brings across executive functions, stating: "EY Studio+ will partner across the C-suite, with particular emphasis on today's CMOs, who are playing an increasingly pivotal role around the customer experience and an organization's growth agenda. One of the most powerful drivers of brand is how customers experience an organization's product or service – and that experience is an increasingly fundamental driver of growth. In accelerating this offering, EY is responding to the needs of clients to create new value on a global scale."
Sector activity
EY Studio+ has engaged with clients across various industries to support their growth and customer transformation efforts. Initiatives to date include enhancing customer service for a global retailer through technology and personnel updates; marketing and sales transformation to foster B2B growth for a communications network; creating differentiated experiences for a large bank; supporting a utilities company in its transition to new energy models; and redesigning the cruise experience.
EY strategy
The introduction of Studio+ aligns with EY's broader "All in" strategy, which focuses on creating new value for clients, personnel, and stakeholders. It also follows expansion initiatives within EY-Parthenon, the group's strategy and transactions division.
