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LEGO: Branded Entertainment and Brand Fandom Go Hand in Hand  

LEGO Creative Director James Gregson shared his team’s playbook for using brand entertainment content like “The LEGO Movie” to drive long-term brand fandom with Rescout’s Ivan Kayser. Watch the clip.

Lenovo and Infinite Reality: What Is the Most Important Driver of Fandom?  

National Research Group’s Jay Kaufman interviews Infinite Reality CMO Hope Frank, Lenovo CMO Gerald Youngblood, NRG CMO Grady Miller and Brand Performance Network’s Shannon Pruitt after their SXSW Session “The Anatomy of a Fan.” Watch the clip

Minnesota Twins: Fan Insights Fuel Better Experiences

Technology is giving sports teams and sports marketers insights into fan behavior that they’ve never had before. Chris Iles, Sr. Director, Innovation and Growth at the Minnesota Twins, caught up with Stagwell at SXSW to chat about how teams like Twins are integrating tech innovation to reach a new generation of fans. Watch the Clip.

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking (fielded Mar. 17-19):

WORRIES ABOUT ECONOMY STEADY

Today, 85% of Americans are concerned about the economy and inflation – steady with last week and up from 82% rate in December.

• 81% worry about U.S. crime rates (up 1 point)
• 79% about a potential U.S. recession (down 1 point)
• 72% about the War on Ukraine (up 3 points)
• 72% about political divisiveness (down 2 points)
• 70% about affording their living expenses (no change)
• 58% about a new COVID-19 variant (up 3 points)
• 53% about losing their jobs (up 7 points)

62% OF EMPLOYEES WANT FLEXIBLE WORK HOURS; 47% OF COMPANIES OFFER THEM

Flexibility remains king for non-traditional benefits workers feel companies should offer, yet less than half of businesses do so. This is according to our survey with Express Employment Professionals.

• From an employee perspective, it is important that a company offers flexible work hours (62%), flexible work locations (51%), paid leave (48%) and shortened work weeks (36%).
• Yet less than half of hiring decision-makers report their companies do so: 47% say they offer flexible work hours, 40% flexible work locations, 48% paid leave and 23% shortened work weeks.
• Regarding traditional benefits, 54% of U.S. hiring managers say offerings will remain the same as they were in 2022, and 37% expect traditional benefits will increase this year – a significant drop since the first half of 2022, when 50% were talking about traditional benefit increases.

WOMEN KEEP CANNABIS USE QUIET

Many American women are using cannabis but are keeping it quiet, according to our survey with MedMen.

• 37% of American women 21+  use cannabis regularly, with 28% using it at least once a month.
• Younger women are more than twice as likely to use cannabis (ages 21-44: 57%)  than older women (ages 45+: 22%).
• Women say they primarily use cannabis for therapeutic reasons, such as relieving anxiety (60%), helping to sleep (58%) and relieving pain (53%).
• Nearly two thirds of women who use cannabis (65%) say there are people in their life who still do not know, including their parents (26%), children (22%) and coworkers (21%).

WOMEN ALSO DEMAND MORE RESPECT

Women believe society expects too much from them and does not respect them enough, according to further insights from our State of Women Report 2023 with theSkimm.

• Released during Women’s History Month, the report investigates and surfaces how women see the work they do, both in their careers and in the home, and how society perceives that work.
• 74% say that “society treats women like second-class citizens” and the “deck is stacked against women.”
• 79% say “I am concerned with the social expectations around unpaid labor/mental load that women are responsible for.”
• 65% say “new legislation and policies that are being passed do not advance women’s rights.”
• 89% are planning to redesign their lives the way they want to.
• 87% have or want to create more sources of financial stability, with 60% adding a side hustle, shifting to a higher-earning career or advocating for a promotion.
• 65% (74% among Black women) have become involved, or plan to, in national politics.

ICYMI

In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:

• Americans want weight loss drugs like Ozempic to be covered by insurance. Most of the time, they aren’t.
• More Than 1 in 5 U.S. Adults Have Considered Leaving Their Job In the Last Year to be Self-Employed
• More American women are single than ever before—and it’s costing them big money
• What’s on the Easter table and in the basket? Instacart reveals the most popular ‘eats and treats’

By

Mark Penn, Chairman and CEO, Stagwell

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hello@stagwellglobal.com

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At CES 2023 in January, Stagwell was the only global marketing services network to exhibit on the main convention floor as we focused on showing how we transform marketing through impactful technology. There, we unveiled an exciting new division in the Stagwell Marketing Cloud to build Specialty Media formats that offer brands novel ways to reach, engage, and monetize key consumer segments across sports, travel, retail, news, and dining. The unit currently includes ARound, our shared AR product in use by the Los Angeles Rams; a new QR code powered marketplace for restaurants and bars; and a new travel marketplace from Ink.    

Through this tech-focused approach, we are bringing new experiences to consumers, whether at the stadium, in a restaurant, or on an airplane. Along with these experiences comes a wealth of creative marketing opportunities, adding, as Digiday reports, yet another “bow in the quiver” of the Cloud that keeps us at the forefront of new forms of richly targeted media

Originally Released On

PR Newswire

CONTACT:

Sarah Arvizo
pr@stagwellglobal.com

CONTACT:

Sarah Arvizo
Stagwell
pr@stagwellglobal.com 

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hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

FANDOM and COMMUNITY

Throughout 2023, we’ve been talking about the convergence of “community, content, and commerce”. At SXSW, the first C in that clause was on full display as brands built physical communities to connect attendees to their favorite brand elements. Take Roku City; introduced as a dynamic screensaver in 2017, it drives Twitter mentions once every 12 minutes. Roku finally created the city in real life in Austin in partnership with Best Buy, driving attendees through a whimsical entertainment and commerce metropolis.  

In Austin, Reddit loomed as the unspoken champion of consumer communities; in a cheeky session, the brand acknowledged that while ChatGPT and its peers are quickly transforming the internet, they won’t usurp community information any time soon. ” “Where do you think they get their answers from?” quipped Reddit’s COO.  

So What? Community is an accelerant for brand fandom. Tap into your consumers’ key communities, or otherwise deliver it via your product and services, and you have a long-term platform of ambassadors.

FANDOM and IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES

Brands traded talk of the metaverse for discussion of “immersive experiences” at SXSW this year. They’re excited what’s possible with personalization in immersive marketing; as well as how brands can use shared moments of interactivity between consumers to build fandom. 

Marketers should tap into a toolbox spanning V.R., AR, and interactive activations to build brand ecosystems that empower consumers to customize their interactions with the brand — while being part of a larger community of passionate fans. And don’t discount the power of A.I. to aid here; for example, new features from our partners at Infinite Reality, unveiled at SXSW, make shopping and viewing interactions in the Metaverse more intuitive and personalized for participants.  

So What? Shared Experiences + Personal Touches = Fuel for Fandom-Driving Experiences

FANDOM and PROBLEM SOLVING

Brands are in problem-solving mode, bending tech and media to tackle sustainability, hunger, disease, and socioeconomic ails. For brands like Dexcom, which brought a dynamic panel featuring Nick Jonas to life at SXSW with our colleagues at Allison+Partners on the lived experiences of patients with diabetes, becoming a trusted source of safety and support for a consumer set can drive dividends for years to come. Dexcom’s emphasis on improving access and affordability and its marketing efforts at the Super Bowl over recent years allow it to make inroads with massive addressable consumer sets, with 1 in 5 Americans being diagnosed with diabetes. 

Consumers reward brands that show a penchant for problem-solving; in our research on brand fandom, consumers ranked innovation as the top driver of fandom, followed by the brand’s ability to create a sense of belonging.  

So What? Fandom isn’t all about creating exciting stunts – sometimes it’s about cracking the code on the maximum value your brand can offer to consumers. 

Originally Released On

PR Newswire

CONTACT:

Sarah Arvizo
pr@stagwellglobal.com

With record growth in 2022, GALE secures top industry accolades, demonstrating its prowess as an industry agency leader.

NEW YORK, March 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — GALE, a Business Agency, is proud to announce its win of two top industry awards: Ad Age’s A-List and Adweek’s Breakthrough Media Agency of the Year. The honors recognize the agency’s outstanding growth and its integrated, results-driven approach to working with leading industry clients like H&R Block, Chipotle, MilkPEP, and Hard Rock International among others.

Founded in 2014, GALE has grown to more than 700 employees across nine offices globally. Combined with this significant growth in headcount, GALE experienced a more than 130% increase in revenue last year, making the company one of the fastest-growing agencies in the US.

“This has been a banner year for GALE; being honored by Ad Age and Adweek on the heels of an exceptional growth year is particularly special. We’ve significantly expanded our teams, brought new expertise into the fold and started working with a number of new clients. But ultimately, this is a moment to recognize all the great people that work at GALE and the great clients we partner with,” said GALE CEO and President Brad Simms.

In 2021, GALE was named Ad Age’s Data & Analytics Agency of the Year, but 2023 marks the first time GALE has been named to Ad Age’s A List, coming in at number five. “We started as seven people specializing in consulting and data and today, we service a client’s every need as true business partners, delivering fully integrated solutions and recoupling creative and media. These industry awards highlight the gains we’ve made as a business, but more importantly, our team’s continued focus to help our clients drive meaningful business results,” Simms added.

As Adweek’s Breakthrough Media Agency of the Year, GALE is recognized for its powerful and growing media practice. Four years into offering this capability, GALE manages a billion dollars in media billings, servicing clients seeking alternatives to traditional media networks.

“At GALE, we live by a simple equation: great people + great clients + great culture = great work,” said Simms. “On the inside, we see this equation hard at work in countless ways across the business. It is an honor to receive such incredible recognition and validation from the broader industry. These awards are testaments to the team at GALE, their dedication, high standard of work excellence, and our many loyal, extraordinary client partners.”

About GALE
GALE is a Business Agency. We bring business insights to brand storytelling and activate across every channel. With expertise in business strategy, CRM, loyalty, brand storytelling, integrated, performance, creative, and content marketing, experience design and media, GALE creates marketing systems and communications that grow businesses. GALE delivers strong business outcomes for its partners in automotive, QSR, retail, gaming, entertainment, telecom and more. Founded in 2014, the agency currently has offices in New York, Singapore, Toronto, Denver, Los Angeles, London, Austin, Kansas City and Bengaluru. GALE has received top industry awards including Ad Age‘s A-List, Ad Age‘s Data & Analytics Agency of the Year, Adweek‘s Fastest Growing Agency and Adweek‘s Breakthrough Media Agency of the Year. For information on GALE, its customer data platform Alchemy™ and its consumer research capability ASK GALE, visit: https://gale.agency/.

CONTACT
Lindsay Bennett
lindsay.bennett@galepartners.com
917 497 5582

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking:

WORRIES ABOUT ECONOMY EDGE UP: 

Today, 85% of Americans are concerned about the economy and inflation – up 1 point from last week and up from the 82% rate we saw in December.

• 80% worry about a potential U.S. recession (down 1 point)
• 80% about U.S. crime rates (no change)
• 74% about political divisiveness (up 1 point)
• 70% about affording their living expenses (up 2 points)
• 69% about the War on Ukraine (down 5 points)
• 55% about a new COVID-19 variant (down 3 points)
• 46% about losing their jobs (down 8 points)

CULTURE CHANGE BIGGER WORRY THAN LAYOFFS: 

Employees are more concerned that the employee-first cultures developed during the pandemic will fade due to today’s economic uncertainty than they are worried about being laid off, according to our survey with Justworks.

• 42% of employees are worried about getting laid off due to the looming recession.
• 48% say they are worried about a reduction in offered benefits or perks at their company.
• 47% say they have changed their behavior at work to avoid being laid off during the looming recession, such as working longer hours (35%).
• Others feel that increasing their skillset will provide them with more job security, with 19% saying they’ve learned new professional skills and 17% considering additional schooling.
• However, many employees are seeing positive culture changes fade away: 46% say that their coworkers are more competitive at work now than before the looming recession.
• 52% see a worsening company culture today company to the employee-first mindset of the pandemic

GRANDMOTHERS UNSUNG CAREER HEROES:  

As many Americans struggle to find affordable childcare, grandmothers are becoming the unsung heroes that allow many professionals to stay on the job, according to our survey with Fortune.

• 42% of working parents rely on grandmothers for childcare – similar to the number utilizing professional childcare/daycare.
• 92% of Americans believe grandmas are making significant economic contributions through the childcare they provide, with 83% even saying that, without this care, the American economy would suffer.
• 4 in 5 working parents who rely on grandmas for childcare say that support allows them to pursue their career goals.
• 67% say there are times they might have lost their job without the help of their child’s grandmother stepping in to help with care.

SHOW ME THE MONEY, TRAVELERS SAY: 

When staying at a hotel, Americans want to know the total costs up-front – fees and all – according to our survey with NerdWallet.

• 64% of the those who intend to travel in 2023 and have ever looked for hotels/motels/resorts prefer to see one total combined price that includes all charges rolled into one, rather than a room rate plus separate fees.
• One exception is Gen Z: 39% of Gen Z prefer to see fees separated out from the nightly rate, compared with just 29% of Generation X and 25% of Baby Boomers.

AUTO BRANDS SCORE WITH GEN Z, THANKS TO EV’S: 

Electric vehicles are attracting younger consumers to BMW, Mini, Subaru, Volvo and Cadillac, according to our latest Gen Z survey.

• In our quarterly look at the top 20 brands gaining traction with Gen Z, BMW was ranked fourth overall and was the highest of any auto brand in the study.
• The top brand gaining favor with Gen Z is Aldi, followed by the WNBA and ice cream brand Blue Bunny.
• Volvo came in fifth, Subaru seventh and Cadillac 17th.

SIX PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF COMMS: 

What does new technology mean for the future of people in the communications and PR profession? Stagwell’s Marketing Cloud team – fresh off the announcement of a new AI tool to write news releases and land media coverage – has six predictions:

• Generative AI will drive next-generation communications – with 92% of comms professionals believing AI use in PR is worth exploring, yet 61% also worrying that AI could eliminate jobs.
• Brand safety will be a top-line priority for communicators – with 40% of communications professionals expecting concerns around brand safety to increase this year and 83% of consumers saying they are much more or somewhat more aware of brand safety issues than a year ago.
• Predictive pitching and personified media targets will help PR pros land their message – with 77% of those in PR admitting it is harder than ever to secure earned media coverage and journalists saying they responded to only 3% of pitches last year.
• Comms pros will have more options when it comes to building their tech stack – with 50% of enterprises relying on industry cloud platforms to accelerate their business initiatives in the next five years.
• Data ethics and privacy will take center stage – with 91% of PR leaders saying it is an ethical responsibility for companies to handle data storage properly, 84% of comms pros expressing concern that data privacy could be compromised if they use new tech tools and 50% of organizations that operationalize AI transparency seeing an improvement in adoption, business goals and user acceptance.
• Pay for creators and influencers will become more transparent – with a 35% pay gap in 2021 between White and Black influencers and 59% of Black creators reporting being negatively affected when they speak about race on their platform.

ICYMI: In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:

• Millennials are more likely than other generations to support a cap on personal wealth

• Only 14% of U.S. Homeowners Know Flooding is the Country’s Most Common and Expensive Natural Disaster

• USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism to Host Forum on the Future of AI in Communications for Next-Gen Practitioners with Stagwell Marketing Cloud’s PRophet

Originally Released On

PR Newswire

CONTACT:

Jason Reid
Stagwell Inc.
IR@StagwellGlobal.com

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking:

WORRIES ABOUT ECONOMY DOWN BUT JOB-LOSS CONCERNS GROW: 

Today, 84% of Americans are concerned about the economy and inflation – down 1 point from last week and closer to the 82% rate we saw in December.

• 81% worry about a potential U.S. recession (no change)
• 80% about U.S. crime rates (down 2 points)
• 74% about the War in Ukraine (up 2 points)
• 73% about political divisiveness (no change)
• 68% about affording their living expenses (down 1 point)
• 58% about a new COVID-19 variant (up 3 points)
• 54% about losing their jobs (up 11 points)

WOMEN INCREASINGLY CONCERNED WITH WORRY – WITHOUT HEALTHCARE SUPPORT: 

Women are increasingly consumed by worry and let down by a health care system that neglects their needs, our “The State of Women” survey with theSkimm found.

• 71% are consumed with worry – thinking through every single scenario, at home and work, and planning for every contingency.
• 82% of women surveyed said that, while there’s much talk about how overburdened women are, no one is actually helping ease the burden.
• 63% of Millennial women – and 70% of LGBTQIA Millennial women – said they’ve received disappointing or inadequate medical care.
• 59% reported that they had sought treatment from doctors who did not believe them or ignored their needs.
• 77% of women agreed with the statement “I am the only advocate for my health and well-being.”
• For example, 92% of women said they are now prioritizing their health and 81% said they are “actively seeking new lifestyles that prioritize their health and well-being.”

NEW HIRES, RAISES STILL ON TAP, HIRING MANAGERS SAY: 

American hiring managers are forecasting pay bumps and hiring sprees even amid economic uncertainty, according to our survey with Express Employment Professionals.

• 75% of hiring managers predict employees at their companies will receive a bump in pay this year, up from 58% in 2020.
• 60% of hiring managers say their company plans to increase the number of employees in the first half of 2023, on par with the first and second halves of 2022.
• 45% said they have open positions they cannot fill. That is the highest proportion of job openings reported since the study began in the first half of 2020.
• Those positions remain unfilled due to a lack of applicants (40%), lack of applicants with relevant experience (47%), hard skills (46%) and/or soft skills (31%).
• 29% say their company needs more money in the budget this year or that their upper management still needs to approve new hiring.

SLEEPLESS IN AMERICA: 

Our Wake Up America survey with Idorsia finds the far-reaching effects of insomnia on personal relationships and the compounded overall effects on our health.

• 41% of people with trouble sleeping say it causes them to argue more with their partner or disrupt their partner’s sleep and their relationship overall.
• 53% report their trouble sleeping is an added relationship stressor, with 41% saying their partner has had to pick up the slack with household chores and nearly a third (31%) saying they have slept in a separate bed.
• While 67% of primary care physicians say they ask about sleep in routine visits, only 36% of people with trouble sleeping report being asked.

ICYMI: In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:

• The unsung heroes of the American economy: Grandmothers

• New Survey Reveals Half of Americans are Concerned about their Water Access and Safety
• Is ChatGPT a viable solution for brands, marketers and global businesses seeking fast-paced, low-cost multilingual content localization and adaptation?