By: Ray Day
CONTACT:
We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from The Harris Poll, a Stagwell agency.
Among the highlights of wave 139 (fielded Oct. 21-Oct. 23) in our weekly consumer sentiment tracking:
ECONOMY, INFLATION WORRIES REMAIN STEADY:
Today, 89% of Americans are concerned about the economy, inflation and jobs – the same high level as last week.
-
- 85% worry about a potential U.S. recession (no change)
- 82% about U.S. crime rates (down 1 point)
- 75% about political divisiveness (up 1 point)
- 74% about the War on Ukraine (no change)
- 72% about affording their living expenses (down 1 point)
- 61% about a new COVID-19 variant (up 1 point)
- 47% about losing their jobs (no change)
- 44% about the Monkeypox outbreak (down 4 points)
INFLATION IS AMERICA’S #1 STRESSOR:
How stressed are Americans, and what’s causing it? The answers are clear in the 2022 Stress in America survey we conducted with the American Psychological Association.
-
- 27% of Americans report being so stressed that they cannot function most days.
- Inflation is the #1 stressor for 83% of adults. That is followed by violence and crime (75%), the current political climate (66%) and the racial climate (62%).
- 76% say the future of the nation is a significant source of stress in their lives.
- 68% say this is the lowest point in our nation’s history that they can remember.
- 57% who indicated money was a worry said that having enough money to pay for things like food or rent/mortgage is their main source of stress.
- 43% reported feeling that saving enough money for things in the future is their main source of stress.
- 56% agreed that they and/or their family have had to make different choices due to lack of money in the past month, with Latino/a (66%) and Black Americans (59%) reporting this at a higher level than White (52%) and Asian (45%) American adults.
EMPLOYEES WARMING UP TO BACK-TO-OFFICE:
As we continue tracking return-to-office requirements, a majority of employees still say they will jump jobs if forced back to the office full-time. Yet the numbers of workers resisting return-to-office are much lower than three months ago, based on our survey with USA Today.
-
- 57% of employed Americans say companies will lose employees if they require workers to be in-person (down 9 points from June).
- 73% of remote and hybrid workers say they would find another remote or hybrid job if their company forced them to work from the office full-time (down 5 points from June).
- In an earlier study with Bloomberg, 57% of workers said they believe that employers now have more power in the job market (a 5-point increase in favor of employers from January).
INFLUENCERS MATTER:
Nearly half of U.S. consumers consider input from influencers when purchasing a product or service – especially younger people, according to our survey with AdAge.
-
- 80% of Gen Z consult user reviews before purchasing, and 75% say that recommendations from influencers affect their decision – nearly double the general population at 43%.
- 40% of Gen Z members have made purchases directly through an influencer’s storefront on sites like Amazon and LTK.
- 73% also report looking to TikTok creators for product input, with Instagram and YouTube influences being similarly popular choices.
BRANDS GETTING GEN Z RIGHT:
Beats by Dre, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Planned Parenthood, Lenovo and New Balance are doing the right things to capture the attention of Gen Z, according to the latest Ad Age-Harris Poll Gen Z brand tracker, a ranking of brands gaining the most attention from Gen Z members ages 18-24 in the third quarter.
-
- Also doing better with Gen Z are Kickstarter, Impossible Foods, Coach, Flex Seal, Foot Locker, Pillsbury, Haagen-Dazs, Bose, Nature Valley, North Face, Crocs, NHL, Paramount, Fiji and State Farm.
- See full details here.
ICYMI:
In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:
As always, if helpful, we would be happy to provide more info on any of these data or insights. Please do not hesitate to reach out.
Thank you.
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By: Lindsay Hong, COO, Locaria
Originally Released on
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Locaria’s Hong on bringing the previously siloed skills sets of creative production, adaptation and localisation together
It has been an exciting first three months since we closed on our deal to acquire PEP Group. During this time we have forged new relationships, taken our news out to market and started to see how our combination is delivering better solutions for brands with international ambition. As we begin to plan for 2023, now is a good moment to reflect on what we have learned so far.
In response to the challenge of global content fragmentation that brands have been facing, our vision was to bring together the previously siloed skills sets of creative production, adaptation and localisation, to create a unified global content scaling solution. Using international talent, workflows and systems, we aim to help brands iterate out great marketing campaigns for any channel, market and language, in an efficient and effective manner. So how are we bringing this vision to life?
A core consideration throughout the acquisition process was to ensure continuity and assurance for both teams. We knew that to do that, we needed a fantastic exec team that could unite behind a shared vision. Having explored each other’s questions face-to-face, we secured our joint commitment to delivering a smooth transition for our teams. This evolved into a well-prepared internal and external comms plan, built around that vision: a better way to serve clients as they expand globally. We backed this up with a logical organisational structure with leading roles for senior members of both organisations, empowered to take the vision forward. This has allowed us to effectively respond to staff queries and commence several workstreams, bringing together talent and leadership from both companies, with positive progress already being made.
1. Communication, culture and values
There was already a good cultural fit between the two companies, with our two sets of values sharing a lot of similar vocabulary. We have now iterated out the values to be shared across the entire organisation, and more importantly, operationalised through day-to-day processes such as performance management, hiring, client support and sales. We look forward to launching these formally in the next month. Inevitably there are also divergences in culture values, and understanding. What has been great to see is a high level of transparency and shared responsibility in building a unified team. This has driven a common purpose and collaboration across all teams.
2. Go-to-market Strategy
As the transaction was highly complementary in nature, adding creative adaptation & production to our existing services, the narrative was straightforward. This allowed us to quickly upskill sales resources in both teams to begin speaking to clients and partners as soon as the deal closed. In addition, having a full suite of marketing content localisation and production services has allowed us to support RFPs in partnership with Stagwell creative agencies in a more robust way, leading to wins for the wider network through our efficient post-production services. We have also already opened up SEO and transcreation opportunities with global FMCG brands.
In terms of footprint and client support, the transaction has allowed Locaria to extend its presence in the Americas, adding a team Canada available to support local clients in-market across not only production, but also language services.
3. Innovation
As we have been working together to evolve our proposition and go-to-market strategy, we have increasingly noticed similar challenges coming from clients across all areas of the business. Common themes surrounding the need for nuanced content strategies that can scale internationally but keep budgets in check have emerged. The role of AI, automation and tech in both brand and direct response content is something we find all our clients looking for advice on, as is the fine balance between performance and creativity. The evolution of creative production solutions is following a similar pattern to that of language tech in the past ten years. This means our combined experience is able to identify areas for innovation and increased insight, both in terms of our internal processes and client strategies. Our complementary skills are also informing the development of more solutions to support content performance.
4. Brand & Marketing
We have found it important to be respectful of each other’s brands and to make clear decisions on how to align going forwards. Pre-transaction, we identified that due to our different histories, lead generation models and footprints, Locaria had greater brand awareness and more marketing collateral. However PEP, being focused around highly visual media, brought different channels and options for sharing our brand and proposition. As such, our strategy was to launch an updated visual identity for PEP at the time of the transaction, bringing the brand into the broader Locaria group aesthetic and tone of voice. This has been followed by a process to consolidate marketing efforts across social media under the Locaria brand. The social integration is setting the tone for an imminent new version of locaria.com, showcasing creative adaptation and production case studies and explaining all the services and expertise now available to clients as a result of the acquisition. We can also do all our own marketing production in-house now, which is very satisfying!
Reflecting back, there are several key integration principles which have served us well so far and will continue to inform how we grow together as one business:
• Keep the vision central and repeat it again and again. Ensure all decisions speak to that singular vision
• Look after people. Talent is at the centre of everything we offer clients, and also what makes Locaria a great place to work. Supporting our team through the journey to realising our vision will ensure success, and make it fun along the way!
• Make incremental changes where possible to smooth integration. Make small changes quickly, learn and iterate to reduce unnecessary disruption and remain agile
• Walk the talk- use each other’s services from day one. By using each other’s services internally, we get to know each other better and work out the kinks more quickly. Mutual trust will show through when sharing our services with clients
We have made a fantastic start together and are now entering a phase of increasingly detailed, operational work. As we move forward at pace, we will allow time where it is required to ensure our new organisation is fit for purpose and maintains the high quality standards that Locaria is known for. From the positive foundation of the last 100 days, we are confident that as one team, desiloing production and localisation, we will continue to deliver a bright future for us and our clients.
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By: Maggie Malek, CEO, MMI Agency
Originally Released on
The Marketing Insider
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One of the great loves of my life (and one of my best kept secrets — until now) is gaming.
I have spent so much time online playing games, but it’s something I never talk about. Why? Maybe it’s because I’m a woman. Maybe it’s because I’m a CEO. Maybe I’m afraid I won’t be taken seriously.
But that time is past. It is now time for me to “step out of the shadows,” especially as an advocate for women in advertising, marketing and business in general, because now there is a particularly compelling reason to discuss it.
Thinking like a gamer is a superpower. Considering all the talk about gaming around us, the ability to understand that storytelling environment — or, how to “think like a gamer” — is an enormous asset. It’s estimated the global gaming market will amount to $268 billion annually in 2025. The opportunities for brands in this space are nearly limitless.
Using gaming to engage and convert. You can’t change hearts and minds with a big idea alone. Connecting and converting the modern consumer is all about meeting them where they are, in the thick of the customer journey, where multiple touchpoints build a lasting connection with your brand. It is that point where gaming can be… well, a game-changer.
As an audience segment for advertisers, gaming has been somewhat on the fringe. Brands and advertisers have generally not understood how to engage. As the space becomes more mainstream, though, opportunities for brands that are willing to explore are growing.
Successful campaigns start where brand followers are consuming content online.
That is where we should be telling stories. And we know gamers have active audiences that drive conversion. Gaming truly is the convergence of performance and possibility.
Gaming is only getting bigger. As marketers, though, we’ve really only scratched the surface; gaming is now everywhere. Women make up 45% of gamers in the U.S., which has been the case for a decade. The average age of gamers is 31, and 80% of all gamers are over the age of 18. According to Nielsen, 58% of the total U.S. population in 2013 were gamers. Today, it’s grown to 72%.
The opportunity for brands to create content for this massive (and growing) audience, then, is incredible, and it’s particularly exciting to see these possibilities opening up in the industry I love.
A lifelong gamer. From growing up battling my dad on our PC with Star Wars race games and Lemmings, to my first Game Boy, to my limited edition blue Sega Genesis, I have always been playing. Today, I’ve graduated to an array of games, from my Nintendo Switch to PokemonGO on my phone — and can we talk about how Edith Finch is the most beautiful game of all time!?
In fact, I run a Discord group for gamers, because we wanted to make sure there was a positive (no trolls allowed) corner of the internet for people to go. That group and its members were already a happy place for me, and then when I later got to meet the Discord team at a Stagwell SXSW event… major fan girl moment!
What’s next?
It’s practically a fait accompli that, moving forward, gaming is going to be a part of brands’ advertising media mix. Brands need to explore partnerships from in-game product placement to sponsoring gaming influencers, and partnering with all the social networks that focus on gaming.
No matter the story you are trying to tell, it’s now increasingly likely that a portion of your audience is spending time with gaming communities online. If you aren’t creating content there, you are missing out on rich engagement.
Gaming is the evolution of influencer marketing; it’s the evolution of CTV and display networks, of VR. And it’s the next stage of the industry we’re in. As the conversation on opportunities for branded content in games grows and evolves, brands will benefit from working with agencies that actually understand the space.
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By: Ray Day
CONTACT:
We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from The Harris Poll, a Stagwell agency.
Among the highlights of wave 138 (fielded Oct. 14-Oct. 16) in our weekly consumer sentiment tracking:
ECONOMY, INFLATION WORRIES UP AGAIN:
Today, 89% of Americans are concerned about the economy, inflation and jobs – up 3 points from last week.
-
- 85% worry about a potential U.S. recession (up 3 points)
- 83% about U.S. crime rates (up 2 points)
- 74% about political divisiveness (up 1 point)
- 74% about the War on Ukraine (up 1 point)
- 73% about affording their living expenses (no change)
- 60% about a new COVID-19 variant (up 3 points)
- 48% about the Monkeypox outbreak (up 1 point)
- 47% about losing their jobs (down 1 point)
VOTERS SEE ECONOMY ON NOVEMBER BALLOT:
Mid-term elections are less than three weeks away, and inflation and the economy might be casting the deciding votes, according to our latest survey with Harvard’s Center for American Political Studies.
-
- When asked to pick the most important issues facing the country today, voters identified inflation (37%), the economy and jobs (29%), immigration (23%) and crime (18%).
- 73% believe inflation is increasing (versus 12% who say it is moderating and 14% who say it is staying the same).
- 65% think the U.S. economy today is weak (versus 35% who say strong), and 57% say their financial situation is worse (up 20 points from a year ago).
- 84% think the U.S. is in a recession now or will be in the next year.
- 65% oppose easing sanctions on countries like Iran and Venezuela to lower gas and oil prices. Instead, they want greater output of American oil and gas.
- 54% think the U.S. should cut military sales and technical aid to the Saudi Arabian government in response to its oil production cut.
NO KIDS = FREEDOM, MILLENNIALS SAY:
Americans are having fewer children than are needed to keep population numbers stable. Yet why are people choosing not to have children? In our survey:
-
- Of those without children, 52% do not want to have a child in the future, while 20% remain unsure.
- For those who have decided against having children, 54% want to maintain their personal independence/finances, 40% want work-life balance, 33% say it’s due to housing prices, 31% cite the current political situation, 31% say it’s because of safety concerns, and 28% cite climate change.
- 55% of men and 53% of women reported that their desire to maintain independence influences their decision not to have children.
- 65% agree that the freedom that comes with not having kids brings them happiness – increasing to 73% among Millennials, according to a similar survey with Fortune.
CREDIT SCORES IMMUNE FROM PANDEMIC:
The pandemic disrupted many Americans’ finances, yet that did not translate into lower credit scores, according to our survey with NerdWallet.
-
- 27% of Americans say their credit score has gone up since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with just 14% saying it declined.
- 69% with increasing credit scores attribute the gain to paying down debt.
- For those who saw their scores drop, 47% attribute it to taking on or increasing debt.
- 65% with higher credit scores took financial action as a result, such as applying for a rewards credit card (30%) or a mortgage/home equity line of credit (25%).
- 61% of Americans plan to act during the next year to improve their credit scores, with half (49%) planning to pay off or pay down debt.
- Still, credit misconceptions remain, with 46% of Americans incorrectly believing that closing a credit card you don’t use can help improve a credit score.
1 IN 4 ARE HALLOWEEN CANDY LOYALISTS:
With Halloween around the corner, our survey with Instacart has revealed consumers’ latest candy-buying habits.
-
- 72% of Americans say they like Halloween.
- 24% say Halloween is their favorite holiday.
- 84% of people who buy Halloween candy will buy chocolate, while 56% will purchase fruity and chewy candy.
- 23% of Americans are candy loyalists – with 65% buying the same Halloween candy for five or more years, and 40% buying the same types of Halloween candy for 10 or more years.
- 63% of Americans report they now love a type of Halloween candy that they hated as a kid. Of those, 29% say they now love licorice, an 28% have developed an affinity for candy corn.
ICYMI:
In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:
- From National Research Group’s latest in-depth study: In Nigeria, Big Tech, crypto, and hustle culture come calling
- From a recent study by The Harris Poll: Social media fuels OOH visibility according to OAAA, Harris Poll
As always, if helpful, we would be happy to provide more info on any of these data or insights. Please do not hesitate to reach out.
|
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Thank you.
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Missed Advertising Week New York this week? We distill the biggest brand takeaways on brand fandom, political advertising, and media channel transformations below. Follow Stagwell on LinkedIn to keep up with the insights.
Rise of Brand Fandom – Move over, sports teams and celebrities.
Fifty-seven percent of consumers consider themselves a fan of a brand or product – higher than sports (48%), movies (52%), celebrities (54%), or online influencers/personalities (37%).
The brands that take a holistic stake in consumers’ lives will drive loyalty, affinity, and advocacy–and not just in the moment. Fandom is not a fad or a flash in the pan; 2 in 5 brand fans have been fans for over 10 years. Focus on helping consumers develop their personalities through your brand by delivering marketing, events and experiences, and content that gives them a platform to express that personality.
“Fandom is critical in the luxury space. Luxury is no longer defined as the most expensive thing –it’s defined by insider knowledge. We’re seeing a dispersion of brands being considered ‘wealth’ and ‘luxury,’ and price point alone won’t keep you in that luxury equity space. It’s important to have fan bases that really think of your brand as luxury.” – Neda Whitney, SVP, Head of Marketing, Americas, Christie’s
Political is the Biggest Media Story of 2022 – Get ready for hotter cyclical media environments as political advertisers diversify digital media channels to engage more voters.
Brands will feel the effect of political messaging as political advertisers spend a record $3 billion in the last three weeks of the election alone.
Many ads will tell Americans they’re poorer than ever because of inflation, for example – how will brands push back and get consumers to continue spending? Brands can no longer afford to be apolitical but risk looking too performative if they don’t back up their positions with actions. Lyft decided to foreground its identity as a transportation company when deciding to act, and as a result, it has provided ride services for voting, vaccines, and reproductive rights.
“We saw in 2016 that so many people chose not to vote because they didn’t have access to transportation. So we asked ourselves: how can we make an impact there? We created a voter access program and saw its immediate impact in 2020. It’s about looking at the issues consumers care about and our services. It’s our job to listen – to talk to elected officials and let them know we can come in as a partner to solve some of the issues our consumers care about.” – Heather Foster, Head of Government Affairs, Lyft
Digital Channels and Political Advocacy – Are political advertisers about to have the digital marketing efficacy reckoning?
This cycle will be the first many realize media buys are not driving impact because of mistargeting. Many voters in battleground districts no longer have traditional television – but there’s a disconnect between ad spending and consumption, with most dollars still going to broadcast. Brands need to get more comfortable shifting the media mix and taking risks with bourgeoning digital channels.
“The idea that there’s the TV generation and then there’s the kids – it’s an antiquated view. The fact is cord cutting is mainstream – now the majority of the population – and the idea that we can say we have a TV strategy and a different digital strategy is fraught with disaster. As we iterate, brands need to think about messaging across the full funnel, and know that TV and streaming work really well together because it allows us to do that. The future will be integrated streaming and linear in a really incremental fashion.” – Ashwin Navin, CEO SambaTV
Resurgence of OOH – OOH is resurging because OOH is modern.
When you start treating it like programmatic or digital it becomes a valuable tool in the funnel. Driving consumer engagement and social amplification through use of the OOH medium. (The Harris Poll found TikTok and other social media platforms are a major source of OOH ad visibility: 82% of TikTok users report frequently noticing OOH ads in content in their feeds, with nearly identical impact reported by Facebook and Instagram users.) And don’t sleep on the innovation underway here: location-based insights, shared AR capabilities, and more are all letting advertisers do more at scale. Embrace the underlying technology capabilities of Out of Home as a resilient pillar of your media plan for 2023.
”Out of home isn’t changing – the strategy is. Media is the new experiential and Out of Home is where people are. The technology that sits behind Out of Home is driving a different strategy lens, a different creative lens, and a different content lens.” – Brad Simms, CEO, GALE Partners.
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Insights Series Launches with Deep Dive into Nigeria in Partnership with Stagwell Affiliate Partner SBI Media
NEW YORK and LAGOS, Nigeria, Oct. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — National Research Group (NRG), a global insights leader at the intersection of technology, content and culture, launched its “Capstone Series,” a first-of-its-kind exploration into the culture, content and technology driving leading-edge global growth markets. NRG is part of Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing. In partnership with SBI Media, a Lagos, Nigeria-based media agency and part of Stagwell’s Global Affiliate Network, NRG kicked off the series with “Exploring Nigeria,” a future-leaning view into the technology, culture and entertainment trends shaping the Nigerian landscape.
“Our Capstone Series is a research undertaking combining a global viewpoint with on-the-ground perspective and expertise at a level of depth we’ve not seen before in emerging markets,” said NRG Chief Strategy Officer Chris Rethore. “The proof of that is in our inaugural study, which has given us a nuanced, layered understanding of Nigeria’s shifting cultural landscape – showing us what makes Nigerians tick, how their identity impacts their consumption behaviors, and what can be done to better serve these passionate consumers. We hope that media, entertainment and tech companies find value and actionable intelligence in this and future studies to help shape decision-making in vanguard markets over the next few years.”
“This study would not have been possible without the partnerships we have built through Stagwell’s Global Affiliate Network, now numbering nearly 80 partners across APAC, EMEA, LATAM, and North America,” said Stagwell Chief Strategy Officer Anas Ghazi. “Partners like SBI Media accelerate our global research, survey, and insights capabilities at Stagwell, adding authentic understanding of local markets around the world.”
“We are delighted to collaborate with the innovative team at NRG on this landmark project — the first of its kind in the Nigerian and sub-Saharan African market,” said SBI Media Group CEO Rotimi Bankole. “We are convinced that the findings in the NRG Capstone Series will provide brands, artists, creatives, and the larger stakeholders in the entertainment and content industry uncharted insights to decipher, discover and leverage engagement opportunities in the market.”
Exploring Nigeria
Anchored by a robust survey of 5,000 in-market consumers with added expert viewpoints of academics, industry insiders and in-person consumer interviews, “Exploring Nigeria” provides broad understanding into the cultural pillars that drive the country and its people. The research dives into 10 key topic areas exploring consumer habits and attitudes in Nigeria today, including the criticality of mobile, the rollout of 5G, the creator economy, content consumption, streaming services, audio and gaming as growth verticals, the power of social media, the future of money, and more.
Key takeaways include:
- Mobile is the gateway to connectivity. Mobility is table stakes when it comes to streaming, with 78% noting it’s very important that streaming services work well on mobile. Over half (55%) of all movie/TV consumption is on smartphones, while viewership on laptops, smart TVs, tablets and desktop devices is less frequent. Smartphones are also the overwhelming method for gaming (83%).
- 5G will “transform my country for the better,” say 81% of Nigerian consumers. With internet connection quality viewed as the biggest tech problem in the market, nearly 70% are aware of the pending 5G rollout, with the primary benefit seen to be enhanced speed (74%).
- YouTube leads as the top streaming service with 82% of respondents using it weekly, and 40% of these who use it multiple times per day. Only a daily basis, 64% use it the most often over other services such as Netflix (46%), Prime Video (25%), and AREWA24 (44%), the Hausa-language channel. Of the top five daily activities in general, 66% said they watch a short-form online video.
- Nigerians want Nigerian content to positively reflect their culture and values. Of the top five features that make film or TV feel most authentic, 60% indicated the characters should demonstrate Nigerian values (e.g., family/community work ethic, integrity) and should portray a positive image of Nigeria to the outside world (52%).
- …But Hollywood is still the dominant entertainment source. U.S. content owns the largest share of film viewing (75% of Nigerian consumers have watched Hollywood films in the past 6 months), while American TV is a close second behind Nigerian-produced TV (61% vs. 68%). English-language content from other non-US markets also has appeal. Where other countries have flourished with local content, streamers can heavily feature English-dominant titles from their global catalogs – 80% say they most enjoy watching content in English.
- Audio is ready for a shake-up. Due to limited internet connectivity, music streaming has yet to really take off in Nigeria – only 49% stream music through a streaming service. Nigerian consumers are more likely to depend on downloading and backpacking content.
- Big Tech = big influence. Tech companies including social media companies have a “great deal” of impact on Nigerian culture (64%), second only to religious institutions (73%).
- Finance-related technology that can directly benefit Nigerians fuels their desire to succeed professionally, to learn and grow, and to make money. More than half of respondents indicated they are aware and knowledgeable about cryptocurrency (90%), mobile wallets (85%), artificial intelligence (78%), 5G (76%), blockchain (71%), virtual reality (65%), and NFTs (59%).
NRG’s planned upcoming Capstone Series reports include Indonesia (Q4 2022), Argentina (Q1 2023) and Turkey (Q2 2023).
Study Methodology
NRG conducted an online survey from June 19, 2022 to July 4, 2022 among a nationally representative sample of 5,000 internet-enabled Nigerian consumers aged 16-64. Quantitative fieldwork was enhanced by integrating expert interviews with in-market academic and business leaders as well as in-depth, virtual interviews with Nigerian consumers.
About National Research Group
National Research Group is a leading global insights and strategy firm at the intersection of entertainment and technology. Rooted in four decades of industry expertise, the world’s leading marketers turn to us for insights into growth and strategy for any content, anywhere, on any device. Working at the confluence of content, culture and technology, NRG offers insights for bold storytellers everywhere. To learn more, please visit www.nationalresearchgroup.com, and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
About SBI Media
With the vision to become Africa’s most global agency, SBI Media Group is Nigeria’s largest independent media agency (RECMA 2021) built on the culture of bravery, thought leadership and innovation. As a member of the Stagwell Global affiliate network, we are in partnership with a diverse clientele of telecoms, technology, aviation, automobile, telecoms, eCommerce, FMCGs financial services and allied industry. Our fast rising presence cuts across six economic cities including Accra Ghana, Johannesburg South Africa, Nairobi Kenya, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and recently our London office serving Europe and the Asia Pacific. We are headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic and financial capital with over 100 media professionals in digital transformation, creative and content, media strategy, research, planning and exchange.
About Stagwell
Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our 13,000+ specialists in 34+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com.
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Epicenter Experience is Stagwell Marketing Cloud’s 3rd Acquisition in 2022, Adding Mobile and Location Data to its Evolving Data and Insights Stack
NEW YORK and BOSTON, Oct. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing, has acquired Epicenter Experience (Epicenter), an enterprise software company that leverages mobile and location data to map and sequence complex consumer behavior patterns. Epicenter will become part of the Stagwell Marketing Cloud (SMC), a proprietary suite of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and data-as-a-service (DaaS) products built for in-house marketing teams.
“We have strong momentum building around the Stagwell Marketing Cloud’s insights and analytics capabilities, and we’re excited to add Epicenter’s location-focused platform as another supplement to our data stack,” said Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn. “With this AI-powered technology, we can deliver more comprehensive data intelligence to brands, helping them more effectively drive customer acquisition and retention goals.”
“With The People Platform we’ve built a tool that provides contextual awareness and behavioral understanding on a granular level, providing our clients with a connective tissue that they’ve come to view as a ‘currency service.’ We look forward to enhancing the SMC with this technology that can be applied within any industry,” said Epicenter Experience CEO and Co-founder Paul Krasinski. “Through these direct-from-consumer learnings we empower our customers across retail, healthcare, consumer goods, sports, entertainment and more to create more valuable, more personalized connections to their audiences at scale.”
SMC has been actively investing in emerging technologies and data-focused platforms as part of its strategy to serve in-house teams with transformative marketing technology capabilities. This is the SMC’s third acquisition in the second half of 2022, following Apollo Program in July and Maru Group in October. Epicenter will continue to be led by its current leadership team including Co-founders CEO Paul Krasinski and CFO Lynne Lipinsky.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our 13,000+ specialists in 34+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com.
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By: Ray Day
CONTACT:
- JOB, COST-OF-LIVING WORRIES UP AGAIN: Today, 86% of Americans are concerned about the economy, inflation and jobs – moderating from last week. Yet worries about affording living expenses and losing a job are on the rise again.
- 86% are concerned about the economy and inflation (down 4 points from last week)
- 82% about a potential U.S. recession (down 4 points)
- 81% about U.S. crime rates (down 1 point)
- 73% about political divisiveness (down 1 point)
- 73% about affording their living expenses (up 1 point)
- 73% about the War on Ukraine (no change)
- 57% about a new COVID-19 variant (down 2 points)
- 48% about losing their jobs (up 3 points)
- 47% about the Monkeypox outbreak (up 2 points)
- GEN Z NOT BANKING ON SOCIAL SECURITY: Of the four generational groups currently in the working world, Gen Z is the least likely to depend on Social Security to fund their retirement – and the most likely to retire early. That’s according to the “Emerging From the COVID-19 Pandemic: Four Generations Prepare for Retirement” survey released this week with the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.
- Gen Z workers (43%) are more likely than older generations to expect to retire before age 65 (versus 30% of all workers expecting to retire before age 65, 37% for Millennials, 24% for Gen X and 14% for Baby Boomers).
- 67% of Gen Z workers are saving for retirement through employer-sponsored 401(k) or similar retirement plans or outside the workplace.
- The median age at which Gen Z is starting to save – 19 years old – is much younger than the median starting age for Millennials (age 25), Gen X (30) and Boomers (35).
- Among Gen Z and Millennials, 73% said they are concerned that Social Security will not be there when they are ready to retire.
- That compares with 40% of Boomers who expect Social Security to be their primary source of retirement income.
- Gen X workers have the least faith in Social Security, with 78% saying they are concerned that Social Security will not be there for them when they are ready to retire.
- HIGH SCHOOLERS WANT MORE CAREER HELP: High school students across the country are frustrated with the lack of support they are receiving in preparing for a future career. Our survey with the Data Quality Campaign and Kentucky Student Voice Team found:
- 54% say the pandemic has changed how they think about what they might do after graduation.
- Only 35% say their school informed them of which postsecondary or career paths are available to them.
- 80% of students agree they would feel more confident about their career path if they had better access to information to determine their options after graduation.
- This lack of career preparation already is showing up in the workplace. Of Gen Z members who interned or started a job this past year, 49% say that they did not feel like their training and onboarding were done well.
- 58% of interns also report feeling lost at work without anyone to reach for questions and support.
- LESS THAN HALF OF VOTING AMERICA WATCHES TRADITIONAL TV: When it comes to reaching Americans this election season, less than half of voters (49%) have a traditional TV, according to a new HarrisX survey with Samba TV.
- 1 in 4 of those who do still have traditional TV plan to cancel in the next six months.
- Independents (42%) are the least likely to have traditional TVs.
- Millennial and Gen Z voters are more than twice as likely to stream than they are to have a traditional linear subscriptions today. The gap is even wider for younger voters in battleground states.
- Facebook remains the most used platform by registered voters nationally but has less of an impact in key battleground states.
- Democrat voters are significantly more likely to use TikTok than Republicans nationally –with 37% of Democratic voters using it weekly compared with 27% of Republican voters.
- MANY WOMEN STILL MISS DEADLY BREAST CANCER SIGNS: October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and most women are unaware of the unusual symptoms of a particularly aggressive and deadly form of the disease, according to our survey with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.
- The good news: 78% of women recognize a lump in the breast as a sign of breast cancer.
- However, less than half of women would flag redness of the breast (44%), pitting/thickening of the skin (44%) or one breast feeling warmer or heavier than the other (34%) as possible symptoms of breast cancer – specifically the rare and highly aggressive form of the disease known as inflammatory breast cancer.
- ICYMI: In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:
As always, if helpful, we would be happy to provide more info on any of these data or insights. Please do not hesitate to reach out.
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NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Code and Theory, a digital-first creative agency within Stagwell, announced today the formation of the industry’s first holistic Inclusive Design and Marketing Strategy (ID&M) discipline. In a crowded agency landscape where brands must choose either campaign-focused DEI or social impact marketing agencies, Code and Theory’s ID&M applies inclusivity to a digital-first strategy and uses intersectionality to unlock transformational value for brands. Code and Theory’s ID&M discipline is the first of its kind from Stagwell.
Kirstyn Nimmo, an award-winning social impact strategist behind the White House-recognized #IAmAMan campaign for criminal punishment reform, the Nestlé Purina partnership that opened NYC’s first pet-friendly domestic violence shelters, and launched the Anthem Award Winning Yahoo Allyship Pledge to provide education about the Black experience in America and more, will serve as Group Director.
Nimmo’s 14 years of social impact expertise will be applied to existing Code and Theory work streams across the agency, enhancing an already strong set of digital-first deliverables. She is tasked with building a diverse team of creatives, strategists and technologists to ensure every agency output is inclusive at its core; helping brands resonate with today’s diverse consumers, and increase retention among employees. To date, the agency has delivered breakthrough results while amassing an impressive body of inclusive work with The Washington Commanders, Con Edison, Adidas, National Council on Aging, and Johnson & Johnson, to name a few.
Diverse consumers are transforming the U.S. mainstream; representing the most dynamic and fastest-growing segment of the U.S. consumer economy and a multi-trillion dollar opportunity for brands. For Code and Theory, the demand has never been greater as clients are actively seeking insight and expertise in this space.
“Over a decade ago, it was exciting to witness the industry recognizing the importance of diversity and multicultural marketing, but modern consumers are demanding more than that,” explains Nimmo. “The pandemic and recent racial justice movements led to collective and individual changes in identity, agency, and accountability. Those events paved the way for an expanded focus on inclusion, where brands can honor consumers’ intersectional identities. Brands have the chance to evolve and accurately reflect our culture’s complexities and we’re proud to answer that call.”
“ID&M’s purpose is to approach Inclusivity the same way we have approached Digital Transformation for decades, which is to connect the dots for consumers and brands at every touchpoint,” says Dan Gardner, Founder and Executive Chairman, Code and Theory, “I am beyond thrilled to have Kirstyn join Code and Theory. Brands that want to tap into this massive market opportunity and realize a strong ROI – a return-on-inclusion – will benefit from her expertise on how to authentically embrace inclusion as a strategy and not a tactic across all areas of their business, including marketing and communications.”
The establishment of the discpline aligns with the agency’s commitment to being an anti-racist company. In 2021, Code and Theory hired its first Chief Diversity Officer, Renée Miller, and has since developed its 5% Shifts framework, which compels the agency to continuously revisit progress against all of their DEI commitments, and helps clients make real shifts which result in measurable change.
“At Code and Theory we knew that an ongoing commitment to growing a racially and ethnically diverse staff, wide-ranging in age and identities, would continuously expand our ability to bring our clients cutting edge, intersectional thinking that transforms business and impacts across our clients services, platforms and campaign ecosystems. By putting inclusion at the core of our agency, it’s become a clear focus in our work, birthing this new ID&M discipline.” added Renée Miller, Chief Diversity Officer, Code and Theory.
As part of the effort to drive brand evolution, the ID&M discipline created Words Up, an industry writing guide intended to bring inclusive discourse and collaboration surrounding language. Nimmo adds, “As marketers and builders grounded in digital spaces, we help clients reach people all over the world, and it’s critical that language resonates in the right ways, in the right places. When brands use inclusive language, they invite communities in, grow their audiences and create brand love with consumers they may have failed to recognize in the past.” Additionally, Nimmo and the ID&M team created a Linkedin Group and Discord channel for creative and brand professionals to further collaborate, share resources and knowledge in real time.
To learn more about Code and Theory’s Inclusive Marketing and Design discipline, please visit here.
To learn more about Code and Theory’s DEI framework visit here.
To access the first edition of Words Up, please visit here.
Click here to request access to the ID&M Linkedin Group and Discord Channel here.
About Code and Theory
Born in 2001, Code and Theory is a digital-first creative agency that sits at the center of creativity and technology. With a global client roster of Fortune 100s and start-ups alike, we crave the hardest problems to solve and create end-to-end solutions that flex to meet the needs of today’s ever-changing digital landscape.
About Stagwell
Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our 13,000+ specialists in 34+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com
Media Contact
For Code and Theory
Natalie Black
press@codeandtheory.com
For Stagwell
Brandon Dixon
pr@stagwellglobal.com
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SMC’s second acquisition integrates SaaS platform linking global behavioral, transactional and attitudinal data
Maru brings new, global capabilities to SMC. Maru’s SaaS solution, HUB, is a fully scalable survey platform that allows in-house marketers to analyze behavioral, transactional, and attitudinal data all in one place. With tens of millions of survey completes processed a year, the Maru/HUB platform manages research from ad-hoc studies to global trackers. Partnerships with 14 vetted sample partners worldwide allow Maru to connect clients with expertly profiled respondents.
“Stagwell is pleased to add this sophisticated ‘research as a service’ partner,” said Mark Penn, chairman, and CEO, Stagwell. “Maru will be a great addition to our Stagwell Marketing Cloud and round out our research offering from full-service analytical to do it yourself. Maru is research built for enterprise scale but in simple, convenient and affordable ways.”
“From full service to self-service, SMC believes marketers need to integrate connected technologies to stay ahead and drive business growth in the modern digital economy. This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to that belief,” said Elspeth Rollert, chief marketing officer, SMC. “We pride ourselves on a commitment to entrepreneurs like Ged Parton who are building the future of connected brand ecosystems, and we’re thrilled to have the Maru Group team join SMC.”
Maru strengthens SMC’s global, blue-chip client list and presence including Buenos Aires, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Southampton, Toronto, and Vancouver.
“Maru’s suite provides real-time access to insight and results, bringing into one ecosystem adaptive interpretation of behavioral, transactional, and attitudinal consumer data,” said Ged Parton, CEO, Maru Group. “By joining SMC, we’re scaling our services to some of the fastest-growing brands worldwide and translating our belief that understanding the intersection between behavior and emotion is critical to establishing the strongest possible consumer connection to drive better business results.”
Maru joins SMC as its second acquisition amid an accelerated focus on technology-based marketing innovation from parent company Stagwell. In July 2022, SMC acquired Apollo Program.
SMC’s leadership team is growing with the appointment of former Accenture Applied Intelligence Practice lead Mansoor Basha as chief technology officer. Mansoor joins Matthew Lochner, managing director; Abe Geiger, chief product officer; and Elspeth Rollert, chief marketing officer.
Products across the suite are picking up momentum, too, as marketing professionals race to integrate technology. In August 2022, ARound – a shared augmented reality solution for live events – launched in partnership with the Minnesota Twins, bringing the world’s first stadium-level shared A.R. experience to life. Further, PRophet, Stagwell’s AI-powered tool for predicting the success of media pitches, has launched “2.0” enhanced by partnerships with PeakMetrics, Podchaser, and The Harris Poll.
Stephens Inc. served as advisor to Maru Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our 13,000+ specialists in 34+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com.
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