CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

Talent in the Metaverse 

What’s next in connection, community, and commerce for avatars, athletes and artists? Hear from Tracy Benson, CEO and Founder of Obsesh, Nova Han of Nova Han Productions, and Helix Wolfson, President of Metaverse Operations at Infinite Reality. Stream the episode.

Creator Economy and the Metaverse

How are creators and platforms envisioning the future of fandom and engagement in the metaverse and other immersive realities? Maggie Malek, CEO, MMI and John Rough, SVP, Enterprise for Untied Masters, discuss. Stream the episode.

Fandom, Music, and Metaverse 

VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi, Jonathan Vlassopulos, CEO of Napster, and Animal Concerts Executive Producer, Music, Anthony Mazzo discuss how brands can connect with artists, music, platforms and communities in the metaverse. Stream the episode.

Inclusivity in the Metaverse 

AFROPUNK founder Jocelyn Cooper and Shelby Larkin, Director, Global Partnership development at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park discuss diverse communities can benefit from the Metaverse. Stream the episode. 

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

72andSunny

• Call of Duty Modern Warfare “Squad Up” – Nominee – Video > General Video > Trailer – VOTE HERE 
• NFL “We See You” – Honoree – Advertising, Marketing & PR > Advertising Campaign > Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign – VIEW THE WORK 
• HubSpot “Success Stories” – Honoree – Advertising, Marketing & PR > Craft > Best Copywriting – VIEW THE WORK 
• Bumble “Fall in Love with Dating” –  Honoree – Advertising, Marketing & PR > Individual > Video Ad Shortform > VIEW THE WORK  
• Google “Helping You Help Them” – Honoree – Advertising, Media & PR – Advertising Campaigns – Best Partnership or Collaboration – VIEW THE WORK  

Anomaly

• Make Time for the Life Artois – Nominee – Advertising, Media & PR > Craft > Best Video Editing – VOTE HERE

ARound

• ARound Stadium – Honoree – Apps, dApps and Software > App Features > Best Use of Augmented Reality – VIEW THE WORK

Code and Theory

• Skidmore, Owings & Merrill – Nominee – Websites and Mobile Sites > General Websites and Mobile Sites > Architecture, Art & Design – VOTE HERE
• Code and Theory Inclusive Design & Marketing – Honoree  – Video > Branded Entertainment > Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – VIEW THE WORK
• Windows (Consumer) – Honoree –  Websites and Mobile Sites > General Websites and Mobile Sites > Web Services & Applications – VIEW THE WORK
• Fatherly – Honoree – Websites and Mobiles Sites > General Websites and Mobile Sites > Travel & Lifestyle – VIEW THE WORK
• Amazon Ads – Honoree – Advertising, Media & PR > Branded Content > Products & Services – VIEW THE WORK

GALE

• 26.2 You’re Gonna Need Milk For That with MilkPEP – Nominee – Advertising, Media & PR > PR Campaigns > Best Event Activation > VOTE HERE  

HUNTER

• Johnnie Walker and Lilly Singh Join Forces for Gender Parity in Leadership – Nominee –  Video > Branded Entertainment > Corporate Social Responsibility – VOTE HERE

Instrument

• Eames Institute – Nominee – Website and Mobile Sites > General Websites and Mobile Sites > Architecture, Art & Design > VOTE HERE
• Blackspace – Nominee – Websites and Mobile Sites > General Websites and Mobile Sites > Activism – VOTE HERE

Observatory

• “Live From The Upside Down” Netflix Stranger’s Things and Doritos from Observatory & Slap Global – Nominee – Advertising,  Media & PR > Branded Content > Media & Entertainment – VOTE HERE 
• “Live From The Upside Down” Netflix Stranger’s Things and Doritos from Observatory & Slap Global – Nominee – Video > Branded Entertainment > Media & Entertaniment – VOTE HERE
• “Live From The Upside Down” Netflix Stranger’s Things and Doritos from Observatory & Slap Global – Nominee – Metaverse, Immersive & Virtual > General Virtual Experiences > Entertainment, Sports & Music – VOTE HERE 

YML

• YETI Year in Preview: Plan your wildest year yet – Nominee – Websites and Mobile Sites > General Websites and Mobile Sites > Events – VOTE HERE 
• Albertsons: Simplifying Grovery Shopping for Millions – Nominee – Apps, dApps and Software > General Apps > Shopping & Retail – VOTE HERE 
• Chopt: Building an End-to-End Experience for a Challenger Brand – Nominee – Apps, dApps and Software > General Apps > Food & Drink –  VOTE HERE 
• FIREWATCH: Using NFTs to Fight California Wildfires – Honoree -Websites and Mobile Sites – Responsible Innovation – VIEW THE WORK  
• Albertsons: Simplifying Grocery Shopping for Millions in the Websites and Mobile Sites – Honoree – Best Mobile Visual Design – Function – VIEW THE WORK 
• Champion: Evolving an Iconic Brand For a New Generation – Honoree – Websites and Mobile Sites > Shopping & Retail –  VIEW THE WORK 
• Chopt: Building an End-to-End Experience for a Challenger Brand – Honoree – Apps, dApps and Software > Technical Achievement – VIEW THE WORK 
• FIREWATCH: Using NFTs to Fight California Wildfires – Honoree – Websites and Mobile Sites > Sustainable Technology: VIEW THE WORK 

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

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

Mark Penn, Chairman and CEO, Stagwell

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

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:

Brandon Dixon
pr@stagwellglobal.com

NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW) today expanded its digital transformation and engineering network Code and Theory with the addition of Silicon Valley-born digital product and design agency YML (Y Media Labs). The Code and Theory Network now includes six agencies: flagship shop Code and Theory, Kettle, Mediacurrent, Rhythm, Truelogic, and YML. The move creates a truly differentiated integrated network boasting nearly 2,000 people with 50% engineers and 50% creative talent, equipping client partners with teams purpose-built to solve digital-first end-to-end business challenges.

“Stagwell believes a digital-first approach drives holistic business transformation and marketing innovation,” said Mark Penn, chairman and CEO, Stagwell.  “Stagwell is accelerating our investment in scaled digital transformation and engineering capabilities by aligning a truly impressive set of agencies to support our global client partners.”

Stagwell’s Code and Theory Network now boasts approximately 800 engineers who can execute 24/7 development cycles utilizing onshore, nearshore, and offshore engineering. YML’s arrival adds key offshore scale in India and award-winning native app development capabilities.

“We are excited to expand the Code and Theory Network with the addition of YML and the opportunities this will unlock for our clients and our talent,” said Dan Gardner, co-founder and executive chairman, Code and Theory Network. “Modern business is digital business. We now have both the scale of technology services and the balance of excellent creativity to deliver end-to-end services across the customer journey, which our competitors in traditional agencies or consultancies simply don’t have.”

Dan Gardner, along with Mike Treff, CEO of Code and Theory, will lead the Code and Theory Network. YML will continue to be led by CEO and Co-Founder Ashish Toshniwal. And, as part of this network expansion, Lauren Kushner has been promoted to CEO of Kettle.

“I could not be more excited for YML’s next chapter as we join the Code and Theory network. Building on our momentum, this move will bring our clients a new roster of resources, technology partnerships and near-shore global reach with engineering scale in Latin America,” said Toshniwal.

All agencies within the network will continue to operate under their individual brands, consistent with Stagwell’s focus on collaboration between complementary groups versus agency consolidation. Brands within the network will retain their cultures and unique capability sets, while scaling through more integrated work.

About Code and Theory Network

The Code and Theory Network is the digital-first creative and technology group within Stagwell, built to partner with businesses to navigate the complexity of changing consumer behaviors and emerging technologies. With a global footprint and the capabilities to work cross the entire consumer journey, we crave the hardest problems to solve. The network includes the flagship agency Code and Theory as well as Kettle, MediaCurrent, Rhythm, TrueLogic, and YML.

About YML

YML (Y Media Labs) is a design and technology agency bringing Silicon Valley to the world by creating award-winning digital products and experiences. YML has launched mobile apps, websites and other digital experiences for a range of clients including PayPal, Google, Universal Music Group, The Home Depot, Yeti and Polestar. Its work has been recognized by Steve Jobs (ya, that Steve Jobs) and featured by TED Talks, in The Wall Street Journal (“YML is one of the most innovative companies in Silicon Valley”), Forbes, Ad Age, ABC, CNBC and more. Founded in 2009, YML is now home to 500+ innovative designers, strategists, and engineers around the globe. To learn more please visit yml.co.

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

By: Tim Hawes on February 3, 2023

Associate Strategy Director for Europe, Tim Hawes breaks down generative AI and gathers insights from teams at Assembly on ChatGPT and its applications.

Over the last two years, advancements in generative AI have been taking the world by storm, just check out some of the headlines:

Beethoven’s unfinished Tenth Symphony completed by artificial intelligence.

Why It’s So Hard to Resist Turning Your Selfies Into Lensa AI Art.

How a deepfake Tom Cruise on TikTok turned into a very real AI company.

ChatGPT passes exams from law and business schools.

‍

Download this POV here.

Generative AI utilises machine learning to create new and unbelievably real digital content with minimal human intervention, leaving many questioning the ethical role this tech plays in our everyday lives. In practice, brands and marketers are assessing how these tools will impact their work and the future of their industries.  

We spoke with some of the brilliant minds at Assembly to get their points of view and what they’re excited about when it comes to generative AI.

What can generative AI be used for, other than creating AI art of cats?

Tim Hawes, Associate Strategy Director for Europe: It has a tone of utility already and its rate of development is astounding. It seems like a new AI for “X” is released or posted every day. It can pretty much answer any question you throw at it (ChatGPT, that is). It’s like a chat-based Wikipedia in that regard. I’ve asked it to explain history, maths and random facts or even write some marketing headlines or code snippets. It can write recipes – which is what really kickstarted my renewed interest in it. I watched a video where a chef explains her preferences; type of meal and the bot outputs a full menu and instructions for a full Indian-inspired thanksgiving dinner.

Other than cats, it (DALL-E) can create some genuinely interesting art, some can come out looking a little uncanny valley-esque though, depending on what you ask it to generate. There are AIs for everything,  theresanaiforthat.com is a database of many of them; I wouldn’t be surprised if an AI curated it. Because of the way that the ChatGPT  is trained, it can recount any set of information it has ingested, merging sources together and creating ‘new’ text, depending on how you prompt it. You can even ask it to ‘speak’ in a particular mode or instruct it to take on a particular role.

So as far as “what else CAN a generative AI do?” with enough quality input I’d be asking “what can’t it do?”

Are there limitations with ChatGPT and similar tech?

Pedro Mona, Global Director Martech & Data: Two of the major factors limiting scale right now are server capacity issues and computing power – ChatGPT was down recently because half of LinkedIn were trying to access it at the same time. There are also organisations using ChatGPT to churn out essays and sell them to university students, granted the work was brilliant, however, the machine didn’t seem to understand the concept of referencing. So, plagiarism and duplicate content could certainly be an issue – which brings us back to my point on training models specific to clients and brands. On the topic of coding, it’s certainly got applications in shortening writing time but it’s essentially not much different from stealing code from the slew of libraries out there anyway – that’s what everyone already does.

David Hidasi, Senior Data Scientist: In the role of data science, it can help us to generate and fill holes in data as well as create basic functions and give us shortcuts for coding – which humans can then elaborate on and develop. We’re not there yet as far as relying on it end-to-end, there will always be some requirement for testing and human curation – given the pre-trained nature of the networks.

What does AI mean for marketers and brands?

Kristie Naha-Biswas, Head of Strategy & Planning for Europe: AI is pretty amazing, but frightening at the same time.  The ability to produce content faster and more efficiently than humans may be appealing to brands or procurement as a new cost-efficient evolution in their marketing deployment, but there is one vital human component that this technology still lacks, which is empathy and emotion. Emotion is what makes art, in any form be that a painter or a musician, unique.  Art is a human expression of emotion that cannot be replicated by AI, it is the artists’ personal experience and original thought that elicits an emotional response from their audience – do we love it or hate it. Advertising creative is no different. Emotionally led and real, insight driven ideas are what makes creative distinct so brands can stand out to build that critical mental availability vital to any successful brand formula. I think there is a future role for how we can use AI to drive greater personalisation of a piece of content, or messages from an overarching creative idea, or concept.

Pedro Mona, Global Head of Data and Martech: The way agencies and brands are going to win with generative AI is integrating it into human-assisted workflows – where maybe an analyst could work on one or two things at a time, now maybe its three or five at once! Training and integrating generative AI models into a brand, where it understands the tone – the voice of the brand – will take it much further to “on brand” content than its current public training models. I see big applications for content in this regard.

The most interesting part is testing human versus AI versus human + AI. In my previous experience producing predictive models for media performance, the human-assisted AI campaign won by a landslide – the input quality and the human context for the brand and therefore analysis bore the best results. While I don’t see it replacing search engines entirely (the ability to index up-to-date data isn’t there yet) it has wonderful applications for accessibility – text to speech rendering and explanation of advanced topics can have brilliant utility for the visually impaired, for example. Ultimately, I think it’s going to become the new standard, improve parallel workflows and companies that can utilise it in the context of their own brands. There will always be an element of human intervention in quality control and analysis that I don’t see going away any time soon.

Download the Full POV here.

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

As we look to the future of marketing, one thing is certain: Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) will play a major role in shaping the industry. From generative A.I. revolutionizing the way we approach creativity to predictive A.I. providing unprecedented insights and analytics, the potential of A.I. in marketing is vast and exciting.  

But what exactly does the next decade hold for this rapidly evolving field? We asked some of the top minds across Stagwell, including leaders from the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, PRophet, Code and Theory, Colle McVoy, Yamamoto, Concentric Health Experience, and Vitro, to share their predictions and insights on the future of A.I. in marketing.  

A.I. Won’t Eat the World – But it Will Give Consumers Time and Brands Opportunity

Mansoor Basha, Chief Technology Officer, Stagwell Marketing Cloud

“AI and ML are at the forefront of driving digital transformation across industries and will undoubtedly continue to do so. In a 2011 op-ed, Marc Andreessen observed an environment in which software was increasingly becoming king, famously stating that ‘software is eating the world.’ His observation came about a decade after the peak of the 1990s dot-com bubble as companies like Facebook and Skype were booming. Looking to the next decade, I believe that AI and ML will be eating the world, changing the way we work, live, and interact with brands. 

I predict that as AI technology changes everything around us—with things like driverless cars and more efficient, sustainable systems—consumers will have more time on their hands. This will give brands the opportunity to leverage more pointed channels to reach audiences that have more free time to participate. AI will find brands’ ideal audiences and reach consumers in the right place at the right time, especially as AR and VR go mainstream. 

And as the hype around ChatGPT and generative AI simmers down, marketing teams will become more comfortable adopting a wide range of AI tools that help them build powerful workflows that drive innovation, aid in decision making, and create new business models. ChatGPT will be an entry point for many marketing teams as they look for relevant ways to use new technologies in their day-to-day work.”
 

Enhance, Not Replace

Aaron Kwittken, Founder and CEO, PRophet

“Generative AI, while not perfect, is the needle that pierced the veil of doubt and fear amongst marketers when it comes to adopting AI technology. The current limitations are only encumbered by the lack of data needed to make it more performative. 

When paired with the right inputs, this technology will make marketers more efficient by enabling them to create base content faster and better, freeing them up for higher value tasks like editing and strategy deployment. In addition to content creation for press releases, social posts, pitches, marketing collateral, blogs, and more, I see this technology as a huge aid when it comes to legal and compliance issues, especially when working with third parties like influencers and celebrity spokespeople.

Make no mistake, though, the downsides will need to be managed. 

Generative AI may reduce the need for junior staff; could be used as an accelerant to create and spread mis and disinformation; and could make professionals more complacent, less creative, and more transactional. This is where it will be on marketers to get creative about how they use this tool to enhance their current activities, not replace them.” 

The Key Word with A.I.? Enablement

Dan Gardner, Code and Theory Co-Founder and Executive Chairman

“At the moment, where we will see AI transformation is in how we conduct business. While traditional creative shops may be focused on stunts and activations, I believe the key word here is ‘enablement,’ and how the technology allows businesses to do what they haven’t been able to do before.

Where the technology is built into systems that yield long-term results. What this looks like exactly, we still do not know for certain, but I do know that technology at its best is when it has the power to drive meaningful change in people’s lives.” 

Watch Out for A.I.’s “WordPress” Era

Yamamoto Digital Team

In the end it’s not the technology that sells, it’s the story it tells.”  

Welcome to AI as shiny new toy, with machine learning, natural language processing and open access combining to create a sandbox for early adopters. Expect showy, public activations (e.g. Ryan Reynolds reading an AI-generated script for Mint Mobile) as well as backstage experimentation. We marketers will find it hard to pass on an instant first draft of everything we do.  

Then AI enters its WordPress phase. Smaller players will benefit from “good enough” templates that auto-generate content. Meanwhile experts will game AI’s limitations to circumvent the inevitable commoditization.  

There are also threats. To brand safety. To copyright laws. To beliefs about creativity. We’ll have hard conversations about everything from unconscious bias to criminal misuse. Then, in ten years, full impact. We imagine a golden age of hyper-targeted, account-based marketing. We also predict AI depreciating the value of individual assets a la Napster killing the compact disc. Expect real people to respond with bespoke, humanistic, artisan campaigns.   

Finally, a confession. That tasty quote at the top? ChatGPT wrote it. The prompt: Crystalize the future of AI in the haunted, optimistic voice of Don Draper. How’d we do?  

“Make it More Human” 

Ben Majoy, Creative Director, Observatory

We’re in the industry of threading the needle of perfection, constantly trying to find new ways to get as close as possible to what sometimes feels like an impossible vision. Artificial Intelligence is now creating a superficial answer to that question, but we’ll soon see that creating something narratively resonant means a lot more than a “vision” coming to life.

In the same way that a perfect cheeseburger just doesn’t taste as good as a sloppy one (or any other curated vs. bespoke experience example you want to use), we’re going to see that no matter how accurate the A.I. responds to our prompt, it will never FEEL as good as the human-made. There’s humanity in what we do.

Until Artificial Intelligence can replicate nostalgia, trauma, and emotions like seeing someone you haven’t seen in ten years and picking up right where you left off, we will also feel like something is missing. We’re about to enter the era of “make it more human,” taking the place of the “I’ll know it when I see it” feedback loop.

Sturgeon’s Law

Tom Sullivan, CEO, Vitro

RESPONSE TO YOUR PROMPT, FROM CHAT GPT (195 words) 

AI is already revolutionizing marketing…and this continue over the next decade. A big step will be through the use of machine learning algorithms to analyze consumer data and make more targeted, personalized recommendations. This will likely include personalized email campaigns, targeted social media ads, and customized product recommendations on e-commerce sites.

Or course…there are chatbots and virtual assistants. These tools allow companies to interact with customers in real-time, providing immediate support and assistance. They will also be able to handle routine tasks, freeing up human customer service reps to handle more complex inquiries. As time marches on these will continue to get better (and seem even more human). 

AI will also have a major impact on content marketing, as machine learning algorithms will be able to analyze consumer data and create more effective content. This could include personalized blog posts, videos, and other types of content that are more likely to engage and convert consumers. 

Overall, the use of AI in marketing is likely to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve the customer experience. Whilst there may be some initial disruptions as companies adopt these new technologies, the long-term benefits are likely to be significant. 

RESPONSE TO YOUR PROMPT, FROM TOM (195 words) 

See above. It’s so generative. It’s Sturgeon’s Law (90% of everything is crap). My guess is…AI will generate at least 50% of marketing assets/thinking. It’ll probably all be pretty smart…pretty good. But when it gets to emotional storytelling, powerful creative…it’ll be just like people, generating a lot of “crap”. AI is digital. Digital is binary. Zeroes and Ones. Blacks and whites. Much of creativity comes from the muted tones, the instincts and intuitions…the random brain synapses that live in the grays. I’ve spent a lot of time playing with AI in several arts (music, writing, imagery). Some of it really interesting, and maybe even gives bits of inspiration…but so much of it is just a mashup of elements we’ve seen before. Usually…you can tell AI was the ghost in the machine, right away.  

These are relatively early days, and they are super exciting…but here are three watchouts that come to mind:  racial biases and presenting incorrect information as true fact. And…look at the “open” in Open AI. It seems to be claiming that everything is open source. So I wonder; will I will end up being a windfall for intellectual property attorneys? Time will tell.   

The InkWell is Half Full for Copywriters

John Neerland, VP, Group Creative Director, Colle McVoy

Over the past month, ChatGPT has hit the world, the industry and advertising copywriters in particular, like a ton of virtual bricks.  

The reaction from writers I’ve talked to has ranged from cautious pessimism to downright dread. Gallows humor abounds. One writer quipped that it might finally be time to get HVAC certified.  

But I’m choosing, for now, to see the inkwell as half full. Just like Photoshop didn’t eliminate art directors and designers, ChatGPT won’t make copywriters obsolete.   

Out of the gate, ChatGPT is only as good as the inputs it receives. And even then, ask it to write headlines for a specific product or brand and you get a list that feels more like 50s newspaper retail ads than the One Show.   

So, if it isn’t pumping out pencil-worthy lines just yet, how can copywriters harness ChatGPT (and not be trampled by it)? Some initial ways include using it to get over blank page syndrome, getting unstuck from one idea or approach, exploring new tones and styles, making copy more search friendly and speeding up the more mundane writing tasks to free up time for more interesting ones.   

Over the next decade, my hope is that copywriters find ways to leverage AI not only as a technological aid to make their work easier and more efficient, but a tool to help make their ideas bigger and their writing better than they’ve ever imagined. Or maybe that’s just what the bots want us to believe. 

A Foundational 21st Century Development

Allison+Partners Digital team

Generative AI is about to change our world.  The capability of AI to generate original and useful creative work at scale is both amazing and terrifying, yet it will be one of the foundational technologies of the 21st century.  There’s no question it will change how we – as communicators and consumers – live, work, learn and even think.   

Tools like ChatGPT make it easier to quickly create targeted content, both written and visual. What’s more, it will help expedite what was once a very manual (and tedious) process by customizing and personalizing content for journalists, analysts and customers. In turn, there’s every chance that many of these pitches will be received by AIs with subsequent stories likely written by them as well. (In fact, some already are – controversially.)

Yes, AI may help everyone create content, just like calculators and spreadsheets help us generate numbers. But AI cannot imagine. It cannot bring years of client experience and strategy to the table. And it cannot replace passion, empathy or excitement for our clients and their offerings. AI is just one tool, plain and simple. We can and should use it to reinforce our best, most human qualities in the many years ahead. However, it will still need you – your humanity, your personality, your perspective and your soul.  

—-

This piece is part of Stagwell’s Marketing Frontiers content series on Artificial Intelligence. Visit this page to view other perspectives and work from Stagwell’s global teams on A.I.

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

LA Rams on Stadium-Sized Augmented Reality Experimentation

Los Angeles Rams Chief Commercial Officer Jennifer Prince

The Rams made history this Christmas with the world’s largest augmented reality snowball fight, presented in SoFi Stadium during the Rams-Raiders game. For the Rams, it’s all about innovation on an off the field – and how brand and technology partners can reinforce their exploration of new consumer experiences. Hear from Rams Chief Commercial Officer Jennifer Prince about how the team fuels its larger-than-life fan experiences. 

Minnesota Twins on Moving Baseball into the 21st Century 

Minnesota Twins Sr. Director, Brand Experience and Innovation, Chris Iles 

A baseball team with an innovation accelerator? Yep. The Minnesota Twins want to bring always-on experimentation to the stadium, to help bring baseball into the 21st century. Hear from Chris Iles on the Twins’ mission to be the most innovative team in sport – and their experiments in AR, embodied audio, and spatial computing. 

Samsung SVP and GM Harry Patz 

The Infinity Screen in SoFi Stadium is a behemoth 70,000 sq. foot digital display powered by Samsung – and just one of an array of dazzling digital out-of-home experiences Samsung helps support across sporting properties. Hear from Samsung’s Harry Patz about how advancements in screens are re-shaping in-stadium entertainment. 

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

Reddit VP, Business Development on The Power of Community  

Reddit’s Timo Pelz joined Stagwell Chief Brand and Communications Officer Beth Sidhu to talk about insights from Reddit’s massive Future Tellers study pulling insights from Reddit’ 100K+ active communities, which unveiled on the convention floor at CES.  

Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire on How AI Will Transform Cars into Spaceships  

In the CES tech alphabet, the “A’s” have it – Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire and Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn are bullish that artificial intelligence and augmented reality are the tech to bet on in 2023. Watch their interview with Chief Growth Officer, North America, Robyn Freye. 

Zappos CMO Ginny McCormick on Moving Beyond Demographics  

“Age is just a number.” And, by Zappos CMO Ginny McCormick’s estimate, a number marketers are relying on too heavily to drive consumer segmentation. Catch her interview with Stagwell President, Global Solutions, Julia Hammond on the demographics, metrics, and buzzwords marketers need to ditch in 2023.  

Warner Music Group’s Maria Weaver on “The Three C’S”  

Connecting content, commerce, and community experiences is Warner Music Group President Maria Weaver’s big priority for 2023. Watch her interview with Stagwell Chief Brand Officer, North America, Alexis Williams to learn why you need to invest in the “three c’s”  

Mark Penn and Axios’ Sara Fischer on Where Marketing and Tech Meet Politics 

Tech is about to have a political year – but all is not bad for the digital economy, Stagwell’s CEO Mark Penn tells Axios reporter Sara Fischer in this clip from the Stagwell Content Studio at CES 2023. Catch their interview for insights on the streaming market, data regulation, and whether the U.S. will pursue a TikTok ban in 2023.  

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

‘COME TOGETHER’ ISN’T JUST A BEATLES SONG – IT’S THE MISSION FOR BRAND ECOSYSTEM IN 2023 

More technology exists than ever before to ensure every digital touchpoint your consumer encounters conveys a consistent and authentic brand experience. Now it’s on CMOs and CTOs to collaborate closer than ever before, unleashing true connected brand experiences at scale. Wearable technology and ever-more-immersive entertainment experiences are opportunities to get this right – but challenges for brands who haven’t yet asked themselves: have you set a plan for unifying online and offline brand, marketing, product, and customer experiences? 

2023 IS THE YEAR FOR AI, BUT DON’T OVERDO IT

AI is the tech darling of 2023, and for good reason. We’ve quickly seen it evolve from basic communication and assistance on tasks to understanding your routine, predicting your behavior, and getting you a C+ on your English paper. OpenAI and other lay-consumer-friendly tools will power an AI-knowledge revolution in 2023. But while AI is great for providing creative activation energy and can get you 85% of the way there, the last 15% requires the near-impossible-to-duplicate human element.

Brands and agencies will need to responsibly blend talent + technology together in 2023 to make AI an effective addition to the marketing tech stack. 

‘COMMUNITY’ IS WHAT CONTENT WAS FOR BRANDS A DECADE AGO

From Stagwell’s own experiments in shared augmented reality, to new social platforms that let friends share content and buy and sell NFT art, brand experiences are starting to hinge on the ability to connect consumers to one another. Community is the new driver of commerce; look out for more brands using technology as a platform to create engaging, 3D and 360 marketing experience for more than one consumer. 

Live from the Stagwell Content Studio @ CES 2023

Stagwell’s Content Studio returned at CES, delivering behind-the-scenes interviews with C-Suite execs at the world’s most ambitious brands on the trends and transformations they’re tracking at CES.  

In this episode, Wells Enterprises Chief Commercial Officer Santhi Ramesh talks data anonymity, immersive experiences, and using robotics to drive automation with Stagwell President, Global Solutions, Julia Hammond.