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What are the forces at work reshaping the way brands and marketers connect with today’s consumers? The next decade of marketing innovation will be driven by the emerging technology piquing consumer, brand, and investor interest today: new mediums of storytelling unlocked by mixed-reality, new methods of communicating powered by social commerce, and problems to pre-empt driven by convergent social forces and the enduring digital acceleration.

Stagwell is all about transforming marketing – and we’re spending the year working with our agencies to explore how the most innovating and compelling opportunities in new frontiers will transform the way brands and marketers do business.

We’ll…

explore the practical, helping you understand things like if and how your brand should integrate virtual influencers in digital marketing efforts.

probe the conceptual…with questions like what responsibility brands have as they begin to imagine marketing and brand identity in space?

offer strategies for making sense of the monumental…with perspectives on how and when brands should get involved in the bourgeoning metaverse.

Meet Marketing Frontiers – Stagwell’s new content series that will unpack these blue-sky ideas before today’s brands, simplifying the future and helping leaders understand how these concepts will change the way we do business today and tomorrow.

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John Gerzema

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A study conducted on behalf of Protocol by the Harris Poll found that while most U.S. adults have not used augmented reality or virtual reality technology, a notable portion are interested in trying AR and VR. The study also found younger U.S. adults were more familiar with the metaverse than older U.S. adults, and that Americans are unsure about the future of the metaverse’s regulation. 

While most U.S. adults have not used AR or VR tech, many are still interested in adopting the technology. Early adopters of AR and VR tech skew younger.  

Three quarters (72%) of U.S. adults have not used any augmented reality technology. 

Currently, 16% of U.S. adults have not heard of AR technology. Part of this may be due to current product hesitancy or disinterest: only a quarter (25%) of U.S. adults have no interest in using AR technology. On the other hand, younger adults are more willing to embrace AR, especially Millennials. One in three (32%) Millennials currently uses AR technology (compared to 23% of Gen Z, 14% of Gen X, 6% of Baby Boomers). 

Although more hesitant, other “young” generations are also open to AR. 38% of Gen Z and 38% of Gen X have not used AR technology, but say they are interested in doing so.

Two-thirds (68%) of U.S. adults have not used any virtual reality technology. 

Currently, 12% of U.S. adults have not heard of VR technology. Hesitancy and disinterest in VR is similar to AR. Again, just a quarter (26%) are not at all interested in trying VR. Youth interest is also higher for VR. Three in five (61%) Gen Zers and 45% of Millennials have used VR technology at least once (compared to just 31% of Gen X and 10% of Boomers). 

Users of AR and VR technology have had enjoyable experiences with some of the more common products. The most used VR and AR technologies are: 

VR headsets (e.g., Oculus, HTC Vive) (61% used; of those, 88% had a positive experience)

Mobile VR apps (33% used; of those, 66% had a positive experience) 

AR social media tools (31% used; of those, 81% had a positive experience) 

VR motion controllers (e.g., standard hand controllers, wands, wheels) (30% used; of those, 77% had a positive experience) 

Unsurprisingly, younger people are more familiar with the metaverse than their older counterparts. Younger people also say more often that the metaverse will enrich their lives. 

Two in three (62%) U.S. adults said they were not familiar with the concept of the metaverse before taking this survey.

That said, younger generations are more familiar with the metaverse. 55% of Gen Z and 60% of Millennials are at least somewhat familiar with the concept of the metaverse (compared to just 35% of Gen Xers and 17% of Boomers).

Regardless of familiarity levels, even after reading a description defining the metaverse, 52% of U.S. adults feel overwhelmed by the concept. Similar to other new technologies – most notably NFTs – such sentiment reveals a population that needs a seemingly complex and abstract topic to become more simplified and relatable in order for adults to embrace it.

Four in ten (37%) U.S. adults agree that the metaverse would be more fun than real life, and 38% agree that the metaverse would make their life better. 

These numbers climb for Millennials. 53% agree that the metaverse would be more fun than real life, and 51% agree that the metaverse would make their lives better. These numbers also climb for people who were familiar with the metaverse before taking this survey. 54% agree that the metaverse would be more fun than real life, and 61% agree that the metaverse would make their life better. 

U.S. adults are unsure about the future regulation of the metaverse. That said, a noteworthy share agrees that no one company should own all of the metaverse. 

Overall, three in ten (27%) U.S. adults are not at all sure what group should regulate the metaverse, and another one in ten (9%) do not think the metaverse should be regulated. However, the vast majority of those previously familiar with the metaverse before taking this survey have an opinion of who should regulate the industry (92%).

Compared to just 19% of all U.S. adults, 28% of people who were familiar with the metaverse before taking this survey think metaverse and technology industry leaders should regulate the metaverse. 

Those familiar with the metaverse say more often that regulation should be in the hands of users themselves. Compared to 14% of all U.S. adults, 21% of people who are familiar with the metaverse think metaverse users should be in charge of regulation. Across awareness levels, the U.S. government (11% all adults) and independent oversight committees (14%) were less popular regulatory options.

Despite controversy around the expanding power of big tech firms, only one in three U.S. adults (37%) say the metaverse should not be owned by any one company. Perhaps surprisingly, even fewer of those familiar with the metaverse before this survey feel this way (19%). 

However, 63% of U.S. adults can see one company owning the metaverse. When asked who that one company would be, the top choices were Google (13%), Amazon (12%), Meta (11%), and Apple (10%).

For people previously familiar with the metaverse, the top choices shuffled slightly with Meta (17%) in the top spot followed by Google (16%), Amazon (15%), and Apple (13%). This could indicate a branding win for Meta among metaverse users and potential users.

The following companies had little support for ownership of the metaverse from U.S. adults:

Microsoft (7%)

Roblox (1%)

Snap Inc. (0%)

The Sandbox (0%)

Microsoft (7%)

For less established brands or brands that target younger audiences, a lack of overall brand awareness likely played a role in their lower position. 

Methodology:

This survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Protocol during January 14-18, 2022, among 1,060 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the U.S. population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. For more information, please contact Madelyn Franz or Andrew Laningham.

Download the full data tables here.

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Beth Sidhu

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Stagwell Chief Brand and Communications Officer Beth Sidhu visits the Stagwell Marketing Cloud at CES 2022 and highlights key priorities for tech investment for in-house marketers.  

There’s a reason the marketing calendar begins each year with CES: there is no better place to track the technologies that will transform the way consumers get and share information, engage with brands and experience culture. Stagwell is on the ground in Las Vegas and virtually at CES this week sharing ARound, a location-based AR platform, which is the latest addition to our suite of tools for in-house marketers: the Stagwell Marketing Cloud.

Why build an in-house marketing cloud? CMOs need a trusted toolbox of solutions to help support business transformation as, per Forrester, 77 percent of global organizations now have some form of in-house agency. We’ve built the Stagwell Marketing Cloud to support in-house teams in four ways:

Powering real-time business intelligence

Empower and manage secondary brand ambassadors

Supercharging communications with predictive AI

Forge new mediums to connect with consumers
 

Powering Real-Time Business Intelligence 

Real-time business intelligence tools like the Harris Brand Platform can provide in-house teams with daily insights on brand perception, equity, sales funnels and the impact of marketing campaigns on consumer behavior and perceptions. In an era where errant tweets and unfortunate headlines can cause your brand’s stock to soar or sink, there are few better ways to fireproof your operations than regular pulses of brand perception.

Supercharging communications with predictive A.I.

Marketing communications evolve but the mission remains the same: get the right message to the right person at the right time. When harnessed strategically, earned media can help a team offset (or if they’re lucky, supplant) the need for a hefty paid investment.

PRophet is a tool that enables in-house marketers and PR professionals to predict media interest, sentiment and spread of a press story prior to pitching. The product is powered by the latest developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning and bolstered by expanding partner databases such as with Podchaser to give teams the predictive intelligence they need to tie amplify their great creative ideas with earned media coverage. As A.I. gets more sophisticated, tools like PRophet can free-up PR pros to focus their creativity on brand-building efforts and growing brand mandates like ESG, DEI, and engaging new stakeholders.

Empowering Brand-Safe Ambassadors.

In a platform dominated society, influence is currency. With the rise of social commerce, live streaming, and yes even the metaverse, it’s more important than ever for brands to have strategies for authentically activating influencers that dominate their respective categories. At the same time, marketers need assurances that the influencers they partner with are brand-safe and services rendered are compliant with agreed-upon contracts.

Koalifyed is an end-to-end influencer marketing application that brings helps brands manage complex influencer programs. Underpinned by a bot-detection solution, SNIFF (which stands for social network influencer friend or foe), Koalifyed is a great tool for in-house marketers handling complex influencer campaigns.

Pushing the New Frontiers of the Consumer Experience

Without a doubt, 2022 will bring all the tools of mixed reality and the metaverse into marketing efforts. Just as brands are looking into the virtual world, consumers will be clamoring to return to the physical world, pending the control of the Omicron variant. In-house shops can use location-based AR as an easy, cost-effective investment into developing more engaging digital layers to live events.

ARound is an augmented reality creation tool for live events that empowers brand to bring audiences together at scale so they can engage, interact, and socialize in a completely new and meaningful way. By giving partners the tech and a content interface to experiment with the medium, ARound empowers in-house teams to invest now in the budding metaverse to enhance the journey for consumers.

Where to From Here? 

In-house marketers need the best tools available and we’re excited to that support in-house marketing transformation for modern businesses. See ARound, our AR product, on the floor this week at CES, peruse our digital CES booth featuring more products from the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, and reach out to hello@stagwellglobal.com. 

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Annual awards ceremony hosted by the 4A’s, the industry’s leading trade association, recognizes excellence in marketing strategy

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — (NASDAQ:STGW): Stagwell today announced three of its agencies, Anomaly, Colle McVoy, and 10 Thousand Design, received recognition at the 2021 Jay Chiat Awards, an annual celebration of the best strategic thinking in marketing, media and advertising around the world. The awarded campaigns include work for MELĒ Skincare, Obie, and Houston White, and illustrate the transformative value for clients and consumers when marketing strategy blends purposeful creative with keen consumer insights.

“Our network knows that a smart strategic insight can be the differentiator between bottom-of-the-barrel creative work and the kind of transformative marketing that moves culture — and the consumer,” said Mark Penn, Chairman and CEO, Stagwell. “I am proud that every one of this year’s winners takes that spirit of innovation and brings it to bear against real-world issues.”

Anomaly received three awards at this year’s ceremony, including:

Gold Award for National Strategy and a Bronze Award for Product/Service Creation Strategy for its campaign “A Scientific Breakthrough: The Science of Melanin-rich Skin,” created in partnership with MELĒ Skincare, a Unilever brand. Recognizing that while skincare marketing has evolved to include diverse figures, the products themselves have not, the team partnered with Unilever to create MELE, a new skincare brand designed to fill the void of products designed for darker shades of skin. Within 6 months of launch, 5 of 7 MELĒ Skincare products received competitive awards from major publications, and all available products received above 4.6 stars and over 1000 positive customer reviews.

Silver Award for Healthcare Strategy awarded for Anomaly’s partnership with BabyMed founder Dr. Amos Grunebaum to conceive and create Obie, a first-of-its kind fertility and pregnancy app that helps couples identify barriers to pregnancy and manage their fertility journeys. Anomaly led product positioning, development of the business model, and brand strategy, design, and identity. Anomaly collaborated with YML, another agency in the Stagwell network, to build the digital product.

Additionally, Minneapolis-based creative agency Colle McVoy and design firm 10 Thousand Design shared an honorable mention in the Product/Service Creation Strategy category for their work with Houston White, which unifies the entrepreneur’s community hub, retail space, and apparel and accessories businesses under one brand, “Houston White Men’s Room.” The agencies’ expertise and insights helped bolster the brand and design work, delivering a final identity that positions HWMR for national growth.

The Jay Chiat awards are hosted annually by the 4A’s, the advertising industry’s foremost trade association. Anomaly and Colle McVoy have both won the award in previous years.

Last month, MDC Partners Inc. and Stagwell Marketing Group LLC combined to form Stagwell, the challenger holding company built to transform marketing.

About Stagwell Inc.
Stagwell is the challenger holding company 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 10,000+ specialists in 24+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients