Originally Released On

ACCESS Newswire

Contact:

PR Contact:
Maggie Axford
pr@stagwellglobal.com

 

 

 

 

 


NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 16, 2026 / Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW), the challenger network transforming marketing through AI, today released its 2025 Annual Report highlighting a record year of net new business, exceptional client work, and cutting-edge AI development and adoption. Download the full report here.

Alongside the Annual Report, Stagwell published a showcase of standout AI work from across its agencies and products, highlighting innovative experiences and projects for Amazon Ads, Afterpay, Google, Lenovo, Samsung, Salesforce, Qualcomm, and many more.

“At Stagwell, we’re embedding AI across our business to stay ahead in the AI revolution, and our 2025 report makes it clear that we are a winner in the age of AI,” shared Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn. “In an industry of behemoths, legacy players distracted by restructuring and mergers, we have stayed focused – doubling down on offering clients our unique blend of leading capabilities, best-in-class talent, and technology.”

2025 Highlights:

  • Aggressively adopting AI across our business: Stagwell invested heavily in proprietary platforms, products, and partnerships that operate where marketers already work. This includes The Machine, marketing’s first agentic operating system built by Code and Theory, and reinforced through a landmark partnership with Palantir that combines Foundry – Palantir’s enterprise data and analytics platform – with The Machine’s orchestration layer and The Marketing Cloud’s propriety ID Graph.

  • Acceleration in AI-powered tool development for self-service marketers: Stagwell continued to invest in The Marketing Cloud, building AI-enabled tools for self-service marketers, which grew 34% organically in 2025 including more than 41% growth in the fourth quarter. Tools within The Marketing Cloud grew exponentially, including BERA posting 73% net revenue growth in 2025, and UNICEPTA posting 168% organic net revenue growth in the fourth quarter.

  • Delivering exceptional work for clients using AI: Agencies within the Stagwell network used AI to create outstanding work for clients across all capabilities.

    • Marketing Services: AI transformed production and personalization, automating complexity, scaling creativity, and driving measurable brand impact without proportional increases in cost.

    • Digital Transformation: AI embedded directly into client workflows, turning data into content, eliminating manual processes, and improving efficiency and digital engagement at scale.

    • Media & Commerce: Agencies adapted performance for an AI-first discovery economy, making brands legible, optimizing conversion with agentic media systems, and scaling cultural impact globally.

    • Comms & Advocacy: AI-powered tools and grassroots initiatives expanded targeted outreach and increased brand visibility across industries.

“Looking ahead, we’re poised to achieve transformative growth in 2026 and strengthen our position as a leader redefining marketing through AI,” added Penn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this document that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, technological leadership and differentiation, future financial performance, future growth and prospects, including the Company’s revenue targets and anticipated benefits of the Company’s strategies, including with respect to artificial intelligence, constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the risks and uncertainties discussed in Item 1A-Risk Factors and the section entitled “Forward-looking Statements” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 13th, 2026, and accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of them in light of new information or future events, if any.

About Stagwell

Stagwell is the global challenger network transforming marketing through AI. 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 specialists in 45+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for our clients. Join us at  www.stagwellglobal.com.

IR Contact:
Ben Allanson
IR@stagwellglobal.com

Press Contact:
Maggie Axford
PR@stagwellglobal.com

PROBLEM 

Mastercard believes in “doing well by doing good” and delivers it through data and technology tools. They wanted to create an engaging platform, delivering support to people in refugee crisis in Ukraine.  

SOLUTION

The “Where to Settle” project by Mastercard is an innovative, data driven tool to provide access to economic opportunity, but also to support local governments and communities, key stakeholders in the Mastercard ecosystem. The tool, which was the heart of the campaign, aggregated job and real estate data, anonymous Mastercard spending insights, and data from the Polish Central Statistical Office, making Where to Settle the most-awarded campaign at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity in 2024, including receiving the Cannes Lions Titanium, Grand Prix and more. The campaign also won the Effie Europe 2024 award. 

 
RESULTS 

The tool proved highly effective, attracting 242.17k unique users and facilitating 73.7k form submissions. Among Ukrainians assisting refugees, 92% found it useful, while 20% of refugees benefited from the platform. Additionally, 80% of Ukrainians and 57% of Poles expressed intent to use the tool again after engaging with it. 

About Assembly: Assembly is the modern media agency, bringing together data, talent, and technology to deliver connected solutions. 

PROBLEM

Sloane & Company, a leading strategic communications firm in the Stagwell network, often crafts press releases with 30+ data points. However, journalists typically focus on only a few, meaning valuable insights get overlooked. In a crowded media landscape, Sloane needed a way to deliver stronger messaging, ensuring the most compelling data points stood out. The goal: Increase the media impact and resonance of press releases.  

 

SOLUTION

Sloane enlisted PRophet, Stagwell Marketing Cloud’s AI-powered PR tool, to analyze and optimize its press releases. PRophet identifies the three most relevant data points by scanning digital, social, and broadcast media trends. By streamlining client messaging, Sloane is able to increase media coverage by aligning insights with journalists who are most likely to find them relevant and newsworthy. As a result, press materials become more concise and targeted, cutting through the noise and improving pickup rates in an increasingly competitive news cycle. 

 

RESULTS

By leveraging PRophet, Sloane achieved a 20% increase in media coverage over six to eight months. The AI-driven approach helped refine messaging, making pitches more engaging and aligned with journalist interests. Sloane reduced time spent on revisions while improving effectiveness, ensuring its insights gained traction. PRophet provided a data-backed strategy that enhanced PR impact, helping Sloane deliver high-impact narratives while improving visibility and engagement across key media channels.  

About Sloane & Company: Sloane & Company is an industry-leading strategic communications firm delivering the right messages to the audiences that matter or advising on high-stakes deals and crises. 

About Stagwell Marketing Cloud: Stagwell Marketing Cloud is a suite of AI-powered, data-driven solutions built for the modern marketer, spanning research, communications, creative, and media. 

About PRophet: PRophet is the first A.I.-driven DaaS platform designed by and for the PR community that analyzes past stories to better predict future media. 

ABOUT UNICEPTA 

UNICEPTA is a leading global media monitoring and analytics platform headquartered in Cologne, Germany spanning eight countries and four continents with additional offices in Berlin, London, Paris, São Paulo, Shanghai, Washington DC, and Zurich. With 30 years of expertise in data-driven insights, it has scaled media monitoring and analytics capabilities with both earned and social media monitoring that empowers Fortune Global 500 companies.  

ACQUISITION RATIONALE

UNICEPTA, a scaled DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) acquisition with global reach, added 475 employees and new media monitoring capabilities. It enabled immediate global scaling, U.S. client expansion, and cross-selling synergies, enhancing PRophet and SMC marketing tools. Replacing Cision Brandwatch with UNICEPTA saved $1 million across our portfolio. Clients include Adidas, Bayer, FIFA, TikTok, Toyota, Apple, and Airbus.  

UNICEPTA AT STAGWELL

UNICEPTA adds reputation management and campaign tracking capabilities to PRophet’s journalist and influencer discovery, management, and content generation platforms. With UNICEPTA, the PRophet Comms Tech suite of AI-powered software and services now has over 600 engineers, experts, and consultants, working with clients like P&G, The European Commission, Meijer, Pearson, Airbus, FIFA, Stellantis, and Siemens. UNICEPTA follows the acquisitions of LEADERS and InfluencerMarketing.AI into PRophet in July 2024.   

 

ABOUT CONSULUM

Founded in 2013 and pivoting exclusively to government clients in 2018, Consulum brings elite public relations, strategic communications, and diplomatic expertise to Stagwell’s global portfolio. With strategic offices in Riyadh, Dubai, Bahrain, London, Cape Town, and Kuala Lumpur, the firm has established itself as a premier communications partner for influential MENA government entities. 

ACQUISITION RATIONALE 

This acquisition establishes Stagwell’s communications stronghold in the MENA region while unlocking access to prestigious government relationships and multi-year, multi-million-dollar contracts. Consulum’s distinguished client roster includes the Kingdom of Bahrain Prime Minister’s Office, Government of Abu Dhabi, Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, and multiple Saudi Arabian ministries. With over 150 regional professionals, Consulum delivers immediate impact. 

CONSULUM AT STAGWELL

Consulum complements Stagwell’s existing MENA footprint alongside LEADERS, Create. Group, Assembly Global, Allison, and Forsman & Bodenfors. This strategic alignment extends our advocacy capabilities beyond U.S. borders, positioning Stagwell to capture significant government communications opportunities throughout the Middle East and beyond. 

ABOUT TEAM EPIPHANY

Team Epiphany is a multicultural experiential agency with capabilities specializing in progressive and culturally relevant marketing, consumer marketing, and influencer integration. Team Epiphany brings 20 years of experience in experiential marketing, PR capabilities across social, podcasts, and news, a strong network of celebrities and influencers, and expertise in campaign strategy and content product. Launched in 2004, Team Epiphany led influencer marketing before the launch of social media platforms   

ACQUISITION RATIONALE

Team Epiphany adds a scaled experiential offering to our portfolio, bolstering our multicultural strategy. With a blue-chip base of entertainment, consumer products, and sports clients, clients with Team Epiphany include Airbnb, Target, American Express, HBO (MAX), Coca-Cola, LEGO, Campair, Amazon, Puma, Audi, and ESPN.  

TEAM EPIPHANY AT STAGWELL

Team Epiphany joined our Constellation network which comprises of 72andSunny, Colle McVoy, Crispin, HUNTER, Jemini, Gold Rabbit Sports, Movers+Shakers, Redscout, TEAM, The Harris Poll, and Tinsel Experiential Design. With Stagwell, Team Epiphany has activated for clients with high-end experiential events, bringing to life Delta Airline’s JFK lounge opening and 2025 CES Sphere activation, Apple’s Creator Tour event announcing features of the Apple Watch Series 10 and iPhone 16, Walmart’s footprint at the inaugural Forbes Creator Upfronts summit, Dove’s activations with Venus Williams and at Super Bowl LIX, the season 3 premiere of Bel-Air, and more.  

PROBLEM

At Stagwell, we believe a thriving news industry is not only the foundation of a healthy democracy, but also a critical platform for marketers and advertisers. However, recent discourse around brand safety – the effort of protecting a brand’s reputation by controlling its proximity to damaging content – has disproportionately hurt the news industry, as advertisers back away from news due to misconceptions and an abundance of caution.  

 

SOLUTION 

Stagwell’s Future of News Initiative aims to restore journalism funding and reconnect news with marketing. By uniting publishers, brands, and media leaders, we champion the idea that journalism drives informed consumers and business success. Our May 2024 launch debunked ad placement myths, showing ads near “unsafe” news perform just as well. We also highlighted the value of news consumers—73% of Americans follow news regularly, with 25% being highly engaged “news junkies.” We took the message global with events in D.C., New York, London, Cannes, and Davos, bringing together top journalists and marketers to explore sustainable models where journalism and marketing thrive together. 

 

RESULTS 

Since launching, the Future of News and News Advertising Study have been featured in over 50 top publications, with 500+ media mentions. We expanded from six to 20+ publishers and hosted C-suite leaders from Amazon, GM, Google, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever, and more. To combat journalism defunding, we launched a consumer advocacy campaign and published a Fortune op-ed urging CEOs to prioritize ad spend in news. Stagwell committed to increasing its 2025 news ad spend by 22%, reflecting growing confidence in news advertising and rising publisher investments. 

PROBLEM

Lenovo sought to successfully launch the Lenovo Aura Edition AI PC in the UK, following its global strategic framework. The goal was to engage the young creator audience—a tech-savvy and highly discerning demographic—by capturing their attention through high-impact, premium, and innovative experiences. The campaign needed to break through the noise of a competitive market, positioning Lenovo’s Aura Edition as a cutting-edge AI laptop line-up that resonates with the creative community.

 

SOLUTION 

Lenovo tackled the challenge with an interactive experience showcasing its Aura Edition AI laptop. Through media, creative, and PR integration, the campaign introduced a groundbreaking ‘Aura’ activation using biometric data and Lenovo technology. 26 influencers and celebrities had their unique auras projected onto London landmarks like County Hall and the London Eye, amplifying reach as they shared their experiences across social channels.

 

RESULTS

The strong case study results demonstrated significant impact and reach. On the night of the event, an estimated 900,000 impressions were recorded, with an average dwell time of seven minutes, based on UK Route planning data. Additionally, the campaign achieved a remarkable reach of 13 million through national UK press coverage. Furthermore, influencers and celebrities contributed to an impressive, combined reach of 46.5 million.

 

About Assembly: Assembly is a leading global omnichannel media agency that merges data, talent, and technology to build more connected omni-experiences that make brands perform.

PROBLEM 

Banks. Credit cards. Fintech. Payment platforms. Payment types. The modern payments landscape is incredibly crowded, and increasingly competitive, with more players vying for share of spend than ever before. Visa needed to modernize what they stood for in order to get the next generation of global consumers (18-34) to choose and use Visa more often. 

SOLUTION

Visa’s iconic ‘Everywhere You Want to Be’ tagline once stood for global acceptance. But as payments options proliferated, its meaning faded. To stay relevant, Visa had to evolve what its brand stood for — from simply moving money to moving people forward.  

For this next generation, the only thing certain in life is uncertainty, so they define progress differently than past generations. ‘Making it’ today isn’t about the destination; it’s about the journey. This insight helped Anomaly redefine Visa’s role in their audience’s lives: a champion for everyday progress where every transaction isn’t just viewed as a transaction, but instead as a step forward towards creating the life they want to lead.  

With a new global positioning, Anomaly reimagined ‘Everywhere You Want to Be’, shifting the emphasis from where, to who you want to be, cementing Visa as a champion for every step of your journey. 

RESULTS

The new positioning and platform are being applied across global marketing efforts, including the launch of a new global campaign that recently debuted during the Academy Awards. Pretesting of the campaign has signaled strong in-market success: the platform performed better than 99% of other financial service brands, and increased preference by 50%. 

About Anomaly: Anomaly is a change agent within the communications industry, focused on creating business solutions by embracing the broadest definition of ‘creativity’. 

PROBLEM

How can a large global B2B enterprise strengthen its position in an international market while establishing trust and credibility as a local player? When Salesforce, a leading global CRM platform, set its sights on reaching mid-market companies in India, it called upon Instrument to help shift perceptions and demonstrate how Salesforce meets the diverse needs of Indian businesses of all sizes and stages of growth.  

 

SOLUTION

To reach mid-market businesses in India, Instrument developed a localized Salesforce brand campaign, blending the company’s traditional identity with market-specific elements. Using generative AI, the team streamlined production, gathered expert feedback, and refined concepts before bringing them to life with real people.  

The campaign featured vibrant colors, traditional patterns, and real Indian customers, ensuring authenticity and relatability. Generative AI tools like Midjourney, Photoshop Beta, and Topaz Lab’s Gigapixel helped create and test visuals before budget allocation, enabling experimentation with talent, poses, and styling. AI-generated drafts accelerated feedback and approvals, improving  time with real talent while incorporating insights from local market partners. 

RESULTS 

The campaign exceeded industry benchmarks, generating 237 million impressions and 758,000 clicks—2.5x the industry standard. It also drove a significant lift in brand metrics, including a 16-point increase in unaided awareness, a 12-point boost in advertising recall, and a 10-point rise in brand attribute recognition. Familiarity and favorability grew by 7 points, contributing to increased traffic to the campaign landing page and case studies. 

 

About Instrument: Instrument is a technology-led brand, product, & marketing agency. They use the power of design and technology to help brands unlock their full potential – bringing companies and customers closer together and driving lasting business impact.