Content Will Be Freely Accessible Via Online Channels
NEW YORK and LAS VEGAS – Dec. 21, 2022 – Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), is bringing its Content Studio to CES 2023, building on its successful debut at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in June 2022. The Content Studio will be housed at the Stagwell booth in the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), 60488.
As thousands descend on Las Vegas for CES, Stagwell is democratizing access to some of the senior-most business leaders across marketing, electronics, food and drink, luxury goods, media, sports, tourism and more. Through the course of these candid conversations, executives will share perspectives on topics including:
- What are you doing to transform your business in the year ahead?
- What does impact mean to you?
- What technology do you think will spark the greatest transformation of your business in the next five years?
Over 15 leaders will join executives from across the Stagwell network in special conversation. Brands include:
- AB InBev
- Christie’s
- Fandom
- Group Black
- Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
- Los Angeles Rams
- Lyft
- Magic Leap
- Minnesota Twins
- Qualcomm
- Sirius XM Media
- Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.
- Wells Enterprises (Blue Bunny, Bomb Pop, Halo Top)
- Zappos
For Access to Content
In line with its mission to democratize content at exclusive events, Stagwell will make the interviews available to anyone, anywhere, via online channels including YouTube, LinkedIn, and the website. To join the conversation, use #StagwellatCES across all platforms.
“I worked with Bill Gates on his CES keynote 20 years ago when he told the world that all entertainment would be delivered digitally, and here we are: there’s nothing you can successfully accomplish in business today without understanding technology’s role in how consumers view and interact with the world around them,” said Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn. “Virtually every consumer action and interaction is now online, and we’re excited to host these leaders who are leveraging data and technology to know these consumers well and meet them where they are.”
To Connect
Brand executives interested in participating in a Content Studio interview, and/or news organizations interested in obtaining this content for redistribution should contact ces2023@stagwellglobal.com to coordinate.
Journalists interested in participating in Content Studio interviews, or connecting with Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn, and/or leaders from the Stagwell Marketing Cloud or Stagwell network agencies, please contact pr@stagwellglobal.com.
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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PRophet becomes first comms tech company to empower users to hone their media interviewing skills with AI-powered, personalized and judgement-free feedback from Yoodli’s speech coach
NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — PRophet, the first-ever AI-driven PR pitch platform built by and for PR professionals that predicts media interest and sentiment, today announced a partnership with Yoodli, an innovative AI-powered software platform which helps users improve media interviewing, public speaking, and communication skills using artificial intelligence. The partnership cements PRophet – a product from Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW) – as the first-ever communications tech company to offer AI-generated analytics support to companies seeking to hone storytelling and earned media engagement.
With PRophet’s customized Yoodli platform, users will be able to receive judgment-free feedback on their performances during practice media interviews; the technology will denote trends in filler word usage, eye contact, body language, and more. Yoodli also allows users to practice for upcoming speaking engagements and provides real-time feedback during live event sessions. Additionally, Yoodli creates immediate transcripts and allows media trainers to show their clients an instant replay of speeches with actionable insights for future improvement.
“You can have the best communications platform in the world, but if you botch the interview, you miss the headline. Media training is a lost art – and as companies awaken to the power of earned media to drive growth, Yoodli’s platform is truly revolutionary,” said Aaron Kwittken. “Together, PRophet and Yoodli unlock real-time, AI-backed data for modern communicators, supplementing human instinct with insights to improve pitching and interview performance.”
Yoodli has already been endorsed as an AI-powered speech coach by world champions of public speaking, speech language pathologists, and hundreds of communications faculty at universities such as Harvard and the University of Washington. Toastmasters International recently announced that they were rolling out Yoodli’s AI training software with 300,000 members worldwide.
“If communication coaches are professional trainers, think of Yoodli as the medical report: we augment the work of media trainers, PR firms, and communication coaches by providing clients with objective data on how they speak,” said Varun Puri, co-founder of Yoodli. “Our partnership with PRophet is a big step in enabling PR professionals at agencies and in-house teams to improve, upskill, and scale their communications coaching with a proven, tech-based solution.”
PRophet is a flagship product within the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, a proprietary suite of SaaS and DaaS tools built for in-house marketers, spanning campaign ideation to activation and analysis. To learn more about the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, visit this link.
About PRophet
PRophet is the first-ever A.I.-driven data-as-a-service (DaaS) platform designed by and for the PR community that analyzes past stories to better predict future media interest and sentiment using natural language processing and machine learning. PRophet was founded by PR and marketing industry thought leader and serial entrepreneur Aaron Kwittken in 2020 with backing from political strategist, technologist and author Mark Penn, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Stagwell. To learn more about PRophet, please visit www.prprophet.ai or email sales@prprophet.ai to schedule a demo.
About Yoodli
Yoodli is an AI powered platform to help you improve your public speaking and communication skills without the pressure of an audience. Yoodli provides judgment-free analytics on your filler words, eye contact, pacing, monologues, and more. Corporate professionals, sales teams, and university students use Yoodli to get feedback on their everyday Zoom calls and to prepare for upcoming speeches and interviews. The platform is endorsed by Toastmasters International, World Champions of public speaking, and thousands of speech coaches and media trainers across the world. You can start using Yoodli for free at www.yoodli.ai
Yoodli was founded by Varun Puri and Esha Joshi in 2021 at the Paul Allen AI Institute in Seattle. Yoodli has been voted as the product of the day on Product Hunt and featured as one of the five hottest startups in the Pacific Northwest. The Yoodli team has raised $7M+ from investors including Madrona Venture Group, Cercano Capital, the Allen AI Institute, and others.
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
Adam Wise
KWT Global for PRophet
awise@kwtglobal.com
SOURCE Stagwell Inc.
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Stagwell to Host Content Studio, Floor Tours; Chairman and CEO Mark Penn Will Speak on the C Space Stage
NEW YORK and LAS VEGAS, Nov. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing, will attend CES 2023 hosted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, taking place Jan. 5-8, 2023 in Las Vegas. Stagwell experts and client partners will discuss transforming marketing through impactful technology across a variety of activations at the annual consumer technology expo.
“Stagwell transforms marketing through impactful technology, driving measurable outcomes for our clients’ businesses and for society at large,” said Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn. “Whether we’re building an app that fuels billions in revenue or designing a first-of-its-kind sustainable NFT platform, we’re excited to return to CES to celebrate the impact of technology.”
- Content Studio: Stagwell is again producing exclusive interviews with senior brand executives, focused on the technologies they expect to spark the greatest transformation in advertising and marketing over the next five years. The 15-minute 1:1 sessions will take place in Stagwell’s onsite content studio in booth 60488, in the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC).
- Floor Tours: Brand executives are invited to attend 60-minute tours spanning the North and Central Halls of the LVCC, hosted by technology experts from across Stagwell. Attendees will hear expert evaluations of the products and services unveiled at CES that will have the biggest impact on brands and marketing opportunities in the year to come, particularly regarding creative and media buying.
- Mark Penn @CES: Penn will participate in the CMO Insights C Space Program on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 2:50 p.m. He will join a panel on the impact of data and personalization, featuring brand leaders and technologists working at the intersection of technology and marketing to define the standards around consumer data.
If you are a brand executive interested in participating in a Content Studio interview or attending a floor tour, please email Ces2023@stagwellglobal.com for further information as space is limited.
If you’re a journalist interested in connecting with Mark Penn, Stagwell corporate leaders, or executives from Stagwell agencies in attendance, please email pr@stagwellglobal.com.
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
Sarah Arvizo
pr@stagwellglobal.com
SOURCE Stagwell Inc.
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Los Angeles Rams and ARound Introduce the Next Generation of Stadium Augmented Reality, Sponsored by SoFi
ARound Expands Stadium-Wide AR With Addition of In-Venue Broadcast Integration on SoFi Stadium’s Infinity Screen, In-Home Fan Experience; SoFi Signs on as First ARound Brand Sponsor
LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK – Dec. 5, 2022 – The Los Angeles Rams are introducing a new fan-focused technology experience at the stadium and at home. Debuting at yesterday’s game, fans at SoFi Stadium were the first to experience shared augmented reality (AR) in an NFL game with the launch of ARound, a next-generation fan engagement platform designed to enhance gameday fun with live, real-world AR experiences, sponsored by SoFi, digital personal finance company and SoFi Stadium naming rights partner. First launched in August with the Minnesota Twins, ARound expanded its platform to include in-venue broadcast integration as well as an at-home AR experience.
ARound, part of the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, uses 3D spatial computing to localize content to individual users throughout the venue, enabling SoFi Stadium’s 70,000 attendees to see the same real-time 3D effects and participate in the same shared experiences. Using the ARound Stadium app, fans point their smartphone at the field to open up a universe of AR effects, interacting with the physical venue and fellow fans in real time. ARound and the Rams have taken shared AR several steps further through new fan experiences custom to the Rams and to the NFL:
- Infinity Screen AR: Fans can view effects like “Rampede” and “Make Noise” come to life on the Rams’ state-of-the-art 70,000-sq. foot videoboard, The Infinity Screen, with AR experiences incorporated into the gameday production in real time, such as when a touchdown is scored or when the team takes the field.
- Players in 3D: Key player callouts including Aaron Donald, Bobby Wagner, Cooper Kupp, Jalen Ramsey, Matt Gay, and Matthew Stafford are featured through special effects, making their personalities larger than life.
- The Best Seat in the House, At-Home AR Experience: Fans can join the gameday festivities and contests through a life-size virtual stadium experience from their homes, mirroring what’s happening during the game at SoFi Stadium.
- SoFi: Official ARound Sponsor: Opening the door to this new, connected marketing medium, digital personal finance company and SoFi Stadium naming rights partner SoFi has signed on as ARound’s first platform partner with stadium-wide AR games, contests, effects, and a remote experience amplifying the energy and excitement of Rams gamedays and the SoFi brand.
“We are thrilled to team with ARound and SoFi to incorporate AR into gamedays at the Rams House in unprecedented ways,” said Marissa Daly, VP & GM, Los Angeles Rams Studios. “This experience is a continuation of the game-changing ways we’ve partnered with SoFi at SoFi Stadium and across Los Angeles to elevate the fan experience on gamedays and beyond.”
“Fans come to the stadium to feel closer to the game, to the players, and to other fans. We developed ARound to enhance those feelings through highly immersive and interactive AR experiences that complement the action on the field,” said Josh Beatty, founder and CEO, ARound. “And with products like Apple and Google AR Glasses already in development we’re excited to open up the living room to blended TV experiences we know are the future of broadcast entertainment.”
“At SoFi, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of innovation to create seamless experiences for our members, all while fulfilling our mission of helping our members achieve financial independence,” said Lauren Stafford Webb, CMO, SoFi. “We are proud to sponsor ARound’s first-of-its-kind technology for Los Angeles Rams fans at the iconic SoFi Stadium to make their experience even more spectacular.”
Journalists interested in covering the Rams launch can access the press kit here.
About ARound
ARound is a first-of-its-kind stadium-level shared augmented reality platform and is part of the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, a proprietary suite of SaaS and DaaS solutions build for the modern marketer. ARound keeps audiences engaged by capturing their attention through immersive, interactive and shared experiences with fellow fans across the venue. Where other AR products offer isolating, singular experiences, ARound’s massive multi-user AR – which uses 3D spatial computing to localize content – redefines what it means to be part of a connected fan experience. It was the winner of Stagwell’s annual innovation competition which invests in new product ideas proposed by the network’s 13,000+ employees. ARound and the Stagwell Marketing Cloud are a part of Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network build to transform marketing.
About Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams – Los Angeles’ original professional sports team and Super Bowl LVI Champions – stand as one of the oldest franchises in the National Football League and since its founding in 1937, have garnered four World Championships and sent 30 of its members to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As a professional sports team, the organization is committed to be a valuable civic partner and serving the greater Los Angeles area 365 days a year. The Rams play their home games at SoFi Stadium, which is located at Hollywood Park, a 298-acre sports and entertainment destination being developed by Los Angeles Rams Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke in Inglewood, CA.
About SoFi
SoFi helps people achieve financial independence to realize their ambitions. Our products for borrowing, saving, spending, investing and protecting give our over four million members fast access to tools to get their money right. SoFi membership comes with the key essentials for getting ahead, including career advisors and connection to a thriving community of ambitious people. SoFi is also the naming rights partner of SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams. For more information, visit SoFi.com or download our iOS and Android apps.
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By
By: Adrienne Adair, SVP, Creative,
MMI Agency
Originally Released in
MediaPost
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Creating content at a pace that continues to grow in response to consumers’ appetites can feel daunting. That each creative asset further needs to grab the audience’s attention in the first three seconds, and bears the responsibility of resonating with that consumer and garnering a like, click or sale, only adds to the challenge.
Continually optimizing performance is the key to a successful and diverse content strategy, and that requires a carefully orchestrated flights of assets to launch, test and learn to immediately develop the next round. The cadence of those assets must be constant and unwavering: assets that vary by message and by imagery. Static assets. Animated assets. Influencer’s assets. Now, multiply those assets by the number of unique audiences.
Given these challenges, how do we preserve the ability to curate original work without blowing the budget in the time it takes to produce it? AI can put invaluable time back in the hands of creatives by using features that allow designers to crowd-share a project in real time to finish a layout in far less time than had been possible.

Web and mobile apps are available to create content quickly through customizable templates and access to thousands of fonts. They can even intuitively reflow your layout from one size to multiple formats with a single click and allow you to publish the content to your social channels directly from the app. AI can be used to analyze and extrapolate an image from simple to complex backgrounds more quickly than with the original image selection tools, enabling designers to composite multiple images in one layout at breakneck speed.
There are also innovations still in development that promise to speed up the work of designers such as AI’s predictive technology that can uncrop portraits, not only showing a cropped subject in full frame, but also giving designers the ability to change the wardrobe or the surrounding background — all with a few clicks.
Want to create a motion video from a static photo? AI can analyze the motion from a selected source video and apply it to a static photo, allowing designers to make stationary subjects dance. Another such innovation on the horizonwill allow easy creation of packaging mocks that apply 2D design elements to 3D packaging composites, reducing an hours-long exercise to just minutes with a single click.
Why should brands be interested in how AI has enhanced these tools of the trade? Because time = money. If the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, the path from imagination to realization on behalf of your brand is more direct than ever.
With these tools, tasks that once took four hours might take as little as 40 minutes. From pandemic repercussions to supply chain limitations to inflation, brands are challenged to make the same level of impact in the market with more conservative budgets. The time saved in production allows more time for creativity and more time to produce a greater number of the most impactful assets to amplify your brand’s presence and maximize performance.
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The UPS Store, the world’s largest retail franchisor, has partnered with full-service advertising agency Doner and Facebook’s Spark AR Studio to launch an out-of-this-world AR adventure featuring the Moon. The campaign, ‘Moon AR Ad-Venture,’ allows users to experience the many services offered by The UPS Store in new, fun, and engaging ways. Using AR, customers can shred the moon’s surface, send copies into orbit, use a planet-sized stamp, bubble-cushion with booster rockets, and pack and ship across the universe. Plus, users can place the moon in the palm of their hand – or in their living room.
One of the most robust applications ever seen on Facebook’s Spark AR platform, this AR experience pushes boundaries by using six different 3D models to develop five animations, all while maintaining high, photo-real quality of assets. As mentioned above, the campaign launches today. It will run for four weeks nationally across social media channels, specifically Facebook and Instagram. Doner and The UPS Store have enjoyed over two decades of collaboration, with this campaign marking a first for the partnership through its innovative usage of AR.
David DeMuth, CEO, Doner: “We’re always looking for new, engaging and interactive ways to dimensionalise our clients’ brands and this AR experience is a great example of that,” said David DeMuth, CEO of Doner. “For The UPS Store, we’re excited to use this technology to help bring the brand story to life in an interactive and memorable way.”
Michelle Van Slyke, SVP, Marketing and Sales, The UPS Store: “This effort moves beyond mere observation in advertising, delivering a multifaceted, interactive experience that engages people,” said Michelle Van Slyke, SVP, Marketing and Sales, at The UPS Store.
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By
Connie Lin,
Fast Company
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Nigeria sits at Africa’s heart: Geographically, it’s nestled middle-left of the curve in the kidney bean-shaped land mass, and its economy boasts the highest GDP on the continent (nearing $450 billion in 2021). The pulse of the country beats with the pace of rapid transformation. It harbors the world’s sixth-largest population, which is also among the fastest growing, projected to surpass the United States by 2050.
It’s a country of strivers, on the verge of reinventing itself—and it has fluxed socially and culturally in recent years. But one constant anchor is the promise of the internet in delivering a better future, reveals a new report from the National Research Group (NRG), a division of global marketing firm Stagwell.
Over the summer, NRG partnered with a media agency based in Lagos, the country’s largest city, to dive deep into the Nigeria’s shifting landscape—one that, despite its position at the heart of Africa, is still a mystery to much of the Western world (if not to the East—where it has caught the eye of economic powerhouses like China, which has poured millions into Nigerian infrastructure to cement strategic trade partnerships).
The report is the first in a series focusing on high-growth emerging markets, and draws from a June-July survey of 5,000 Nigerian consumers, ages 16 to 64, whose responses were interwoven with commentary from academics and industry experts. It sketches the portrait of a country reenergized by young blood, that has lagged on technological development in many ways, but now hopes to leapfrog into the digital race.
NEW DIGITAL NATIVES, CONNECTED BY SMARTPHONES
First and foremost, it notes: Nigeria runs on mobile technology. According to the data, 92% of people in the country own a smartphone, and the device dominates as a mode of entertainment for most. Over half (55%) of all TV shows and movies are watched on smartphones, and the vast majority (83%) of gaming is played on them as well. As NRG’s content and strategy executive Kerri Norton explains to Fast Company, this is partly out of economic necessity. Some Nigerians don’t have other devices for streaming. Laptop ownership is at 70%, and desktop computer ownership is significantly lower at 16%. Less than 30% own tablets or smart TVs, and only 15% own gaming consoles.

But beyond that, mobile is a godsend for Nigerians living with the state’s still relatively poor electricity infrastructure, says Samuel Odusami of SBI Media, the Nigeria-based agency that served as NRG’s local partner on the ground. “Because [Nigerians] don’t have access to uninterrupted power 24/7, mobile technology has become their savior,” says Odusami, adding that power-bank businesses have boomed in Nigeria, helping many stay wired to the internet for longer, on the road or at home, when the grid is down.
Consequently, the often-slow speed of internet is viewed as the biggest tech problem in the market, one that many hope the 5G revolution will solve. Nearly 70% of those surveyed are aware of the impending 5G rollout, and 81% of Nigerians believe it will “transform my country for the better.” In rural and low-income communities, where internet connections are spottiest, many believe 5G offers a chance to “catch up,” as faster streaming translates into more business productivity, the report notes.
“It’s a democratization of access across all socioeconomic classes,” says Anas Ghazi, Stagwell’s chief strategy officer. “It’s allowed for an entrepreneur mindset, as Nigeria [pursues] its largest revenue generation in the next five years.”
THE SKITMAKER HUSTLE
That entrepreneurial spirit of capitalism and “hustle culture” has long reigned in Nigeria, even as unemployment rates increased and the economy struggled. But now, it’s being supercharged by Nigeria’s largest population of youth in the world—skewing the country’s median age to just 18 years old—who have seized upon the internet as a way out of the well. “It’s a window of opportunity for young people,” says Odusami, who cites a rising generation of so-called skitmakers as proof.
Nigerian skitmakers create social media content, but they do it without the popular influencer luxuries—studios to shoot videos, or pricy tools for animation—choosing to invest only in a high-end smartphone, perhaps an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy, to stitch together content for YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms.
The goal is to go viral, and many have flocked to try. The country now has a nest of creators numbering in the thousands—including some with millions of views, says Odusami—who have used their success as a springboard to start full-fledged production companies, even in the mainstream movie industry. Collectively, skitmaker startups employ close to 5,200 people, he says. Among the most prominent is Mr Macaroni, who broke through with YouTube comedy and now tours the world promoting Nigerian issues.
For those who don’t strike it big, skitmaking might be just one of many enterprises. “Even people with 9 to 5 jobs have what we call ‘side hustles,’” says Odusami. “In Nigeria, you can’t [support] a family without multiple streams of income.” They might start blogs or YouTube channels, or they might start a business that has nothing to do with social media—but the internet remains a through line. Learning to code, or leveraging e-commerce to sell Nigerian cuisine in foreign countries, are among the examples he cites.
But despite the hustle, Nigerians still feel “behind” on tech development, NRG’s report finds. Only one in three survey respondents said their country was currently “very innovative,” compared to over half of respondents in India, which served as a pseudo-control group for the study.
According to Odusami, Nigerians hope the grind can help bridge the gap. “They are hungry to feed themselves,” he says. “Hungry to make a name, hungry to become financially independent.”

CRYPTO UNLOCKED
As businesses grew, Nigerians needed a way to accept payments globally—something that wasn’t possible with PayPal, Google Pay, or other legacy platforms. That ignited a boom in enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, one that has dwarfed awareness of crypto in the United States. In Nigeria, 90% responded that they were aware and knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies, while 71% said the same for the blockchain and 59% for NFTs. (In a November 2021 Pew Research report, only 24% of Americans said they had heard “a lot” about crypto.)
“Now you have businesses who accept payments in crypto, in stablecoins like USDC and Binance Coin,” says Odusami. But even as people began to adopt crypto for everyday goods like groceries and taxi rides, the Nigerian government’s central bank in 2021 began to restrict Bitcoin services in the country. According to a recent joint report from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations, the crackdown crippled “millions of young Nigerians” who were making money from crypto trading. However, the report also suggested that some found a way to “lawfully bypass these restrictions and continue the business.” The same month, crypto exchange KuCoin reported that 33 million Nigerians had owned or traded crypto in the last half year.
According to Odusami, 20 to 30 global crypto exchanges have a presence in Nigeria and are actively targeting Nigerian customers—including Binance, which is a client of SBI Media in five African countries.
Meanwhile, the hustle has moved onto the blockchain. Odusami cites the story of a Nigerian man who created his own NFT project from photos of drummers at a traditional Nigerian wedding ceremony—a cultural rite beloved not just in dance, but also as a musical retelling of the betrotheds’ mothers and fathers through the years. The man made a killing—and returned to the ceremonial village to give the drummers 70% of the proceeds.
BIG TECH’S SWAY
According to the survey, Silicon Valley Big Tech companies (including social media) wield tremendous influence in Nigeria, with their command of the culture second only to religious institutions. It tops that of colleges and universities, as well as the government, and both Hollywood and Nollywood.

It’s perhaps no surprise that giants of crypto and social media—which have speckled reputations in the States—are viewed much more positively in Nigeria, because, as Norton explains, the impact of both technologies within the country has been overwhelmingly positive. It offers freedom of entrepreneurship and liberation from circumstances, a lifeline that keeps Nigerians afloat, and working, and connecting with the rest of the world. It might even have the power to combat corrupt governments and state overreach.
But Nigeria is young, and it will still have to fight for its place in a competitive world. “Nigeria is on the map to grow significantly over the next 10, 15, even 5 years,” says Norton. “They want to be where the future is.”
So, it hustles on.
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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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NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing, announced its second-annual sponsorship of Advertising Week New York, the world’s largest annual gathering of marketing, media, and technology leaders. Stagwell will host two panels on the Advertising Week New York stage, sharing insider insights into the implications for brands of the explosion of political media spending and fresh insights from a new global survey on brand fandom.
The panels will feature experts from Stagwell’s flagship omnichannel media agency Assembly and leading technology, content, and culture insights firm National Research Group (NRG):
- Buzz & Devotion: The Fan Economy That Makes the Niche Mainstream in Today’s Culture – Monday 10/17 @ 1:15p: Fan culture has a powerful impact on a brand’s ascension into relevance, power and popularity. Informed by new, original research, we will bring brand experts from McDonald’s together with NRG to explore the pathways for brands to successfully build and activate a fan community. Insights from NRG’s latest thought leadership research will combine with lessons learned from the birthplace of fandom — sports and entertainment — to unlock powerful insights that help brands connect and grow their most devout and influential customers.
- Talk Politics to Me: Why Every Brand Today Needs a Dose of Political Know-How– Thursday 10/20 @ 1:15p: Political is THE media story of Q4 2022, and it’s never been a more critical time for all advertisers to know the rules of the game. Join Assembly, a global omnichannel media agency – with an only-of-its-kind full-service political strategy and media practice – and experts from Lyft and SambaTV for a discussion on the path forward for brands in a politically charged media environment and the convergence of political, advocacy, and commercial advertising.
Also at Advertising Week New York:
In addition to staged programming, Stagwell is proud to partner with Brand Innovators to deliver access to intimate thought leadership with leading CMOs and agency experts. Sign up to follow along with insights and other content from Advertising Week New York.
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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NEW YORK – Sept. 29, 2022 – Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing, hired Mansoor Basha as chief technology officer (CTO) of the Stagwell Marketing Cloud (SMC). Joining from the Applied Intelligence Practice at Accenture, Mansoor will be responsible for the technology roadmap, data strategy and cloud portfolio integration across the SMC, Stagwell’s proprietary suite of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and data-as-a-service (DaaS) products built for in-house marketers.
Mansoor brings more than 20 years of experience across product development, management and marketing, engineering, and new business development. While at Accenture, he was responsible for strategy and consulting, data-led transformation, cloud analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning-based use cases, and scenario analysis for several Fortune 500 companies.
“Every company is now a digital marketing company but most lack the resources to develop the tools they need to actually engage in modern marketing,” said Mark Penn, chairman and CEO, Stagwell. “With Mansoor’s deep background in both building and marketing innovative tech solutions, the Stagwell Marketing Cloud is well positioned to build a digital marketing infrastructure that any CMO, at any company, can take advantage of.”
“I’ve spent my career blending business strategy and technical acumen to bring transformative products to market – the very same special combination that attracted me to Stagwell and the Marketing Cloud,” said Mansoor Basha, CTO, Stagwell Marketing Cloud. “From the acquisition of Apollo Program to boost its first-party data infrastructure, to the recent launch of the first shared augmented reality experience in a live event setting with ARound and the Minnesota Twins, it’s clear that Stagwell takes a thoughtful, strategic approach to building the SMC, paving the way for organizations to deliver marketing innovation at whatever scale they need.”
Mansoor also currently serves as an investment advisor to 11.2 Ventures and Purple Arch Ventures, as well as an adjunct faculty member teaching digital marketing at New York University. He will join Chief Product Officer Abe Geiger, Chief Marketing Officer Elspeth Rollert and Managing Director Matthew Lochner on the SMC leadership team.
The Stagwell Marketing Cloud is a proprietary suite of SaaS and DaaS tools built for the in-house marketer, spanning capabilities such as brand intelligence to media activation and influencer management. Products within the cloud include ARound, a first-of-its-kind stadium-level shared augmented reality platform; PRophet , a predictive AI platform for PR professionals; Koalifyed, an end-to-end influencer management platform; the Harris Brand Platform, delivering competitive brand intelligence; and more.
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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