By

Kendra Clark
The Drum

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

The global network is bringing together financial experts and political strategists from both sides of the aisle to help brands nail their messaging on oft-controversial topics.

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

In partnership with Ragan Communications, PRophet Founder & CEO Aaron Kwittken speaks with a panel of experts to discuss the new technologies that promise to help PR practitioners demonstrate performance using real-time data instead of relying on gut instinct, relationships or a “great story idea”. Panel includes Aaron Bernstein (Head of Market and Competitor Intelligence: Enterprise Strategy – Walmart), Ben Choder (former President of Notified and author), and Nick Loui (Co-Founder & CEO of PeakMetrics).

Public relations has historically been a relationship-based business. The relationship between a PR practitioner and a journalist or media outlet was special and sacrosanct. This relationship, along with a great story idea, is what used to drive earned media performance. Yet, as newsrooms contract, more and more journalists are becoming freelancers and free agents. And stories are less driven by great narrative or through media relationships and more often driven by search with reporters being compensated on clicks, likes, and shares alongside affiliate marketing partnerships. How can AI, machine learning, and natural language processing help the PR and media relations industry modernize the pitch process?

Originally released on

CONTACT:

Adam Wise
KWT Global
awise@kwtglobal.com

Study Reports 9 in 10 PR Professionals Say AI Will Free Them Up for Higher Value Tasks

NEW YORK (Sept. 13, 2022) – The vast majority of public relations (PR) professionals (94%) want to be a part of changing the future of their field, with over nine in 10 (92%) believing AI has the potential to transform the way PR is conducted, according to new research commissioned by Stagwell’s (NASDAQ: STGW) PRophet, the first-ever AI-driven PR pitch platform built by and for PR professionals that predicts media interest and sentiment. 

The study, which was conducted online by The Harris Poll this summer, also part of the Stagwell network, asked PR professionals to identify and assess modern-day challenges in public relations such as lagging technology investment and maintaining relationships with journalists, while considering the efficiencies AI can offer to become more productive and performative in their roles. Ninety percent of respondents said they believe AI will make it possible for them to spend more time on higher value tasks. The survey also asked PR professionals to identify common hurdles they face when seeking earned media coverage from journalists as well as their views on data privacy in PR. 

Key insights from the PRophet/Harris Poll research include:

• 92% of PR professionals say they believe AI is worth exploring.
• 89% of PR pros say personal relationships with journalists are more important than ever, yet 53% declared they feel like they do not have the capacity to maintain these connections.
• 72% say they rely more on their gut than they should have to when pitching content.
• 84% shared that data privacy is a concern when sharing pitch materials with a PR tech platform.

“Countless industries around the world are already reaping the vast benefits AI can provide to improve how they do business, so why not public relations?” said Aaron Kwittken, founder and CEO of PRophet. “Our research with The Harris Poll shines a light on the large appetite brand teams and agencies alike have to leverage AI in ways that not only save them time and money, but allow them to better source and target the right journalists at the right time with the right story.”

The survey also asked respondents to share what they rely on to help improve their pitches. The majority reported relying on experience (75%), established relationships with journalists (66%), or research conducted by a fellow team member (63%). Fifty-four percent said they rely on a PR tech platform to support their pitches, and nearly half (47%) feel they have no true strategy at all when writing pitches.

“Today’s research from PRophet and The Harris Poll shows that earned media professionals are open and ready for AI to play a critical role in the future of their work. They recognize that technology can be complementary to their skills and gives them space to focus on what matters,” said Erica Parker, managing director of the Media Communications Research Practice at The Harris Poll.

Learn more about the findings of this report and access the entire executive summary by clicking here.

Agency and brand representatives interested in taking advantage of AI and learning how PRophet can dramatically improve performance of their media relations efforts, can reach out to sales@prprophet.ai to learn about monthly and annual subscription options and to request a demo. For more information on PRophet, visit www.prprophet.ai.

Survey Method

This survey was conducted online primarily in the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of PRophet from June 17 to July 11, 2022, among 127 public relations professionals. Respondents were recruited from research panels, an open web survey link posted on PR-related social media, and a list of PR professionals provided by PRophet. Raw data were not weighted and are therefore only representative of the individuals who completed the survey.

The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within ±8.6 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, please contact awise@kwtglobal.com.

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 is a flagship product within the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, a proprietary suite of SaaS and DaaS tools built for the in-house marketer, spanning campaign ideation to activation and analysis. PRophet was founded by PR and marketing industry thought leader and entrepreneur Aaron Kwittken in 2020 with backing from political strategist, technologist and author Mark Penn, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Stagwell. To learn more, visit prprophet.ai.

About The Harris Poll
The Harris Poll is one of the longest-running surveys in the U.S., tracking public opinion, motivations, and social sentiment since 1963. The Media Communications Research Practice supports the full scope of clients’ data-driven communications strategy, including paid, earned, social and owned media. Whether the goal is to own and tell their own story through thought leadership research, to measure what the public thinks or knows through public opinion polling, or to influence the policy and legislative agenda by taking a public affairs lens, our consultants guide the research and analysis process, from discovering a unique space a client can own through supporting the full range of outreach activities.

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.

###

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

A Blueprint for Creating Equitable Communities

Colle McVoy

VOTE HERE.

The urgency to create equitable communities where all people thrive continues, but most solutions have been slow to bring change. Especially in Minneapolis, which has one of the largest racial wealth gaps in the nation. But a pioneering movement in the city is building a vibrant community that supports business development, celebrates culture and nurtures belonging so Black people can thrive. Hear how this unique approach, fueled by creative, corporate and civic partners, is expected to transform Minneapolis’ reputation while providing a powerful blueprint for change across the country.

The Future of Deaf Representation in Entertainment 

National Research Group

VOTE HERE.

The popularity of the film “CODA” sparked a new conversation about representation of the Deaf community in entertainment – authenticity on screen, inclusivity among writers, producers, and actors, and accessibility within the industry at large. Deaf West Theatre, the most prominent nonprofit organization focusing on Deaf-centered storytelling, has partnered with National Research Group, a global insights and strategy firm, to find out how those in the Deaf community really feel about the current state of representation and accessibility in entertainment. This session will highlight findings from an in-depth research study; feature video from a roundtable of prominent Deaf actors, directors, writers, and more; and provide insights on how to move forward to build a more inclusive industry.

Snoop, Martha, and the New Blend of Wine Consumers 

Observatory

VOTE HERE.

Wine has a reputation for needing a mature palate to fully appreciate. But why, with older millennials turning 40, is wine’s popularity continuing to decline? How does the wine industry compete with spirits, craft beer and hard seltzers to reach a diverse and younger (over 21) audience? By partnering with pop culture icons Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart and leaning into trendier blends, 19 Crimes has reinvented the wine industry’s appeal to younger consumers. Snoop’s Cali Red achieved the number one single selling wine in pacesetter history and is bringing new consumers at an unparalleled rate. Join 19 Crimes, Observatory, and Snoop Dogg’s agent, Nick Adler, as they discuss how to attract new consumers despite radically changing consumers attitudes toward alcohol preferences.

Chief Digital Officers Transforming Health Care

YML

VOTE HERE.

Chief Digital Officers are responsible for increasing their team’s speed and agility, making an impact quickly, and shipping products more frequently. Does any of that scream health care to you? Well — maybe not historically, but this new crop of CDOs are changing the game. Hear from Rita Khan, CDO at Mayo Clinic, Prat Vemana, CDO at Kaiser Permanente, and Chris Waugh, Chief Innovation Officer at Sutter Health — all of whom are building the digital health experiences of more than 25M Americans. Interviewed by Ashish Toshniwal, Founder and CEO at YML, hear how these CDOs are shaping the future of patient-first experiences using cutting edge technology, design and product strategy.

72andSunny

VOTE HERE.

We’re in the midst of a ‘movement moment,’ a period of rapid change punctuated by incredible hardships and economic, social and political instability. All of this can take a serious toll on employee well-being and presents organizations with a host of challenges that have no easy solution. Join agency EDI Leaders as they discuss how they’ve responded to the crises we all face and how they’ve found ways to support employees through these polarizing times.

VOTE HERE.

The standard for professionalism has been dictated by a singular perspective for decades, so it’s no surprise that agencies and brands alike are struggling to evolve the corporate culture to suit a more diverse, inclusive workforce. Join us as we discuss where companies are falling short on their DEI promises and how we can rebuild the workplace of the future.

Originally released on

NEW YORK, (August 16, 2022) – Stagwell’s (NASDAQ: STGW) PRophet, the first-ever AI-driven PR pitch platform built by and for PR professionals that predicts media interest and sentiment before you pitch, today announced the hiring of Charlie Tulip as Enterprise Account Executive and Kendra Lewellyn as the company’s Digital Marketing Manager, both moves that seek to further meet customer demand for the  growing AI platform.

Tulip, PRophet’s latest addition to its sales team, brings over 20 years of B2B sales experience. No stranger to the technology space, Tulip has worked with a number of hugely successful, high growth software startups, and will bring his expertise to increase PRophet’s growing number of enterprise customers.

“A rising number of PR execs are seeing and realizing the value AI can bring to a media relations team’s productivity and performance,” said Andrew Meranus, EVP of Sales for PRophet. “Charlie’s addition comes at a perfect time of growth for the PRophet team and of the customers we serve, and I couldn’t be more excited about the future he’ll help us achieve with new enterprise accounts.”

Lewellyn, who comes to PRophet with a decade of digital marketing and design experience, will drive the the company’s global marketing strategy across all of its digital platforms, including LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, SEM, SEO and email campaigns. Additionally, Lewellyn will be a key player in boosting subscriptions to PRophet’s innovative software via its monthly ‘pay-as-you-go’ subscription offering, which makes the platform easily accessible to PR professionals while avoiding long-term payment commitments. Lewellyn joins PRophet after five years as the Digital Marketing Manager at software solutions company Pedigree Technologies. In that role, she led on digital marketing strategy and designed, managed, and maintained the company’s websites, blog SEO/SEM, and PPC advertising programs, while also advancing the company’s social media presence.

“Kendra will be key to driving demand for our monthly users, ultimately landing and expanding them into enterprise customers,” said Aaron Kwittken, PRophet founder and CEO. “Her content creation, digital marketing, design and PR experience make her a perfect for for this role. We’re thrilled to welcome Kendra to our team and eager to collaborate with her.”

In addition, PRophet has hired its first Business Development Representative, Ian Brand. Brand will support PRophet’s overall sales efforts and will advise on business strategy and planning. Before joining PRophet, Brand served as an account manager at Insight Media Labs (IML), a company specializing in digital advertising for local television stations and agencies.

Both agency and brand representatives interested in learning how PRophet can dramatically improve performance of their media relations efforts, can contact PRophet at sales@prprophet.ai to learn about subscription options and to request a demo. For more information on PRophet, visit www.prprophet.ai.

About PRophet

PRophet is the first-ever A.I.-driven data-as-a-service (DaaS) platform designed by and for the PR community that samples past stories to better predict future media interest, sentiment, and spread through natural language processing and machine learning. PRophet is a product within the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, a proprietary suite of SaaS and DaaS tools built for the in-house marketer, spanning campaign ideation to activation and analysis. PRophet is owned by Stagwell, and was founded by marketing industry thought leader and entrepreneur Aaron Kwittken alongside former political strategist, technologist, and author Mark Penn, Chairman and CEO of Stagwell. To learn more, visit prprophet.ai.

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

awise@kwtglobal.com

Originally released on

Stagwell Celebrates a Successful Year Post-Merger Driven by Digital Services, Top Talent, Strategic Investments and Global Expansion

NEW YORK, 08/02/2022  — One year ago today, Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW) launched as the challenger network built to transform marketing. Led by longtime pollster, political strategist, businessman, and author Mark Penn, who serves as chairman and CEO, Stagwell has grown exponentially in the last year, outpacing global advertising giants in full-year 2021 performance.

“On Stagwell’s first birthday, I can point to a year of spectacular results and incredible collaboration,” said Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn. “Our combination of talent and technology is working. Thanks to our clients, talent, and partners who share in this philosophy, we’ve had a great first year, and we’re ideally poised for another year of transformative work. We can’t wait for year two.”

A key component of Stagwell’s first year has been focusing on a high-growth mix of digital services that align the company to the fastest-growing segments of the digital marketing economy, including digital transformation, global performance media, connected commerce, augmented reality, and more. Fifty-six percent of Stagwell’s revenue by the end of Q1 2022 came from digital capabilities. As outlined in Stagwell’s 2022 Annual Report, four pillars are driving the network’s performance: 

• Strategic M&A is fundamentally growing Stagwell’s portfolio to evolve alongside the fastest growing segments of the new economy. To date, acquisitions include digital brand and experience innovation company Instrument; London-based media agency Goodstuff; Warsaw-based e-commerce solutions provider Brand New Galaxy; and Kyiv-based omnichannel content production company PEP Group, which joined Locaria, Stagwell’s multilingual content agency.
• SaaS and DaaS product development investments are providing new revenue from organizations doubling down on in-house marketing – once seen as a threat to global marketing networks. The Stagwell Marketing Cloud (SMC) arms the in-house marketer with tools that assist campaigns from ideation to activation. To date, these tools include solutions spanning augmented reality, influencer marketing, artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted press outreach, and more. The SMC’s first acquisition, Apollo Program, an AI-powered SaaS platform for uncovering consumer, creative and contextual insights, further enhances Stagwell’s first-party data infrastructure.
• The Global Affiliate Network of over 50 partners is enabling Stagwell to capture footprint across key growth regions. With agencies in the UK, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM complementing existing media and scaled content capabilities, Stagwell has been able to deliver the full spectrum of marketing services to global brands and capture business from legacy giants regardless of region. 
• Integrated Services and cross-network collaboration are fueling more “transformative” $10M+ assignments, including Stagwell global performance agency Assembly’s win of Lenovo’s North American, EMEA, and Latin America media AOR.

Join Stagwell in celebrating its first birthday by visiting the company’s LinkedIn. 

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 12,000+ 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.

Contact: 
Beth Sidhu
pr@stagwellglobal.com

SOURCE Stagwell Inc.

Originally released on

CONTACT

Beth Sidhu
pr@stagwellglobal.com
202-423-4414

New Partnership Gives Harris Poll Clients Access to PRophet’s AI-Driven PR Software to Inform Survey Design and Maximize Press Coverage of Research Results

NEW YORK – June 15, 2022 – 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 leading global market research and consulting firm, The Harris Poll, that will maximize results for Harris clients and provide access to PRophet’s innovative platform. Both firms sit within Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing.

Through this partnership, Harris Poll clients will receive access to the innovative PRophet software platform to test the “mediability” of their research before conducting survey field work, to confirm the data they seek will in fact be of interest to journalists. Upon survey completion, Harris clients can then use PRophet’s machine learning and natural language processing technology to test the news angle of their poll to identify the journalists most likely to cover their story and predict how positively they’d write about the results.

“For nearly two years, PRophet’s focus has remained exclusively on improving the earned media performance of PR professionals. We do this by making teams smarter and more performative, slashing countless hours that brands and agency teams spend on mindless tasks such as media list building and patchwork PR pitch guessing games,” said Aaron Kwittken, founder and CEO, PRophet. “We are thrilled to now bring our predictive technology to support the construction and execution of the critical research completed by those same brands and agencies in conjunction with the highly acclaimed, global research leader, The Harris Poll.”

Clients of The Harris Poll will receive and maintain access to the PRophet platform through completion of the marketing efforts around the poll’s results.  Clients will then have the option to extend their access to the platform via PRophet’s monthly pay-as-you-go subscription or through an enterprise subscription available to brands and agencies.

“PRophet is a first-class PR performance platform that will help our clients optimize the design of their thought leadership surveys and improve internal media strategies that lead to even greater performance of their PR campaigns,” said Erica Parker, Managing Director of the Media Communications Research Practice at The Harris Poll. “Journalist interest will always be an essential part of every thought leadership project, as it bridges the critical gap between content owner and visibility among critical stakeholders, including the public. Our partnership with PRophet will lead to even more compelling surveys for our clients while helping them perfect their media outreach.”

PRophet is part of the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, a suite of technology products that support in-house marketing transformation for modern businesses. To learn more about PRophet, please visit www.prprophet.ai or email sales@prprophet.ai to schedule a demo. Learn how Harris’ Media Communications Research Practice can help you own and tell your story in our constantly evolving media landscape at theharrispoll.com/solutions/harris-custom-research. For more information on the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, reach out to hello@stagwellglobal.com.

About PRophet

PRophet is the first-ever A.I.-driven data-as-a-service (DaaS) platform designed by and for the PR community. The platform helps earned media professionals use data to land more media placements by analyzing past stories to predict future media interest and sentiment using natural language processing and machine learning. Founded by PR and marketing industry thought leader and entrepreneur Aaron Kwittken, and launched in 2020, PRophet is part the Stagwell Marketing Cloud. It’s available to agencies, brands and individuals through an enterprise license or a monthly pay-as-you-go plan. To learn more, visit prprophet.ai.

About The Harris Poll

The Harris Poll is one of the longest-running surveys in the U.S., tracking public opinion, motivations, and social sentiment since 1963. The Media Communications Research Practice supports the full scope of clients’ data-driven communications strategy, including paid, earned, social and owned media. Whether the goal is to own and tell their own story through thought leadership research, to measure what the public thinks or knows through public opinion polling, or to influence the policy and legislative agenda by taking a public affairs lens, our consultants guide the research and analysis process, from discovering a unique space a client can own through supporting the full range of outreach activities.

About Stagwell Inc.
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 12,000+ 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

Barbara Laidlaw
Partner, Global Risk, Reputation + Public Affairs
Allison+Partners

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

When an organization begins to expand globally, it often faces a new set of challenges that could mean adjusting current strategies that have yielded success on the domestic front. Economic, regulatory and operational factors are just some of the many considerations nascent global businesses must address to succeed on the international stage.

A less tangible but imperative concern is the organization’s reputation and how it will scale along with other elements of the business. Reputation takes years to build and only minutes to tarnish, making it one of the most precarious factors at play during expansion. Therefore, before pursuing an ambitious global footprint, businesses should consider how reputation management coexists with the following:

• Cultural & regional differences: Global expansion will require the ability to adjust some aspects of how a business operates to meet the standard of wherever the expansion takes place. Consider how different factors, such as language barriers, lifestyle, cultural history, education and politics, impact business objectives from employees’ and customers’ perspectives. By developing a strong understanding of these components and how they may factor into the business’s reputation, an organization will be positioned well to avoid pitfalls and preempt potential damage from related issues.
• Regulatory & political issues: Establishing an intimate understanding of how relevant political issues may affect the business is critical to avoid becoming trapped in them. Tapping into the expertise of third-party consultants and internal personnel within the region are just two ways a company can ensure it operates with the correct understanding of the political landscape. Strict regulatory compliance is another area in which businesses should invest resources to insulate themselves from running afoul of regulations or laws they may not have considered otherwise.
• Social impact & ESG: As organizations expand globally, they will inevitably increase their global footprint and their environmental and societal one. Depending on the nature of the business, there could be additional social considerations to account for, such as human rights or political turmoil. Today, enterprises prioritize their societal impact more than ever. To continue to thrive, global organizations must navigate the complexities that come with the recent rise in investor and consumer activism.
• Core values: As is true with any period of growth within an organization, maintaining core values is one of the most prominent challenges a business must contend with. This is only magnified when the company begins to expand globally. Upholding core values is essential to brand reputation and should be a priority item when considering further expansion. Emphasizing the importance of quality onboarding procedures, internal initiatives and other team-focused programs are ways a business can maintain its values as it grows.
• Communications infrastructure: Ultimately, scaling communications capacity and capabilities to match company growth will provide a business with the fundamental infrastructure it needs to preempt potentially damaging issues and effectively react to them when they occur. Through regular assessments of an organization’s communications capabilities, the business can proactively address weak spots and build on areas of strength, resulting in a more robust global communications program that underpins every core function of the business itself.

Navigating the reputational complexities of a global business is a challenge. While organizations should always remain prepared to tackle known sources of risk to their reputation, there will always be unpredictable events or incidents that present additional risks. Environmental disasters, wars, political turmoil, supply chain challenges and regulatory issues are just some of the many hurdles businesses need to contend with and overcome regularly.

Ultimately, the most effective way to mitigate the potential fallout from known and unknown risks is to continually ensure the organization is operationally resilient and maintains a robust communications infrastructure that it can leverage before, during and after an adverse event.

Barbara Laidlaw brings 25 years of experience developing and running programs that help companies prepare, protect and defend their brand reputations through global and national events, recalls, litigation, data breaches, regulatory issues and labor disputes.

By

Stagwell Insights

CONTACT

hello@stagwellglobal.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR INSIGHTS BLASTS

Today’s businesses have more reputational capital than ever before. When reputation is managed, it has the potential to add business value and mitigate risks. Stagwell annually produces the Reputation Quotient, the industry’s leading barometer of American corporate reputation, in partnership with Axios and The Harris Poll to uncover insights which brands are gaining or losing reputational capital – and the expectations of a new generation of reputation-minded consumers.  

The Axios Harris Poll 100 is a trusted ranking of the reputations of the companies most on the minds of Americans using a framework Harris has used since 1999. Download the 22nd Annual Reputation Quotient Study report to view the full rankings and gain additional insights about performance year over year. 

Register to receive our 2022 research – set to release in late May – using this form. Reach out to hello@stagwellglobal.com if you have questions. 

Methodology:  

The Axios Harris Poll 100 is based on a survey of 42,935 Americans in a nationally representative sample. The two-step process starts fresh each year by surveying the public’s top-of-mind awareness of companies that either excel or falter in society. These 100 “most visible companies” are then rated by a second group of Americans across the seven key dimensions of reputation to determine the ranking. If a company is not on the list, it did not reach a critical level of visibility to be measured.