Stagwell’s Future of News Initiative

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.