17552: FYI Stagwell Q2 BS.

  

MediaPost reported White holding company Stagwell experienced the biggest Q2 in its history.

“Stagwell was founded as a tech-forward challenger to the legacy players for the vision of providing customers with everything from global full service to platform self-service solutions,” gushed Stagwell CEO Mark Penn, adding the Q2 performance “is validation of these founding principles.”

Sounds like Stagwell adopted the founding principles of all holding companies—except Stagwell is smaller, dumber, and worse than the rest.

Stagwell Q2 Driven By Digital Transformation, Political

By Steve McClellan

Stagwell reported second-quarter net revenue of $632 million, up 6% with organic growth (excluding M&A and currency impact) of 5%. 

The company reported a record $171 million (annualized revenue) in net new business wins for the quarter and $540 million in wins over the last twelve months. Wins in the quarter included IBM, Adobe, Mondelez and Heineken. 

The company reiterated full-year net revenue growth guidance of between 8% and 12% and upgraded its earnings-per-share forecast to between $1.03 and $1.17. It did not provide a net organic revenue growth guidance for the full year.   

“This was the biggest second quarter in the history of the company,” CEO Mark Penn told investors and analysts on an earnings call Thursday morning.  

“Stagwell was founded as a tech forward challenger to the legacy players for the vision of providing customers with everything from global full service to platform self-service solutions,” he added. Performance in Q2 “is validation of these founding principles.” 

The standout performance was delivered by the company’s digital transformation operation (essentially Code And Theory and Instrument), which posted an 18% net organic growth gain for the period. Communications (PR and political consulting) was up 12%.  

Those were the two biggest drivers of growth for the company in Q2. Media and marketing advisory firm Madison & Wall noted that “activity at the rest of the business was much more tame, with Media & Commerce (i.e. Assembly) up 1.0%, The Marketing Cloud (the company’s smallest segment) up 4.1%, and Marketing Services (the largest segment at 37% of net revenue) up just 0.5% organically.” 

M&W noted: “This marks two consecutive quarters of flat growth for Marketing Services, the segment that houses the creative agency networks 72 and Sunny and Anomaly along with Harris Poll and NRG, which is a meaningful deceleration from the 6.6% organic growth in 3Q25.”

By region, the U.S. was up 7% and the U.K. posted a 13% gain.   

Adjusted pre-tax earnings was $109 million in Q2, up 15%, which Penn attributed to “continued focus on cost management.” 

M&W noted that Stagwell did not explicitly disclose political revenues, which likely represented a 2% bump in reported organic revenue. “Consequently, the as-reported 5% organic net revenue growth was likely closer to 3% on a basis that’s comparable to other agency groups — still stronger than most of them, other than Publicis.” 

17397: Will Cindy Rose Consider Moving From CEO To Intern?

 

More About Advertising reported independent advertising agency UltraSuperNew offered an internship to WPP CEO Cindy Rose, thinking she could benefit from the experience since she’s never worked at a White advertising agency.

 

Okay, except Rose’s predecessors hardly qualify as bona fide admen.

 

Prior to launching WPP, Sir Martin Sorrell served as Group Finance Director for Saatchi & Saatchi.

 

Prior to succeeding Sorrell, Mark Read served as Global CEO of Wunderman, a dull direct marketing agency that transitioned into a dull digital agency—before being merged with J. Walter Thompson and finally swallowed by VML.

 

Sorrell abandoned WPP as the global enterprise was financially tanking. Ditto Read.

 

So, the White men preceding Rose arguably leveraged their shaky Adland expertise to orchestrate the White holding company’s downfall.

 

Other holding company CEOs have questionable backgrounds.

 

Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn’s resume includes pollster and political strategist. Penn served as CEO for Burson-Marsteller, a PR firm that WPP is reportedly seeking to dump. Like Rose, he also served as an executive at Microsoft.

 

Havas Chairman and CEO Yannick Bolloré advanced via nepotism.

 

In short, Rose is not more unqualified than any man running a holding company.

 

UltraSuperNew tweaking Rose feels misguided and misogynistic—even though she’ll probably fare worse than the White men who blundered before her.

 

Although Rose’s ultimate failure won’t be a result of her Adland inexperience; but rather, because it’s futile to resuscitate a dead dinosaur.

 

Rose might eventually need a returnship, not an internship.

 

PS: UltraSuperNew has questionable leadership too. An agency born and raised in Harajuku appears to be run by White men and a handful of Japanese executives. In Adland, there’s nothing ultra, super, or new about corporate colonization.

 

Indy agency offers ad newcomer Cindy Rose a helping hand

 

By MAA Staff

 

Independent agency UltraSuperNew has noticed that new WPP CEO Cindy Rose has never actually worked in an ad agency and has offered to help out. (Don’t know why they’re so surprised, these days a working knowledge of — or even fleeting acquaintance with — AI is much more desirable.)

 

Anyway, agency co-founder Marc Wesseling is offering Rose (who spent her career at Disney, Vodafone and, latterly, Microsoft) an internship.

 

He says: “We read about Cindy’s new strategy for WPP with great interest and great sympathy. (She) has had a remarkable career in tech, media and telecommunications. She is clearly a brilliant executive. But we noticed that she has never actually worked inside an advertising agency. Not a big one. Not a small one. Not any one. And we think that might be a problem when you’re running one of the biggest collections of advertising agencies in the world.”

 

Interns at UltraSuperNew are expected to contribute from day one, from making coffee to sitting in on client calls. Sadly, they’re unpaid but with offices in Tokyo, Singapore and Amsterdam there are compensations.

17189: Do The Right-Wing Thing.

Advertising Age reported on responses to Goldilocks—er, Stagwell—being involved with global governmental contracts, including the White holding company’s work for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

In this tale, Goldilocks finds comfort with things being just right—just right-wing, that is.

 

How Stagwell’s work for the Israeli government is bringing Mark Penn’s politics to the fore

 

By Ewan Larkin and Brian Bonilla

 

Concerns over Stagwell’s recent work for the Israeli government led the holding company to postpone a company event due to safety concerns, exposing long-simmering employee worries about Chairman and CEO Mark Penn’s political ties and their impact on company morale.

 

Last week, the Substack newsletter Drop Site reported on a leaked Stagwell deck showing that the holding company had conducted surveys, message testing and focus groups for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aimed at rehabilitating Israel’s image. The deck’s findings quickly drew backlash as they spread on social media, with claims that Stagwell employees were upset over the work, which comes as Israel fights Hamas in a war following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.

 

The situation prompted Stagwell to postpone its annual “Festival of Stagwell” scheduled for today in London. In a statement confirming the postponement, James Townsend, CEO of Stagwell’s Europe, the Middle East and Africa region, said, “The safety of our people and guests is our top priority,” without elaborating. He added: “The environment would not have been conducive to a productive afternoon as originally intended.”

 

A Stagwell spokesperson confirmed the company’s work for the Israeli government, the work was handled by a small Stagwell team and that “our agencies work across the political and issue spectrum.” The spokesperson declined to discuss details of the leaked deck or whether Stagwell would continue to work with the Israeli government.

 

Penn’s politics come under scrutiny

 

The situation shines a light on the elephant that has been lurking in the room since Stagwell merged with MDC in 2021: Penn’s politics. Multiple current and former employees said concerns about the CEO’s public political affiliations—particularly his support for the Trump administration—have simmered inside the company for years. One executive described the Israel work as the “iceberg” that could have a lasting impact on the holding company.

 

Penn has longstanding connections to Israel, dating back to his role as a pollster for Menachem Begin’s 1981 re-election campaign for prime minister. Penn gained notice working on political campaigns—particularly the successful 1996 presidential run for Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton’s failed 2008 run—and has since become a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump’s policies.

 

In an interview, David Sable, vice chair of Stagwell, pushed back against the notion that Penn has political bias. “Mark is one of the most sought-after sources and speakers, particularly because he’s so open and honest in what he says,” Sable said. “He never speaks with a particular political bias, and that’s just nonsense.”

 

While Stagwell employee pushback on the Israeli government work at the moment appears concentrated in Europe, Ad Age has identified three of its U.S. agencies where staffers have sounded an alarm.

 

“There are a lot of young people inside the Stagwell group of companies who are angry,” said one employee of an undisclosed Stagwell agency. “If you are in the agency business these days and you value young creative talent, you do not get involved in the hot geopolitical issues of the day.”

 

Another employee of the holding company professed to be “paralyzed with disgust” after reading the language in the leaked deck. “Everyone’s just at a loss right now,” this person said. “This is really heartbreaking.”

 

Sable said that Penn’s political views do not negatively affect Stagwell, describing the company as an open environment where employees hold diverse political perspectives, which he sees as a strength.

 

“Why would anybody’s political views have an adverse effect on anybody?” Sable said. “Not everybody agrees. Not everybody is in the same place. What a boring place we’d be if we all had the same political view.”

 

Some of Stagwell’s agency leaders report little to no pushback from staff. “Personally, I have no problem with them doing it and have not fielded one question from one employee about it,” said a senior executive at one of Stagwell’s largest agencies.

 

Sable emphasized the lack of dissent: “I have honestly heard no complaints.”

 

Meanwhile, some Stagwell agency staffers, speaking on the condition of anonymity, pointed to incidents they said have affected morale this year, including an interview Penn did with Elon Musk on X, and expressed worries about upcoming work. Stagwell’s polling firm, HarrisX, is set to receive a no-bid contract from the Department of Health and Human Services to survey Americans on their views about vaccines, according to The New York Times. This bid comes at a time when HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is attempting to roll back parts of the nation’s vaccine infrastructure.

 

Even those who have been highly critical of the work Stagwell is currently doing have supported the agency’s response to employees concerned that the holding company CEO’s values do not reflect their own.

 

“There’s been some really great communication after this has happened and the HR teams and the people teams and everyone have responded really quite well, openly, positively, empathetically,” one person at a Stagwell agency said.

 

Despite this first step, “there are still some questions to be answered and ultimately it’s what happens next [that] is the biggest thing, like will they keep doing this work, what else will they kind of work on,” said this person. “Hopefully this will spark change.”

17179: Goldilocks Goes For Global Governmental Propaganda…?

 

Mediapsssst reported Goldilocks—er, Stagwell—has been pursuing government contracts inside and outside the U.S.

 

Hey, every White holding company goes after government contracts—although most seek American mega-contracts like U.S. Army and U.S. Census.

 

Given Stagwell CEO Mark Penn’s background as a pollster, political strategist, and lobbyist, the desire for government contracts is not surprising.

 

But it will be interesting to see how Stagwell leverages non-U.S. government contracts to execute Prime Redlining.

 

Stagwell Ramps Up Effort To Gain Government Contracts

 

By Richard Whitman

 

Earlier this year Stagwell CEO Mark Penn noted on an earnings call that the company would be making a harder push for government contracts, which he believes represent a huge opportunity for the company. 

 

Apparently that push is starting to pay off and it’s not limited to the U.S. government. 

 

A report by Drop Site News indicates that the firm has been hired by the Israeli Ministry Of Foreign Affairs to conduct what the publication called a “sweeping battery of surveys and focus groups, coupled with message-testing,” in a bid to help repair Israel’s tattered image in both the U.S. and Europe.   

 

The country’s image has taken a hit for the way it has conducted military operations in Gaza in the years since Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Some believe Israel’s response has been tantamount to genocide while others feel the country is justified in defending itself aggressively in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack.  

 

The Drop Site News report indicated that the work for Israel is ongoing, but it shared some preliminary findings. Stagwell recommends that Israel amplify messaging that Hamas wants to “destroy all Jews and spread jihadism,” while also promoting Israel’s women’s and gay rights policies.  

 

The report also indicated that Stagwell is poised to win a no-bid contract from the Department of Health & Human Services so that the latter can get a better read on Americans’ views on vaccines. It’s no secret that HHS head Robert F. Kennedy Jr is a vehement critic of vaccines, despite scientific evidence that they often save lives. 

 

Drop Site cited an X post by NBC News’ Jonathan Allen regarding the HHS contract.

According to Allen, Stagwell’s Harris X will do that work. 

 

It wasn’t precisely clear which Stagwell unit was contracted to do the work for Israel.  

 

Stagwell didn’t respond to a request for comment on the Drop Site and Allen reports.

17174: Stagwell Is Like Goldilocks And The Three Unbearables…?

 

Mediapsssst reported and opined on Stagwell CEO Mark Penn blathering about perceived opportunities as holding companies implode.

 

Referring to Dentsu disasters, Penn said, “We’re poised to pick up talent, strengthen our capabilities and geographic reach, get even more chances to compete for customer mandates, and further differentiate ourselves with cutting edge innovation as others are distracted.”

 

Hmm. Luring talent from a shitty holding company to a shittier one does not translate to a pot o’ gold; but rather, a port-a-potty.

 

Penn went on to compare his shithole to Goldilocks, crafting a clumsy metaphor that underscores the lack of creativity at Stagwell.

 

Clients would do well to seek a “just right” fit elsewhere.

 

The Mediapsssst scribe closed by praising Stagwell, gushing the White holding company is ready to kick ass. Apparently, the author is ready to kiss ass.

 

Stagwell Positioned As The ‘Goldilocks’ Of Modern Marketing Companies

 

By Richard Whitman

 

Stagwell CEO Mark Penn sees opportunities deriving from recent shifts at the traditional holding companies.  

 

In his weekly note to investors last week, Penn cited reports of Dentsu’s possible sale of its international operations, framing the news as “another holdco unable to adapt to the demands of a rapidly-evolving marketing landscape.” 

 

Traditional holdco turmoil, he added, translates to opportunity for Stagwell. “We’re poised to pick-up talent, strengthen our capabilities and geographic reach, get even more chances to compete for customer mandates, and further differentiate ourselves with cutting edge innovation as others are distracted.” 

 

Stagwell, he asserted, is designed for “the modern era of marketing—the Goldilocks company large enough to produce quality work at a global scale but nimble enough to lead the pack on digital and AI innovation.” 

 

I guess you can forget that part of the fable where Goldilocks wakes up, sees the three bears and runs off into the forest never to be seen again. No, this Goldilocks is here to stay, ready to kick ass and take names in the digital marketing world. Metaphorically speaking.

17113: Compensation Charts Show Holding Company Honchos Holding Lotsa Loot.

 

Adweek published content exposing the paychecks of CEOs at White holding companies, even displaying the Advertising CEO-to-Employee Pay Ratio (depicted below).

 

Iconic Management Expert Peter F. Drucker advocated a ratio of 20 to 1 and stated, “I have often advised managers that a 20 to 1 salary ratio is the limit beyond which they can not go if they don’t want resentment and falling morale to hit their companies.”

 

Interestingly enough, Sir Martin Sorrell is the only honcho abiding by Drucker’s recommendation—although he greatly exceeded the ratio when serving as WPP Overlord.

 

Drucker was correct in recognizing the ratio could ignite resentment and falling morale. Mission accomplished, boys!

 

In the end, it just goes to show how it pays to be a White man in Adland.

16749: Politics Not Playing In Adland…?

 

Mediapsssst at Mediapost spotlighted a Harris Poll showing 54% of Gen Z and Millennial employees surveyed are uncomfortable mixing politics and work.

 

Oddly enough, The Harris Poll is a subsidiary of White holding company Stagwell, whose CEO Mark Penn is an ultra-political animal.

 

As if people need more excuses to hate being employed at a White advertising agency within the Stagwell network. Although if Carl Warner is still around, he’d feel right at home.

 

Talking Politics At Work A Non-Starter For Most Younger Voters

 

By Richard Whitman, Columnist

 

During the Democratic Convention this week many of the speakers onstage, starting with former First Lady Michelle Obama, encouraged viewers to “do something” that would help Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris win the election.

 

Others jumped on that bandwagon, offering up ideas like talking to neighbors, colleagues or relatives and reminding them to vote, donating time or money to the campaign or even going door to door to talk to people you might not know that well about the race and what’s at stake.

 

But according to a Harris Poll commissioned by job-search platform Indeed conducted July 30-August 1, over half of Gen Z and Millennial employees surveyed (54%) said that they are “uncomfortable” when politics comes up in workplace discussions.

 

And 40% of Gen Z said they would leave their company if a CEO expressed political views with which they disagree.

 

Also, 39% said they had felt pressure to conform to certain political views at work, while the same number said they had been discriminated against or harassed at work for their political views.

 

Sixteen percent said they avoided colleagues with differing political views.

 

I wonder how those numbers might change if that poll were conducted today after all the encouragement by Democrats to talk about the race assertively and often?

 

Maybe Harris and Indeed will do a follow-up survey.

16638: Is Stagwell At The Intersection Of Advertising Campaigns & Political Campaigns…?

 

Mediapsssst at MediaPost recently spotlighted Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn’s political ties, notably to No Labels, an organization where Penn’s wife is the Founder and CEO. To complicate matters, No Labels utilizes insight and data from The Harris Poll, a subsidiary of Stagwell.

 

Not sure why anyone would be surprised by the revelations, given Penn’s background as a pollster, political strategist, and lobbyist is public knowledge.

 

Yet it does raise questions around the true DEIBA+ commitment and dedication of an advertising enterprise reflecting—and professionally supporting—the political platforms of former President Donald Trump. Clearly, Stagwell has the cunning capabilities to take performative PR to the highest level.

 

Mark Penn, No Labels And The 2024 Election

 

By Richard Whitman, Columnist

 

It was about a month ago that the Lincoln Project issued a statement about what it called No Labels’ “idiotic decision” to continue looking for a slate of candidates to put up in November’s presidential election.

 

Well idiotic or not, the so-called “unity” group announced today an about face, abandoning the effort to put up a ticket. Apparently it couldn’t find anyone with an iota of credibility to accept the challenge.

 

The LP statement concluded that “A vote for No Labels is a vote for Donald Trump. Nancy Jacobson and Mark Penn’s plan is clear: help Donald Trump win a second term.”

 

Nancy Jacobson is CEO of No Labels and her husband Mark Penn is founder and CEO of Stagwell, the advertising and marketing holding group. It does market research and political polling through its subsidiary Harris Poll.

 

Penn has denied any and all connection to his wife’s organization “real or imagined,” as he told the New Republic last summer. That didn’t stop the publication from talking to a number of democrats who were a bit skeptical.

 

Democratic strategist Joe Trippi suggested that No Labels’ conclusion that its potential ticket could have a chance at winning was based on a Harris poll that it could win Biden’s home state of Delaware.

 

“And what’s it all based on?” Trippi was quoted as saying. “It’s all based on the polling and the interviews of Mark Penn. That’s it. Other than that, there’s no other polls that show this. None.”

 

The article also reports that Penn has opined, based on Harris polls that Trump would beat Biden in a rematch given the state of the economy, immigration and crime.

 

Hmmm, I thought the economy was doing relatively well, despite all the doom-and-gloomers who have been predicting a recession for the last two years.

 

Despite problems at the border, immigration isn’t the “blood bath” that Trump claims it to be.

 

And while Trump said the other day that crime statistics are going up in this country, preliminary FBI statistics for 2023 suggest otherwise.

 

But as the politically astute Penn knows, perception counts a lot more in politics than reality.

16002: The Changing White Face Of Advertising.

Remember when the face of advertising was represented by White men like Raymond Rubicam, David Ogilvy, Bill Bernbach, Leo Burnett, Jerry Della Femina, Jay Chiat, Lee Clow, Phil Dusenberry, Hal Riney, Keith Reinhard, Jeff Goodby, Rich Silverstein, Dan Wieden, David Kennedy, Pat Fallon, Tom McElligott, Alex Bogusky, et al?

 

Now, it’s Mark Read, John Wren, Arthur Sadoun, Phillippe Krakowsky, Yannick Bolloré, Mark Penn, Martin Sorrell and assorted corporate politicians.

 

Today’s faces pale in comparison.

15497: The Penn Is Mightier Than, Well, Nothing.

On the meh merger of MDC Partners and the Stagwell Group, MDC Partners CEO Mark Penn said, “We expect our growth to be principally organic because 40 percent of our services will be high-growth digital. That supplants the old model, of 90 percent traditional advertising at MDC. By fundamentally changing the mix, we’re going to change the growth pattern and go after much stronger organic growth and reach up for bigger client relationships.”

 

Penn’s references to 40 percent and 90 percent add up to over 100 percent bullshit. His motivational mumbo-jumbo will undoubtedly inspire the “old model” shops in the new nuthouse network to accelerate their efforts to bail out.