17555: On Gen Z Loneliness.

 

MediaPost spotlighted a report from Stagwell enterprises—The Harris Poll and Alison Worldwide—casting Gen Z as the loneliest generation in history.

According to the data, 51% of Gen Z feel lonely on the weekend; 74% stay home for at least half of their monthly weekends; 73% make staying home their default weekend agenda.

Given Gen Zers will unlikely land a job with Stagwell or any White advertising agency in Adland, at least they won’t have to worry about working on weekends.

Report Finds Gen Z Is The Loneliest Generation

By Richard Whitman

They may be the most digitally connected generation in history but they’re also the loneliest, at least on the weekends, according to new research from Stagwell’s The Harris Poll and Allison Worldwide. 

Reasons vary, but for many it’s financial or avoiding big, alcohol-focused gatherings. And some just don’t have a lot of IRL friends. 

The report found that 51% of Gen Z say they feel lonely on a typical weekend — the highest of any generation and 37 points higher than Boomers. 

74% stay home at least half of their weekends each month, and 73% say staying home has become their default weekend plan. 

49% of Gen Z adults say they don’t have enough friends to spend time in person and 47% stay home to recharge their physical and mental health. 

Per the research, young people’s social life is increasingly screen-based, with 65% saying they connect more through their phone than in person. 

88% actively avoid at least one social setting, including large groups of near-strangers (39%), loud crowded spaces (38%) and spending a lot on a single night out (36%). 

73% of young people want more social settings where alcohol isn’t the focus.

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.” 

17525: IBM Reboots Advertising And Media, Boots WPP.

 

Advertising Age reported IBM named Stagwell its White holding company for creative duties, which will be co-handled by White advertising agencies Anomaly and Code and Theory.

 

Incumbent WPP White advertising agency Ogilvy declined to participate in the review, just as incumbent WPP Media declined to participate in an earlier media review that was won by Omnicom.

 

Surely serious behind-the-scenes politics persuaded WPP units to give up continuing roughly 32 years of service for IBM.

 

After all, Ogilvy just won Network of the Year at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, establishing its creative chops far exceed those of Anomaly and Code and Theory—or any White advertising agency in the Stagwell stink factory.

 

Ad Age headlined AI capability and speed won the business for Stagwell.

 

Huh? WPP boasts unmatched and unprecedented AI ingenuity. Plus, the corporate website declares WPP Production delivers content at speed and scale, blah blah blah.

 

Whatever true circumstances ignited the scenario, WPP probably now thinks IBM stands for Insane Business Massacre—or Immense Bowel Movement.

 

IBM hires Stagwell as lead creative partner—AI capability and speed won out

 

By Brian Bonilla

 

IBM has selected Stagwell as its new lead creative partner following a competitive review that ended the tech company’s roughly 32-year relationship with Ogilvy. The assignment comes as IBM seeks to sharpen its positioning around enterprise AI and accelerate its marketing efforts.

 

Stagwell’s Anomaly and Code and Theory will jointly lead the account, helping evolve IBM’s “Let’s Create Smarter Business” campaign across channels and geographies.

 

WPP’s Ogilvy previously stated that it declined to participate in the review, which was led by consultancy 3C Ventures.

 

IBM named Omnicom its global media agency earlier this year. In that review, WPP Media was the incumbent and declined to defend the business.

 

IBM marks a significant win for Stagwell, the 13th-largest agency company according to Ad Age Datacenter, which has been looking to prove its global chops. This year, Stagwell has secured key creative wins with Mondelēz International, Hershey and gaming entertainment company Allwyn AG.

 

The appointment comes as IBM expands its enterprise AI offerings with new products unveiled at its Think 2026 conference in May. The new agencies will focus on promoting some of IBM’s tools, such as Watsonx Orchestrate, which helps enterprises manage and deploy AI, and IBM Bob, an AI coding tool for businesses, along with brand positioning work.

 

The review prioritized three capabilities: strong creative, strong tech and an ability to help IBM “move in a lot more flexible way, with a lot more speed” than it “had in the past,” said Jonathan Adashek, IBM’s senior VP, marketing and communications.

 

“Flexibility is about taking advantage of opportunities that come quickly and really shortening the creative cycle for us,” Adashek said.

 

Those requirements reflect broad changes underway within IBM. The company has increasingly embraced AI across its own operations, positioning itself as “client zero” for its technology. Adashek said IBM has removed $4.5 billion in costs over the past three years, largely through AI and automation, and plans to remove another $1 billion this year.

 

Before the introduction of AI, IBM’s marketing creatives spent 80% of their time on derivative assets, he said, noting that the amount has been reduced “substantially” to below 40%.

 

A major factor in the decision was “The Machine,” Stagwell’s agentic operating system that connects with a client’s existing tools. Adashek said he was impressed that The Machine integrated insights from across the broader Stagwell network, citing The Harris Poll as an example. “The insights they can bring from other parts of the Stagwell organization—to not make it just an Anomaly and Code team … I think that’s essential,” Adashek said.

 

Just as important was Stagwell’s willingness to work within IBM’s own systems rather than require the client to adopt an agency-owned platform. “We’re going to work together with the client on enhancing their tech stack, rather than pushing them into a closed or walled garden on our part,” said Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn.

 

For IBM, that philosophy closely mirrors how it works with enterprise clients. “Our data is our data, and it’s sort of that special sauce that gives us the IBM flavor,” Adashek said.

 

Rather than dividing creative responsibilities among multiple shops, IBM wanted one lead partner capable of supporting the entire business.

 

“Fundamentally, as an organization, if we have too many different angles, then we’re not aligned at a central point. Before too long, people don’t understand what you’re trying to do, and then you stand for nothing,” Adashek said.

 

IBM expects the first work from the partnership to debut around the US Open in August, including new TV creative as part of a broader campaign spanning multiple channels. IBM is the official AI and cloud partner of the US Open.

 

The IBM creative pitch process

 

Adashek said that he attended early chemistry meetings and received reports after each pitch meeting. Neither he nor Penn sat through pitch meetings. Instead, IBM intentionally left the evaluation to the executives who will manage the relationship day to day.

 

“I wanted the team to be engaged,” Adashek said. “The team was so compelled by the content, by the approach, by the tools, they said this is the way we need to go.”

 

Penn said his own role was limited to reviewing work behind the scenes and ensuring that the agencies had the right mix of capabilities.

 

“I’ve been around enough to know that this is never about the CEOs,” Penn said. “It’s about the people on the account team.”

17499: On AI Ignorance, Incapability, and Inaccuracy.

 

Mediapsssst reported on a study from Stagwell’s Harris Poll and Milken Institute that featured the following:

 

Eighty-five percent of business leaders admit to feeling pressure to appear further with their firm’s AI implementation plans than they actually are and almost as many (80%) admitted that while they “talk a good AI game” publicly they are still trying to figure out the technology.  

 

Advertisers should keep this in mind when White holding companies—including Stagwell—hype wondrous AI services and capabilities.

 

In Adland, AI stands for Actually Inept—or Advertising Incompetence.

 

Report: 68% Of Workers Are Navigating AI Transition ‘On Their Own’

 

By Richard Whitman

 

A new study from Stagwell’s Harris Poll and Milken Institute finds that a significant gap exists between what business leaders are saying about their companies’ AI readiness and the reality of the situation.   

 

Eighty-five percent of business leaders admit to feeling pressure to appear further with their firm’s AI implementation plans than they actually are and almost as many (80%) admitted that while they “talk a good AI game” publicly they are still trying to figure out the technology.  

 

Sixty-one percent of employees say their leadership “barely talks about AI” internally, while 41% report they have received no meaningful AI support from their employer in the past 12 months.  

 

And 68% of workers say they are navigating the AI transition largely on their own.  

 

The study is the latest installment of the Harris Poll Listening Project with the Milken Institute. This year’s study included surveys of 2000 US adults 18 plus, including 1,280 workers and a separate poll of 500 business leaders at the vice-presidential level or higher at businesses generating $2 billion or more in revenue.   

 

See the full report here. 

17474: Heineken Puts The Con In Consolidation.

 

Advertising Age reported Dentsu retained Heineken global media duties after a review, while creative duties were consolidated across Publicis Groupe, WPP, and Stagwell.

 

The Heineken Chief Commercial Officer stated, “Moving to fewer, better and bigger agency partners is part of our broader commercial transformation.”

 

Um, partnering with four of the six biggest holding companies underscores the exclusivity in Adland.

 

Independent White advertising agencies are shut out from serving global accounts.

 

Multicultural agencies likely receive even fewer crumbs—if anything at all.

 

Anyone not in a holding company is resigned to cry in their locally-brewed beer.

 

Heineken sticks with Dentsu for global media, shakes up creative roster

 

By Ewan Larkin

 

Dentsu has retained Heineken’s global media business following a competitive pitch process, with the brewer also consolidating its creative roster across Publicis Groupe, WPP and Stagwell.

 

Publicis retained global secondary production duties and, along with WPP and Stagwell, will handle creative for Heineken’s Amstel, Birra Moretti, Desperados and Tiger brands, as well as select local priority brands.

 

Creative for the flagship Heineken brand was not part of the review and remains with Publicis.

 

COMvergence estimates Heineken’s global media spend is $550 million.

 

Mediasense handled the agency review.

 

Dentsu’s reappointment is a much-needed vote of confidence for the Japanese holding company, which reported its worst annual loss last year and lost marquee media accounts including Microsoft. Dentsu has worked with Heineken since 2016, with the relationship expanding through a global media consolidation in 2021 and a two-year extension announced in March 2025.

 

The consolidation is part of Heineken’s EverGreen 2030 growth strategy and a broader commercial transformation initiative the brewer calls “Freddyai.” The goal, per the company, is fewer and deeper agency relationships built for speed, efficiency, and creative consistency across global markets.

 

“Moving to fewer, better and bigger agency partners is part of our broader commercial transformation,” Bram Westenbrink, chief commercial officer, said in a statement.

17334: On Stagwell Stinky Strategic Alliance.

 

MediaPost reported Stagwell flushed two White advertising agencies—Doner and Colle McVoy—in a single toilet to create DonerColle Partners.

 

The corporate hype claims the maneuver is a strategic alliance versus a merger, and no layoffs resulted from combining the firms. Plus, the newly formed White advertising agency is “poised to more effectively and authentically relate to and embrace the sensibilities of everyday Americans who are often overlooked or disregarded by coastal agencies.”

 

That should be revised and expanded to declare the newly formed White advertising agency is “poised to more effectively and authentically relate to and embrace the sensibilities of everyday White Americans who are often overlooked or disregarded by coastal agencies. Non-White Americans will continue to be overlooked and disregarded by coast-to-coast White advertising agencies.”   

 

Stagwell Unites Two Agencies To Create DonerColle Partners

 

By Steve McClellan

 

In a move designed to better serve national brands between the coasts, Stagwell has unified two of its midwest agencies—Doner and Colle McVoy—to form DonerColle Partners.  

 

The move combines operations across more than 500 employees in Detroit, Minnesota and Chicago.

 

The company said the effort is “poised to more effectively and authentically relate to and embrace the sensibilities of everyday Americans who are often overlooked or disregarded by coastal agencies.”  

 

The two agencies will maintain their existing identities and client relationships under DonerColle Partners. Structured as a strategic alliance rather than a merger, the arrangement is intended to preserve the specialized expertise and culture of each agency while enabling “deeper collaboration, broadened creative capabilities, scaled media offerings and state-of-the-art production studios.”  

 

The new entity will be led by Jessica Henrichs as CEO and David DeMuth as executive chairman. Henrichs has been CEO of Colle McVoy and DeMuth has led Doner.  

 

Stagwell CEO Mark Penn noted the success that each agency has had on its own and that the combination creates an offering that “honors that legacy while embracing the future, leveraging AI, modern marketing and an informed perspective of the communities and consumers that shape America.” 

 

Stagwell said Doner’s strengths include strategy, creative, and integrated production studios across retail, CPG, automotive, consumer services, technology and health care brands. Colle McVoy, in turn, adds strength in media, design, PR and integrated campaign execution across CPG, QSR, home, lifestyle, retail and agriculture categories.  

 

Henrichs said, “We’re rethinking how agencies can come together to better deliver for America’s most iconic brands. We’re creating a partnership that’s agile, ambitious and deeply rooted in the values that matter most to clients today.”  

 

Clients include Stellantis, The UPS Store, Dairy Queen, La-Z-Boy, The Coca-Cola Company, 3M, Hackensack Meridian Health, Perdue Farms and McCormick & Company, among other major brands.  

 

The integration will begin immediately, with a phased rollout of combined operations, teams and branding throughout 2026.

17321: MLK Day 2026 In Adland (Cont’d 2).

 

Upon reviewing social media posts, no Adland holding companies acknowledged MLK Day.

 

Some could argue most holding companies are not US enterprises, being headquartered in Japan, France, the UK, etc.; hence, since MLK Day is a US holiday, the foreign-based holding companies had no obligation to salute the event.

 

Not sure what excuses Omnicom or Stagwell might offer to explain the snub. IPG—recognized for leadership in diversity and inclusion—no longer exists, so the former White holding company is absolved of its performative do-gooder duties.

 

In the end, CES trumped MLK.

 

Hell, even ERGs were seemingly deprived of a delegating diversity opportunity.

 

For Adland, the dream continues to be deliberately diverted, delegated, deferred, diminished, dismissed, and denied.

17281: On Secret Santa Stress.

 

Mediapsssst opined on a survey from Stagwell’s Harris Poll showing employees feel stress and pressure to give gifts to coworkers during the holidays.

 

At the new Omnicom, workers probably feel obligated to present farewell gifts to 4,000 teammates deemed redundant.

 

Happy Holidays: Employees Stress Over Gift Giving At The Office

 

By Richard Whitman

 

I thought Covid killed off the holiday office party but a new survey from Stagwell’s Harris Poll says otherwise.  

 

According to a survey it did for Express Employment Professionals, 61% of U.S. hiring managers say their company hosts holiday celebrations.  

 

And the problem for many employees, per a separate “job seeker” poll, is the pressure they feel to give a gift, with 46% saying they feel pressured to spend a certain amount on gifts. Both Harris Polls surveyed 1,000+ hiring managers and employees, respectively, back in June. 

 

33% of Gen Z and 29% of Millennials say the gift-giving tradition adds stress to their workplace relationships. 

 

62% of employees said gift-giving fosters a sense of obligation that can “negatively affect team dynamics.” 

 

So maybe employers might want to think about ditching the Secret Santa exchange this year. Play a nice game of Charades instead. It’s a great icebreaker. And team dynamics? Through the roof!  

 

Especially after a couple of glasses of holiday punch. Cheers. 

17195: Spare Change From Stagwell…?

 

Mediapsssst spotlighted a study from Stagwell’s Harris Group and Grossman Group showing most enterprises have reached the “change tipping point”—that is, change is happening at a rate greater than the average drone can handle.

 

Not sure how the data applies to White advertising agencies, although places within the Stagwell network would likely spike the numbers higher. After all, Goldilocks is a flaming dumpster where constant changes routinely inspire mass exodus.

 

Hell, Stagwell proves that to change and to change for the better are two different things.

 

Workplace Change Making You Crazy? Join The Crowd

 

By Richard Whitman

 

A new study from Stagwell’s Harris Group and consultant Grossman Group finds that organizations are at what they call the “change tipping point,” meaning change is occurring at a rate beyond which most employees can handle it. 

 

Employees can realistically absorb only 1 or 2 major changes a year—yet business leaders surveyed for the study expect 3 to 4 big changes annually in the next couple of years, “pushing organizations past the tipping point.” 

 

AI of course is the big kahuna of change—the change that changes everything. It’s driving one-third of all strategic and process transformations, making it the top opportunity and the top challenge. 

 

Per the study, 1 of 4 major change initiatives fail. And the consequences aren’t good: Employee burnout, dissatisfaction, spiked workloads and turnover.  

 

Organizations are more than 5 times more likely to fail in implementing a big change without visible leadership and without effective communication, the study found. 

 

1 in 4 employees say their leaders do not communicate change well, while culture change and layoffs are the most difficult. 

 

But the study offers tips for implementing change successfully, including making sure that the scale of the proposed changes is manageable. Also, engaged leaders are a must, as is communicating effectively with employees why the change is necessary. Also critical: a feedback loop that tracks how employees are experiencing the changes.  

 

More from the study can be found here.

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.”