Stagwell Harnesses Google Marketing Cloud to Supercharge Generative AI Initiatives

Article Brief:

According to a news release, Stagwell has partnered with Google Cloud and SADA, one of Google's top partners, to enhance its marketing cloud with generative artificial intelligence (AI).

Google Cloud will provide development support for Stagwell Marketing Cloud (SMC) and grant access to various products, such as Vertex AI and Duet AI. SMC intends to utilize these features to enhance their go-to-market strategies and develop their own generative AI tools, which include first-party data products and the training of a proprietary large language model (LLM) for Stagwell clients.

In an effort to expedite access to its AI-powered marketing services, SMC plans to release future solutions on the Google Cloud Marketplace. This decision reflects the increasing demand from marketers for practical applications of generative AI, following a year of considerable anticipation.

Article Insight:

The agency category is making significant investments in generative AI, as it sees the technology as a way to revolutionize marketing services functions from creative to market research. To expedite the development of SMC products powered by generative AI and swiftly introduce them to the market, Stagwell has partnered with Google Marketing Cloud, a major player in the tech industry. Stagwell has several projects in progress, including its proprietary LLM, which aims to compete with software like OpenAI's ChatGPT.

The pact will help Stagwell stay competitive as other agency networks accelerate their own generative AI launches in 2024. Forrester predicts that AI will become permanently integrated into various aspects of agency operations next year, posing a threat to digital agencies.

Mark Penn, CEO of Stagwell, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating that it will allow them to deliver market-shifting technology to their client partners more quickly. He also emphasized their commitment to leading the AI-driven transformation of marketing and their excitement to collaborate with Google Cloud and SADA in shaping the future of AI.

Stagwell revealed its marketing cloud at CES in 2022 and has expanded the unit as cloud computing becomes increasingly important for marketing's shift towards first-party data. This area has generated significant interest in anticipation of the deprecation of cookies next year. The partnership between SMC, Google Cloud, and SADA aims to enhance the value of first-party data for clients, using Google's Vertex AI specifically designed for machine-learning engineering workflows.

Furthermore, the collaboration will enhance go-to-market campaign strategies with generative AI. Initially, the focus will be on SMC's Media Studio Audience Identification, PRophet Monitor, and public relations departments. According to the release, SMC plans to eventually extend the use of AI to all of its products.

Stagwell can strengthen its position in generative AI to gain new business and increase spending from current clients after a challenging period. Revenue for the company has declined by 7% in Q3 this year. Despite this, Stagwell, an agency conglomerate known as a "challenger network," has been active in acquiring companies, including the recent acquisition of the social-first agency Movers+Shakers in November.