[Marketing Week] Bob Koigi: Investing in the next generation of content creators

The rapid pace of technological advancement has accelerated the democratization of content production and distribution. This is a shift from the past, when only companies with large capital could produce and distribute content, to a new era in which individuals with creative ideas can produce and distribute on their own.

Alive to these developments, companies are investing in a new generation of content creators who are leading the way in solving marketing issues while pioneering the trends of modern society.

Dentsu has announced it is launching “House of Creators” to support next generation creators who make and share content on online social platforms around the world. The first phase of the initiative launches on Roblox, a leading immersive platform with a global community of millions of next-generation creators.

WPP, recently launched a call for 16 talented individuals to join its acclaimed Creative Tech Apprenticeship.

The unique, nine-month paid programme is designed to equip passionate creatives with next-generation technological skills, preparing them for careers in advertising, marketing and production.

In news making headlines on mergers, acquistion and partnership space this week, Schbang, India’s largest independent agency, has strengthened its global influence by acquiring addikt. addikt has delivered iconic design work for international brands such as Pride Amsterdam, Prada X Armani at Fabrique des Lumières, Rabobank, Autotaalglas, Booking.com, and StarSports IPL.

At the same time, Havas has announced the acquisition of global digital data agency DMPG to help power its clients’ marketing transformations and unlock untapped value from advertisers’ data and technology investments.

This week, there has been a series of developments in agencies and accounts they have secured.

Hilltop Honey - the UK’s second-largest honey brand – has announced the appointment of St Luke’s as its lead creative agency following an internal agency review.

Finn Partners, the global independent marketing and communications agency, has been appointed by Hong Kong’s bakery Bakehouse by Gregoire Michaud to support the business’ Hong Kong expansion with brand strategy and communications consultancy.

And Laughlin Constable, the independent, full-service agency, has announced that it has been named the full-service creative and media agency of record for Travel Wisconsin, Wisconsin’s Department of Tourism.

In appointments, Global digital agency DEPT has hired industry leader Andrew Dimitriou as its Global Chief Client & Growth Officer and becomes a partner of the company.

Accenture Song has appointed Arun Kumar as its new global head of data and AI. In this role, Kumar will lead Song’s global data and AI team and solutions. Based in the US, Kumar will report to Baiju Shah, Accenture Song’s global chief strategy officer.

In the startups scene, Retraced, the Düsseldorf-based SaaS platform that enables fashion and textile brands to digitize, trace and analyze risks related to their supply chains, has closed €15 million Series A funding round. This significant investment will advance Retraced’s mission to make sustainability management more effective and accessible for companies in the fashion and textile industry worldwide.

Plug and Play, a global innovation platform, announced that Cathay Pacific (Cathay), a premium travel lifestyle brand, has joined its Travel & Hospitality program as the newest corporate partner.

And CrowdStrike has announced the launch of its second annual Cybersecurity Startup Accelerator with Amazon Web Services (AWS). NVIDIA also joins in supporting the Accelerator program, powering the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud security startups.

In other news that caught our attention this week, Heineken, the international brewer, has achieved a new milestone in its journey to Net Zero, signing three additional partners, Arcadis, NIRAS and Royal HaskoningDHV, for its global Integrated Net Zero Production programme.

Bob Koigi is an editor at Marketing Report One

www.marketingreport.one

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