by Danielle Douglas
A decade ago, it would have been hard to imagine blue-chip companies clamoring to have rap and R&B stars market their products. But that was before Steve Stoute made it fashionable—and more importantly profitable.
“Steve revolutionized the way brands partner with celebrities to connect with consumers,” said James Edmund Datri, president and CEO of the American Advertising Federation, which last year inducted Stoute into the Advertising Hall of Achievement, the highest honor in the industry for execs under 40.
As the founder and CEO of marketing firm Translation LLC, Stoute, now 40, has helped clients like Wrigley’s, Reebok and Hewlett-Packard tap into the lucrative youth market by marrying trendsetting entertainers with the often button-up brands.
Take Hewlett-Packard, for instance. The tech giant, despite its strong market share, lacked a meaningful brand identity—at least one that spoke to people under the age of 45. That is until Stoute used his music industry creds to bring Gwen Stefani on board to customize and advertise the HP Photosmart R607 camera in 2005. Of the 3,000 cameras specially made for the campaign, 879 flew off the shelves in the first five days of release, according to the company.
Jay-Z—thanks to Stoute—brought Reebok similar success with his S. Carter Collection. The company told CNN Money that the limited edition line became the fastest selling shoe in its history when it debuted in 2003. “At the time, everybody was wearing Nike. So for Jay-Z to partner with Reebok to do his own footwear was incredible,” said Stoute.
Since launching Translation in 2003, Stoute has served as a cultural guide for Fortune 500 companies looking to navigate the terrain of the youth market—a place inhabited by discerning natives not easily fooled by gimmicks.
“There was a void in the marketplace, where brands were not speaking to young adults in a tone and manner that was representative of them,” Stoute recalled. “There were a lot of brands coming up with messaging that they would just try to force on the consumer, without truly reflecting the wants and needs of young adults.”
Consumers between the ages of 25 to 34 shelled out roughly $851 billion on their wants and needs in 2006, according to the Conference Board. And teenagers—pop culture connoisseurs and the likely target of Wrigley’s Chris Brown jingle—spent an estimated $194 billion during the same year.
A part of Stoute’s appeal in the advertising industry is his deep roots in the entertainment world. During the 1990s, he rose through the ranks of several major music labels, including stints as president of the Urban Music division for both Interscope and Sony Music.
At Sony, Stoute became interested in the blending of music and consumer products, after the success of Will Smith’s tie-in with Ray-Ban sunglasses for the film “Men in Black” in 1997. Stoute eventually teamed with Peter Arnell, the head of AG Brand Consulting, in 2001 to form the advertising agency PASS. The duo spearheaded Reebok’s 2002 “Sounds and Rhythm of Sport” campaign, which debuted the company’s latest kicks in music stores, along with a run of ads featuring Jadakiss and Allen Iverson. Arnell and Stoute sold PASS to Omnicom Group Inc., leading Stoute to strike out on his own.
“When I first started, using my entertainment credentials was key,” he said. “Because I was in the record business, it gave me a chance to bring a unique perspective to the table.”
Stoute’s background may have gotten him a seat at the table, but he’s been able to stay there because of his concepts. The CEO has written general market strategy for such companies as State Farm and was instrumental in engineering McDonald’s recent multi-year partnership with Lebron James.
Datri of the AAF bristled at the idea of Stoute being pigeonholed as a minority marketer or entertainment advertiser. “Steve’s work,” he said, “reaches into many communities because he’s a true innovator.”
Rounding out his credits as an all-around mogul, Stoute has invested his time and money into growing one of the most successful black-owned beauty businesses, Carol’s Daughter. Once a mom-and-pop operation out of Brooklyn, NY, Carol’s Daughter now has nine stores across the country and can be found in Macy’s and Sephora.
“Steve was one of the first people to look at Carol’s Daughter as a beauty brand,” said Lisa Price, the founder of Carol’s Daughter. “He had respect for what I had built and understood the hard work that it took to get there. And he basically said ‘you could be so much more and I know how to get you there.’ ”
Price and Stoute met through a mutual friend in 2003, after Stoute said he recognized true growth potential in Price’s company. “There was just no way for her to get a platform to sell the products that she made with so much love and attention on a larger scale,” he said. “She didn’t have the capital or access.”
But Stoute certainly did. A little over a year after meeting Price, he brought on Jay-Z, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith as investors. “Lisa had the passion, but just needed somebody to build the vision; that’s what I’m gifted at,” he said.
Meanwhile, Stoute has grand visions for his own passion. A year after he sold Translations LLC to Interpublic Group, one of the largest advertising and marketing firms in the world, he started Translation Advertising with Jay-Z in 2008. Focused on multicultural accounts, Stoute has been able to utilize his experience to hone in on the lucrative niche market.
“The fact that the young-adult consumer is now a desired target for a lot of companies, and the fact that we were fully invested in that consumer years ago, has given us tremendous opportunity and leverage to grow the company.”
