Mark Penn, the chairman and CEO of Stagwell, has miraculously turned his company into a household name at the Cannes Lions Festival in just two years.
The marketing agency’s Sport Beach, which is in its second year, has become the place to be in the South of France, with celebrities including Elon Musk and Travis Kelce making appearances.
Penn spoke to Page Six about the vast array of conversations taking place at Sport Beach this week, including the rise of women’s sports, why brands should advertise on news sites and whether Taylor Swift will make a surprise appearance on the Croisette.
Stagwell CEO Mark Penn exclusively chatted with Page Six at Sport Beach at the Cannes Lions Festival.Erik Messori for PageSix
Penn opened up about Elon Musk’s conversation at Sport Beach.Erik Messori for PageSix
X (formerly known as Twitter) owner Elon Musk said he’d prefer to lose money to maintain free speech than be censored.Ella Pellegrini for NY Post
Q: There have been a ton of celebrities, athletes and execs at Sport Beach this week, including X owner Elon Musk. Can you tell me about his stop by Sport Beach today?
Mark Penn: We’ve been a supporter of his transformation of X. I tend to agree that what was going on before he took it over was a constraint of free press. The New York Post certainly felt that way probably, given what happened with the Hunter Biden story. I’ve long been sympathetic to new ownership and renaming to X with a plant on free speech really made sense. I really do think that more advertisers should get back to the platform because the platform – while a lot of readership is going down – is actually going up.
Q: It’s interesting because he doesn’t use advertising for Tesla and some of his other companies, yet he’s come here, which is the advertising Mecca for the week. Is this a moment where he felt like he needed to speak to the advertising community again, or re-approach or reengage and come back?
MP: I do look at him coming back. I think he’s had progress on the platform. I think he’s put in innovation. I think some of the original dustups are kind of history. Americans never remember anything for more than six months. It was a good move for him to come here and be direct. I’ve never seen anyone try to just answer any question asked as best they can, no talking points, no canned speeches. It was very honest and it was really good for him to come. I think obviously X [CEO] Linda Yaccarino thought so, too.
“We’re going to support free speech broadly then agree to be censored for money, which is, I think, the right moral decision,” Musk told WPP CEO Mark Read on Wednesday morning.Ella Pellegrini for NY Post
Q: Sport Beach is bigger and better this year. Is there anything you’ve been able to do this year that you couldn’t do last?
MP: I think several things. We do say it’s bigger, better and bolder. I do think that we do have yet to come some of the best athletes – especially coming up tomorrow. I liken it a little bit to “The Godfather.” You know, “Godfather I,” everyone thought that was amazing. They never thought “Godfather II” would be better and then it was.
Q: But then “Godfather III” wasn’t so great.
MP: I don’t know what “Godfather III” is going to look like but I know that “Godfather II” is even better. I try to say look, we are a marketing company. We came up with the all the ideas, we came up with the branding, the design. We built it, we staff it. We build the website, we build the app. It’s a demonstration of what we can do for clients and how we can build a brand. I think Sport Beach is now an independent brand that we can begin to market.
WNBA legend Sue Bird (right) was a “bit hit” at this year’s festival, Penn tells us.Getty Images for iHeartMedia
Jason and Travis Kelce will record their “New Heights” podcast from Sport Beach on Thursday.New Heights Podcast
Q: Who have been some of the most interesting people who have come by that you’ve enjoyed listening to the most?
MP: I think Carmelo Anthony was really a big hit here. Sue Bird was a big hit. I think we’ve had a surge on women’s sports here as topic companies can get around and market. We are having Travis Kelce here [Thursday] and it’s going to be a sell-out. People can speculate if he’s bringing somebody.
Q: Do you think he’s bringing [Taylor Swift]?
MP: I doubt it, but all speculation is good in marketing.
Penn weighed in on wether Kelce will bring girlfriend Taylor Swift.GC Images
“I doubt it, but all speculation is good in marketing,” he admits.Getty Images
Swift is currently on the European leg of her Eras Tour.Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Q: With your background as a pollster, what are your thoughts on the upcoming election?
MP: Polls are snapshots in time. Right now, [Donald] Trump has the edge. He’s winning in most of the swing states. He’s winning by a couple of points in the national vote, which means in the electoral college he would win by a margin. If the election were held today, I think he clearly has the edge. Does that mean he is going to win? No. There are so many events here that can shake the election up beginning with the June 27 debate. I think will probably be between 50 and 100 million people tuning into [the] event. That is of the scale that it can change minds and change votes.
News
Justin Timberlake’s *NSYNC bandmate Chris Kirkpatrick teases reunion saying ‘it feels right’ when the five are together (HF)
Justin Timberlake’s *NSYNC bandmate Chris Kirkpatrick teases reunion saying ‘it feels right’ when the five are together Founding member of legendary boy band details future hopes CHRIS Kirkpatrick feels it every time *NSYNC is in the same room together –…
Jessica Biel stands firmly by Justin Timberlake in the “eye of the storm” when her husband drives drunk
Jessica Biel did not flinch in the face of turbulence, she remained determined to stand by Justin Timberlake through difficult times. After Justin Timberlake was arrested for drunk driving, his marriage with Jessica Biel once again became the focus of…
“At 37, with everything he’s accomplished,” Tatiana Golovin feels crowd not respecting Novak Djokovic is affecting him ‘much more than before’
Golovin feels Djokovic, with everything he has achieved, has a right to complain if he is not getting the love and respect he deserves. Novak Djokovic (Image via Imago) Novak Djokovic was angry at the Wimbledon crowd for their constant ‘boos’…
Jessica Biel throws herself into character as she films The Better Sister with Elizabeth Banks in NYC – weeks after husband Justin Timberlake’s DWI arrest
Jessica Biel threw herself into character as she continued filming the Amazon Prime Video series The Better Sister in New York City on Thursday. The actress, 42 – whose husband Justin Timberlake was recently arrested for DWI – was spotted on the set with co-star Elizabeth…
Travis Kelce dedicates karaoke win to Taylor Swift as fans go wild for his cringeworthy performance of iconic rock song (HF)
Travis Kelce produced a performance Taylor Swift would have been proud of to prevail in a Lake Tahoe karaoke competition on Thursday night. And after being crowned the winner, Kelce made sure to dedicate the victory to his pop-megastar girlfriend. Both Travis and…
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce ‘spend $100K PER DAY on private jets, multiple bodyguards and lavish hotel rooms’ (HF)
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce don’t even think about the big bucks anymore, as they prove that love has no price despite reportedly spending $100,000 a day together at times. According to Life & Style, the superstar couple isn’t afraid to treat each other…
End of content
No more pages to load