Stagwell’s Mark Penn on polling, politics and media

By any measure, Mark Penn has had a remarkable career, which spans more than 40 years. He started out as a political pollster in 1976 and is credited with developing unique ad and polling methods used by presidents and prime ministers. He became a go-to adviser to the likes of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Tony Blair and others. He also served as chief strategy officer for Microsoft.

Dubbed “The Master of the Message” by Time magazine, Penn built his reputation on being a tactical marketer, bringing his political background to bear on marketing. This led to the creation of Stagwell Inc. in 2021, now one of the world’s leading digital-first marketing companies.

“I feel we’re a teenager now,” he tells The Current Podcast. “We were a baby two or three years ago and we’re really now coming on as a challenger.”

Penn is bullish about the prospects for marketers in 2024, including the fact that this year is an election year with unprecedented levels of political ad spend in the U.S. At the same time, Penn has his eye on where marketers can find advantage in this fast-changing digital environment, touching upon AI, publishing and why advertisers should trust news pages as brand-safe.

This podcast was recorded during Cannes Lions 2024.