Entertainment
Stagwell Revs Up for SXSW 2023 to Explore Brand Fandom, Generative AI, Immersive Experiences and More
Roving Video Content Studio Will Capture On-the-Ground Perspectives to be Shared via Stagwell’s Digital Channels
NEW YORK and AUSTIN, Texas, March 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing, is gearing up for its biggest South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) presence to date with programming ranging from official panels to side-stage conversations to special events. Stagwell network leaders from Assembly, Brand Performance Network, Code and Theory, GALE, KWT Global, MMI Agency, National Research Group (NRG), Stagwell Marketing Cloud, and YML will explore artificial intelligence, advertising, marketing, emerging tech, fandom, public relations and communications, sports innovation, sustainability, and other buzzing topics.
“SXSW sets the tone for the creative and cultural trends that define the year ahead,” said Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn. “From the unifying power of sports and brand fandom to the next frontiers of AR and AI, Stagwell is headed to Austin to help drive – and learn from – the conversations that are top-of-mind right now for marketers, technologists, entrepreneurs and business leaders alike.”
Press or brand leaders interested in attending any of the below and/or connecting with Stagwell on the ground should contact sxsw2023@stagwellglobal.com.
Where Stagwell is Showing Up
Saturday, March 11
- 11:30AM: The Power of Fandom in the Metaverse: This session will explore how fandom is the forum for new immersive ways, spaces, and types of connection, and how the metaverse is changing the way audiences connect and interact with sports, entertainment, music, and gaming; featuring Infinite Reality CMO Hope Frank, NRG CMO Grady Miller, Lenovo CMO, North America Gerald Youngblood, and Brand Performance Network, Global Chief Content & Partnership Innovation Officer Shannon Pruitt.
- 11:50AM: Women in Marketing Leadership Forum: YML’s SVP of Growth Stephanie Wiseman will join Danone’s Head of Marketing Linda Bethea, Hyatt VP, Global Marketing Laurie Blair, MetLife SVP, Global Brand & Marketing Michelle Froah, and Visa Head of Corporate Marketing Alison Herzog in conversation at the Brand Innovators Leadership Summit.
- 4PM: Stagwell, in partnership with Sportico, will host cocktails to commemorate the kickoff of SXSW at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Sunday, March 12
- 11:15AM: Women in Marketing Leadership Forum: While an increasing number of female leadership appointments make headlines, progress still feels slow. Wells Enterprises Chief Commercial Officer Santhi Ramesh, Nature’s Sunshine VP, Marketing Stephanie O’Farrell, former P&G Beauty, Grooming & Health Chief Communications Officer Kelly Vanasse, and MMI Agency CEO Maggie Malek join Brand Innovators Leadership Summit to share lessons learned.
- 11:30AM-12:30PM: Anatomy of a Fan: Harnessing Loyalty, Insights, and Emerging Technology: Join ARound Founder and CEO Josh Beatty, NRG EVP, Strategy & Innovation Fotoulla Damaskos, Minnesota Twins Sr. Director, Innovation and Growth Chris Iles, and Sportico Sports Business Reporter Eben Novy-Williams in conversation on the power of sports, and creating and nurturing brand fandom.
- 2:20PM: Sustainability & Purpose-Driven Marketing: This Brand Innovators Leadership Summit session will feature YML CCO Stephen Clements in conversation with PepsiCo Senior Director, Creative & Digital Christian Hoyle, YETI Director, Creative Ginny Golden, Kickstarter VP, Brand Marketing Elyse Mallouk, and OkCupid Global Head of Communications Michael Kaye, moderated by Everfi VP, Enterprise Marketing Paula Cobb.
Monday, March 13
- 11AM-5PM: Driving the Transformation of Marketing: Stagwell at Circuit of the Americas: Brand leaders and Stagwell agencies will come together for a day at the Formula 1 racetrack, where they will learn how to drive like a pro from the Skip Barber Racing School. The day will include lunch, tactical driving, speed drills, time behind the wheel of an F4 car, and cocktails to wrap the day.
- 5:30-7:30PM: Axios and PRophet: The New Communications Engineer: Aaron Kwittken, founder and CEO of PRophet, the AI-driven predictive pitch platform for PR professionals, will join the Axios editorial team in conversation spotlighting how AI can revolutionize the way communicators work, create content and exchange ideas.
Tuesday, March 14
- 4-4:30PM: How Trust Impacts Fandom in Immersive Experiences: The immersive fan experience isn’t just a hype-cycle XR, VR, or the metaverse. It’s how sports, media, and entertainment companies are connecting with their audiences in ways we never imagined. The session will feature Infinite Reality President of Metaverse Operations Helix Wolfson, OpenWeb CMO Tiffany Xingyu Wang, COTY SVP, U.S. Marketing Kevin Shapiro, and Brand Performance Network, Global Chief Content & Partnership Innovation Officer Shannon Pruitt.
Wednesday, March 15
- Tune into the SXSW official podcast channel throughout the day for Stagwell and Infinite Reality’s 4-part series on trends in the metaverse. Guests will include executives from Napster, Afropunk, Obsesh, Animal Concerts and Let’s Get FR.EE, among others.
About Stagwell
Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our 13,000+ specialists in 34+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com.
SOURCE Stagwell Inc.
Last Updated on November 7, 2026 by Daily News Staff
New hybrid event aims to give grieving audiences meaningful holiday viewing, with films from more than 25 countries and a mission centered on love, loss, and emotional truth.
A new film festival debuting in late 2026 is taking a different approach to holiday entertainment. Grief Fest™: The Grief Film Festival, created by My Grief Angels Inc., is being introduced as what organizers believe is the world’s first film festival dedicated entirely to grief, remembrance, resilience, and healing.
The hybrid festival will run in two segments: November 25–29, 2026, during Thanksgiving week, and December 24, 2026, through January 3, 2027, during Christmas and New Year’s. Top Honors films will be announced on December 31, 2026.
Organizers say the timing is intentional. Research cited in the announcement shows that grief and loneliness are major holiday stressors for many Americans, making the season especially difficult for people coping with loss. In that context, Grief Fest™ is positioning itself as an alternative to the flood of traditional feel-good holiday programming.
The festival is open to short films, features, documentaries, experimental work, AI-generated projects, and VR experiences. It is described as inclusive, non-religious, and LGBTQ+ friendly, with submissions already received from more than 25 countries. All films will be presented in English, either spoken or subtitled.
Grief Fest™ will be available both in person and virtually through Film Festival Plus, making it accessible to audiences worldwide. The launch of GriefFest.com also includes Lumen, a multilingual AI guide designed to help filmmakers and attendees navigate the festival in their preferred language.
Rather than focusing on industry prestige, organizers say the festival is centered on community and emotionally honest storytelling. For audiences who feel unseen during the holidays, Grief Fest™ is aiming to offer something rare on the seasonal screen: recognition.
Source: PR Newswire
Related Reading
- Grief Fest: Official festival site
- My Grief Angels Inc.: About the nonprofit behind the festival
- Film Festival Plus: Virtual access platform
Catch the latest in movies, TV, music, pop culture, and live events in STM Daily News’ Entertainment section.
Entertainment
Bring History to Life with Experiences That Feel Real
Bring History to Life: Reading books and watching documentaries can be good ways to learn about history, but there’s something particularly meaningful about immersive experiences that allow you to step inside the stories that shaped the world.
Bring History to Life with Experiences That Feel Real
(Feature Impact) Reading books and watching documentaries can be good ways to learn about history, but there’s something particularly meaningful about immersive experiences that allow you to step inside the stories that shaped the world.
During a visit to the U-505 Submarine exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (Griffin MSI), guests can literally step inside a historic German U-boat captured during World War II. In 1944, the U.S. Navy underwent a top-secret mission to disarm and take over one of the German submarines that wreaked havoc on the high seas, attacking not just military vessels but merchant ships and supply ships as well.
Watch this video to see more:
“The mission was a dangerous one, as U-boat captains were under strict orders to sink their own subs if they were in danger of capture,” said Dr. Voula Saridakis, head curator at Griffin MSI, “but the U.S. Navy managed to take over the vessel and keep it afloat long enough to reach American shores. There, they studied it to gather German military secrets and other intelligence items, like the codebreaking Enigma Machine now on display at Griffin MSI.”
As you tour the submarine, you’ll experience firsthand what life was really like on board. Climb through the hatch, picture yourself bunking for the night in the cramped sleeping quarters, take a turn trying to maneuver the submarine while dodging torpedoes and imagine the bravery of the American soldiers who risked themselves on a perilous mission to capture the vessel and help turn the tide of the war.
There are many important lessons to glean from history, and they’re often easier to understand when presented in a tangible way. Planning visits to museum exhibits and historical sites allows you to stand where others have stood, see what they’ve seen and connect your human experience with theirs. Parents, children, educators, students and people of all ages can find something to inspire them in these stories.
Learn more about bringing history and science to life at GriffinMSI.org.
SOURCE:
Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
Entertainment
Patrick Stewart, Beloved Star of Star Trek and X-Men, Dies at 86
Sir Patrick Stewart, beloved for his performances as Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier, has died at 86, leaving a lasting legacy across television, film and theater.
Entertainment News Brief
Sir Patrick Stewart, the acclaimed actor best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, has died at 86.
Stewart died October 28 at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from his spokesperson reported by Reuters. The announcement said he had been living with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia and was with his wife, Sunny Ozell.
Stewart brought a commanding presence and a thoughtful approach to leadership to Star Trek: The Next Generation, which aired from 1987 to 1994. He later continued Picard’s story in feature films and returned for Star Trek: Picard.
His career also encompassed Shakespearean theater, including work with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was knighted in 2010 for his contributions to drama.
For generations of viewers, Stewart helped make science fiction a place to explore questions of responsibility, compassion and humanity.
Sources
● Reuters: Patrick Stewart, Shakespearean actor turned Star Trek and X-Men star, dies at 86
● ABC News: Patrick Stewart dies at 86
