Sports Icons Carmelo Anthony, Annika Sörenstam, Brandon Marshall, James Worthy; Wilson, USA Track & Field, Recess Pickleball Among Slate of New Partners at Stagwell's (STGW) Sport Beach at Cannes Lions 2023

ESPN Journalist Holly Rowe, Former Twitter Top Sports Exec TJ Adeshola to Join

NEW YORK and CANNES, France, May 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), the challenger network built to transform marketing, announced its second round of talent and brand partners joining programming at Sport Beach following the first announcement last month. The network's flagship venue at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2023 (Cannes Lions), Sport Beach is built for brands, platforms and athletes to tap into the cultural zeitgeist of sport and explore the power of fandom.

Partners will lead conversations to advance important topics across entrepreneurship, equity, emerging tech, and more.

Sport Beach partners will lead conversations to advance important topics across entrepreneurship, equity, emerging technology, community building, creativity in sport, and more, as well as participate in a number of formats, including:

     

• Morning workouts
• Pickleball tournament
• Coaching
• Pickup games
• Product integration
• Live interviews 

Athletes

• Carmelo Anthony (basketball) – 10-time NBA All-Star, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Carmelo Anthony has led a storied career as a three-time Olympic gold medalist and number nine on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Anthony's incredible career has continued to pave the way for his many other business ventures and philanthropic efforts including his wine estate brand VII(N)-The Seventh Estate, production company Creative 7, lifestyle brand STAYME7O, as well as his work as the co-founder of The Social Change Fund which aims to support and invest in critical and timely issues that impact the Black community.
• Marko Cheseto (marathon) – Marko is a Kenyan All-American athlete in track and field and cross country running. In 2019, he set a world record for a marathon by a double amputee.  Then he turned around and beat it in 2021. He is also the founder of the Alaskena Academy, a school in his hometown in Kapenguria, Kenya. The school is a home to 167 students and serves as a youth empowerment center. He currently lives in Orlando, Fla.
• Mack Hollins (football) – Mack is an NFL wide receiver who recently joined the Atlanta Falcons, and previously played with the Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles, including being a major part of the Eagles Super Bowl Championship team in 2018. He started "Mack Book Mondays" and "Fast Fact Fridays" to help drive accessibility to education, especially in underserved populations. A passionate advocate for inclusion, he was named a Special Olympics "Global Ambassador" in 2020.
• Vanita Krouch (flag football) ­– Vanita Krouch is a 2022 member of the U.S. Women's Flag National Team. She has been a member of the national team since 2016, winning gold at the IFAF World Championships in 2018 and 2021 as starting quarterback and team captain. She was recently featured in in the NFL's Super Bowl LVII advertisement, "Run With It," the top 2 rated commercial by 2023 USA Today AdMeter.
• Brandon Marshall (football) – A top wide receiver in the NFL for 12 years, he is redefining what is means to be an athlete as the creator of the wildly successful podcast, I Am Athlete (IAA), which tackles essential and controversial topics around sports, culture, and society. Marshall is also the founder and CEO of lifestyle wellness brand, House of Athlete and HOA+, through which he continues to serve his community by raising awareness and providing access to mental and physical health resources.
• Paul and Mike Rabil (lacrosse) – Paul Rabil is a former professional lacrosse player and considered one of the best lacrosse players of all time. With his brother and Co-Founder Mike, the Rabils started the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Over four years, they built a league, established a network partnership with ESPN, and struck deals with corporate partners that include Ticketmaster, Cash App, Adidas, BOSE, Progressive Insurance, Champion, Gatorade, Michelob Ultra and more. In 2022, the Rabils were executive producers on "Fate of a Sport," an ESPN documentary about the building of the PLL.
• Annika Sörenstam (golf) – Often regarded as the greatest female golfer of her generation, Annika rewrote the LPGA and Ladies European Tour record books, won countless awards, and changed the way women's golf was played, viewed, and covered during her 15-year, Hall-of-Fame career.
• Aly Wagner (soccer) – Aly is a co-founder of the National Women's Soccer League's San Francisco franchise, sports broadcaster, and retired soccer midfielder who last played for Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional Soccer and the United States women's national soccer team. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup bronze medalist.
• James Worthy (basketball) – Is a celebrated former professional basketball player who played his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Nicknamed "Big Game James," today he is a sports commentator, television host, analyst, and philanthropist who speaks frequently about the value of teamwork.

Brand Partners

• Recess Pickleball – Bringing the Beach's pickleball tournament to life – the first Recess Pickleball tournament to hit the Croisette on the French Riviera – Recess is a lifestyle brand that builds pickleball paddles that look as fun and approachable as the sport itself. Inspired by the founding partners' elementary school roots – they used to play together at recess – Recess Pickleball was born in 2021 and brings that wholesome recess feeling to people of all ages, encouraging them to take a break, have fun, and play.
• USA Track & Field – Based in Indianapolis, USA Track & Field is the National Governing Body for track and field, long distance running, and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the number one high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
• Wilson – Chicago, USA-based Wilson Sporting Goods Co. will be the Beach's "official ball of everything." Wilson is the world's leading manufacturer of high-performance sports equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories. The company brings more than a century of innovation, history and heritage across many sports including racquet sports, baseball, softball, football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and golf. The brand also offers Wilson Sportswear inclusive of athletic lifestyle and performance apparel for all to live like an athlete.

Journalists, Commentators and Moderators

• TJ Adeshola – Will serve as a senior advisor and moderator on the Beach. He is a leader at the intersection of tech, media, and culture. Most recently, he led the Global Media Partnerships team at Twitter, providing strategic consulting for the world's largest media properties across sports, gaming, entertainment and news. TJ has appeared on CNBC, Good Morning America, ESPN, NBA TV, NFL Network and more.
• Holly Rowe (ESPN) – An American sports telecaster, Rowe has worked for more than 20 years as one of ESPN's most versatile commentators covering college basketball and football. Rowe won the 2022 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Personality/Reporter and was the 2022 recipient of the Mel Greenberg National Media Award from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). She will enter the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as the Curt Gowdy Electronic Media Contributor for 2023, in August.

Previously announced talent and brand partners include Maria Sharapova, Allyson Felix, Spencer Dinwiddie, Erin Andrews, Axios, Diageo, Penske Media Corporation, United Airlines and more. Stagwell invites brands, athletes, sports leagues/teams, media platforms, journalists, and other interested parties who would like to partner on the ground to reach out to cannescomms@stagwellglobal.com for more information.

Sport Beach will be produced by TEAM Enterprises in partnership with Cheerful Twentyfirst. Stagwell's 72andSunny, Anomaly, Allison+Partners, Assembly, Code and Theory, Colle McVoy, Doner, Forsman & Bodenfors, GALE, Instrument, National Research Group and Stagwell Marketing Cloud will drive the conversation.

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.

Media Contact
Sarah Arvizo
pr@stagwellglobal.com 

 

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SOURCE Stagwell Inc.