Stagwell acquires Left Field Labs as it doubles down on AI transformation

Dive Brief:

Stagwell has acquired Left Field Labs, a 15-year-old agency that has made a name for itself in the fields of emerging technology, digital transformation and immersive experiences, according to a company announcement.
As part of Stagwell’s Constellation Network, Left Field will offer services around strategic innovation, user experience design, adept prototyping and technological engineering. Left Field has worked with brands including Google, Meta, Amazon, Uber and Cisco.
This is the company’s third acquisition of 2023, following digital creative agency In The Company of Huskies in April and Tinsel Experiential Design in July. The latest deal comes as it doubles down on AI capabilities in data and research through The Harris Poll.

Dive Insight:

Stagwell likes to call itself a “challenger network,” and, as such, it is looking for ways to act smarter through digital capabilities and advanced AI tools. By acquiring Left Field Labs, the network is bringing in a proven digital player — the agency has launched 3,200 products for Google alone — that can provide expertise and experience in emerging tech and AI for Stagwell’s Constellation network agencies.

The deal fits into Stagwell’s long-term strategy that includes taking a leadership role in transforming digital marketing through AI, per Mark Penn, chairman and CEO of Stagwell, in a statement.

“Left Field has spent 15 years crafting experiences that never existed before, with an exemplary track record of steadily innovating with AI and building what's next with partners like Hasbro, Unity, and DataRobot,” said Penn.

As Stagwell looks toward the future, it also recently added former global CEO of Young & Rubicam David Sable as vice chairman, Ad Age reported.

As part of Constellation, Left Field will be tasked with launching a suite of offerings that weave together AI, digital transformation and immersive experiences to help clients harness AI capabilities while maintaining enterprise security, transforming product strategy and creating solutions for more efficient workflows.

Left Field Labs has helped Ford design its foundational features for its in-car Sync 4.0 operating systems, according to the release. It also served as Verizon’s innovation partner to define, communicate and commercialize the telecom’s emerging technologies.

The Left Field acquisition follows a rollout of AI-based research products under its The Harris Poll unit. The new products, called Harris Quest, include self-service surveys, real-time brand tracking and customer experience management tools. Harris Quest will eventually be integrated with other software and data tools for marketers as part of Stagwell Marketing Cloud, Digiday reported.