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Rap mogul Steve Stoute was named Executive of the Year by top industry trade magazine, Advertising Age.
Steve Stoute owns Translation Marketing LLC, which is also partly owned by superstar rapper Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter.
The honor is part of Advertising Age’s “Agency A-List Ranking” initiative, which honors the top advertising/marketing companies, based on creativity, performance and the ability to impact the client’s business, in a positive manner
“I push this thing forward for our culture and I’m proud of that,” Steve Stoute told AllHipHop.com. “I have to take this all the way.”
Translation, which boasts a roster of Fortune 500 companies, specializes in helping its clients thrive in the world of Pop culture.
The company has grown since its founding in 2004, with clients like McDonald’s, State Farm, Target, Estee Lauder, Budweiser, Wm. Wrigley
Jr. Co, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Lady Gaga, The Brooklyn Nets and others.
Prior to founding Translation, Steve Stoute was well-known in the Hip-Hop world, working with artists like Sean “Diddy” Combs, Nas to name a few, while holding down executive posts at labels like, Sony and Interscope/Geffen/A&M Records.
In 2011 Steve Stoute released his critically acclaimed book “The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of The New Economy,” where he shares his philosophy that all people are moving towards a shared “cultural complexion.”
“Entertainment is so sexy that people only pay attention to that,” Stoute said during an interview with Ad Age. “But I think our strategy department is the best in the industry. The thinking in our agency never gets the credit it deserves because we have a celebrity. We are first and foremost a strategic and creative shop. And second, we have a Rolodex in entertainment and sports that’s unique in the industry.”
