Russell Simmons And Tricia Clarke-Stone Announce New Digital Solutions Group: Narrative

NEW YORK, April 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Renowned entrepreneur and media mogul, Russell Simmons, along with former GlobalGrind.com Co-President, Tricia Clarke-Stone, today announced a partnership to form Narrative: The Culture Lab.  Narrative is a digital marketing, entertainment and technology company focused on developing unique brand experiences and solutions.  Employing a blend of strategy, creative innovation, technology & cultural relevance to connect brands with the new American mainstream across platforms.  Narrative will continue to manage GlobalGrind.com's growing client base with marketing, revenue generation services, and sales media representation.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130410/NY92633LOGO )

In backing the venture, Simmons remarked: "Tricia Clarke-Stone is one of the great talents I've come across in many years.  She creates campaigns that use the wonderful changes taking place in culture, demographics and technology to tell compelling stories that are to digital advertising campaigns what HBO is to conventional television.  I'm proud to be supporting her in taking digital advertising to the next level and enriching brands, agencies and publishers in the process."

Stone added, "For me, the launch of Narrative is the evolution of the work I've been doing my entire career.  Our DNA is built around idea engineering- activated and amplified.  We help companies develop their brand voice and create unique digital experiences to best communicate their narrative. Our work is born from creativity, focused on strategy, inspired by culture and influencers, driven by technology and scaled to reach audiences."

While Co-President of GlobalGrind.com, Stone utilized a strategic and creative approach to revenue generation, product development and integrated marketing.  She developed a new form of digital advertising rooted in the creative integration of high impact social, cultural and celebrity-driven content with proprietary technology-led immersive experiences.  Stone created over 100 cross-cultural, digital, social and transmedia experiences for brands like Universal Pictures, Toyota, Pantene, Boost Mobile, Pepsi, Gillette, Tide, Sony, AT&T, SKYY Spirits and Finish Line.  Recognizing the value of these proprietary, immersive brand solutions for all publishers, agencies and brands alike, Stone and Simmons partnered to form Narrative.

Narrative is focused on 3 disciplines that can all work in unison or as stand-alone capabilities:

1.    Idea Engineering - We turn foresight and ideas into experiences through inventive, culture-infused, multi-platform moments stimulating conversions.

Services:

• Brand Strategy & Consulting 
• Content Creation, Production & Distribution
• Ideation, Branded Visual Storytelling & Digital Campaigns 
• Integrated Marketing & Branded Entertainment
• Cultural Curation & Integration
• Celebrity & Influencer Alignment |ROI- Return on Influence|
• Creative & Product Development
• Gamification, Rewards & Incentives
• Social Media Strategy

2.    Activated - Build, Serve and Analyze
A custom, scalable advertising platform that provides innovative and contextual brand experiences that delivers results across 3-screens built around audience data and KPIs. We power various ad formats, feature-rich ad tools and custom solutions via premium-based transportable experiences. Narrative's custom, insight-driven ad serving platform utilizes behavioral data, interaction points/rates, benchmarks, A/B testing, and more to analyze and optimize campaigns and custom experiences in real time.

3.    Amplified - Our curated distribution portfolio of leading pop culture, entertainment, music and lifestyle sites, platforms, and cultural arbiters allows us to scale, seed and integrate robust programs seamlessly to engage a loyal cross-cultural audience in all environments.

Stone will serve as Chief Executive Officer and oversee day-to-day operations from the company's New York headquarters.

About Narrative

Founded by Tricia Clarke-Stone and Russell Simmons, Narrative is a digital marketing, entertainment and technology company focused on developing unique brand experiences and solutions.  Employing a blend of strategy, creative innovation, technology & cultural movement to connect brands with the new American mainstream across platforms.  For more information, please visit www.narrativemarketing.com.

SOURCE Narrative