Brands like Chevy Impala, Crest Whitestrips and Reese's peanut butter cups are turning to a consultancy run by a 36-year-old former music executive for help in imbuing their brands with a combination
of hip-hop ethos and practicality.
Steve Stoute immodestly characterizes his firm--Translation Consultation & Brand Imaging--as "a McKinsey of pop culture." He is closely aligned with
a new guard of innovation consultants providing strategies that go beyond tricked-out sneakers and jeans. His message: Companies have not embraced the changes in the culture to be able to talk to a
new generation of consumers.
As an African American with strong relationships to hip-hop artists (music icon Jay-Z is a business partner), Stoute also says he's helping executives
understand a phenomenon that he refers to as the "tanning of America." It's a generation of black, Latino, and white consumers who have the same "mental complexion," he says, based on "shared
experiences and values."
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