Dozens - Translation

STEVE STOUTE
For the music mogul who introduced hip-hop culture
to Fortune 500 brands, rap icons, shoeless meetings
and boxing rounds are all in a day's work.
TRACKED
September 27, 2012,
9
a.m.
Wakes up
in his Tribeca apartment. dresses in jeans,
blazer, tie and red Balenciaga high-tops.
Breakfast
Eats
Soft-boiled eggs, toast,
fresh fruit yogurt parfait.
Drinks
Juice, coffee, green smoothie (ingredients:
frozen banana, green vibrance powder,
spirulina, raw protein, almond milk and ice).
AD MAN | Between client presentations and agency meetings, marketing guru Steve Stoute visits a friend on
his yacht docked at Chelsea Piers.
Daily reading
IN 2003, FORMER MUSIC EXECUTIVE Steve Stoute was on his way to reinventing himself as an ad man when he
brokered an endorsement deal with the hip-hop icon Jay-Z for Reebok's S. Carter Collection of sneakers. The
response to the unexpected pairing was explosive, giving Reebok its fastest-selling shoe to date, helping the
brand step out of Nike's shadow. Stoute, 42, opened his own consulting and branding agency, Translation,
based on the same canny insight: that hip-hop was still an untapped resource in the world of Fortune 500
marketing—a notion that's proven incredibly lucrative for Stoute and his clients.
With Translation, Stoute, who had produced Grammy-
• The New York Times
• Women’s Wear Daily
On his playlist
winning albums for Will Smith and Eminem and managed
the careers of Nas and Mary J. Blige, brought to big companies a nuanced understanding of hip-hop culture and an
intuitive sense that celebrity endorsements only work
when they feel organic. He unleashed campaigns that
revolutionized the concept, like Justin Timberlake's recording of "I'm Lovin' It" for McDonald's. In 2006, Jay-Z stepped
Nas (Stoute is referenced in his song
“A Queens Story”) and TV on the Radio
(”Will Do” was used in one of
Stoutes’s recent Bud Light TV spots)
on board as a partner. Translation now works with some of
the largest companies in America, including State Farm and
Coca-Cola. In September, Stoute and Jay-Z staged the
for an upcoming documentary about Jay-Z, with Stoute
coproducing alongside Brian Grazer.
In 2011, Stoute's book, The Tanning of America, about coming of age as part of the hip-hop generation and its
American dream alive and well in our time," he writes, "the dream that is still intrinsic to popular culture, our
Dozens
of inspirations
His home is filled with things that
speak to him, from Malcom X’s letters
to portraits of Muhammad Ali.
2p.m.
Afternoon meetings
Heads across town
10a.m.
to the office of Mediabistro’s AgencySpy
blog for an on-camera interview.
F-words uttered
0
Arrives at the
Translation office
shoes worn
in Midtown
1
Zino Platinum
cigar smoked
during a morning meeting. Stoute founded the
brand with the Swiss company Davidoff.
3
Ralph Lauren
Purple Label suits
• Call with Jay-Z’s staff
to discuss Twitter and
Instagram platforms for the
Made in America festival.
• Interview with a
prospective employee,
• Discussion with a producer
about potential interview
subjects (Norman Lear?
Bill Cosby? Sidney Poitier?)
for a VH1 documentary series
inspired by Stoute’s book.
The Tanning of America
phone calls placed
times
Stoute has read The Seat of the Soul,
a guide to sensory perception.
fitted to Stoute by a tailor sent over from
the store-a perk for royal customers.
6p.m.
Leaves the office
He’s reading it again now.
10a.m.
and heads to the Aeospace boxing gym..
where he works out several times
a week with Michael Olajide, a former
middleweight champion.
Including a call to Jerry Sienfield
to congratulate him on his new Web series
and one to Brian Grazer.
10
years
since Run DMC last performance. Stoute
breaks the news via Twitter
that they will reunite in September for
Made in America
Lunch
brought in by his assistant.
90
• Jump rope • Pull-ups • Punches
• And a series of what Olajide calls
character testers, which has Stoute pull
himself across the room on his hands.
Fish a shrimp and scallop medley
and a calamari salad
pounds lost
over nine years of boxing and running.
espressos
consumed
8p.m.
Dinner at Fresco by Scotto
with Brett Yormark,
the CEO of Brooklyn Nets.
Eats
A family-style serving of steak,
chicken salad, a special coconut
sorbet (not on the menu).
6
ticket-design options
floated by the Nets during the dinner, narrowed
down from an original 20 created by Translation.
2
Steve’s workout regimen
Eats
4
Topics of discussion include: Translation
winning the prestigious Bud Light account.
20
19
30
glasses of wine
7:20p.m.
Stops at Chelsea Piers
to visit his friend Jay Schottenstein,
the chairman of American Eagle and DSW
whose yacht is docked there
with Jay-Z, who shows up at Fresco
after the others have left.
The two discuss the ticket designs.
2:15p.m.
Asleep
in bed. No pajamas.