It’s safe to assume the annual December “powerbroker” trip to St. Barths this year involved some time plotting career moves for Shawn Carter and Steve Stoute. (this picture looks like a shot from the airport) Stoute was riding high from a recent sale of his agency, Translation Marketing to interpublic for a conservative $10 Million. Jay-Z was getting ready to announce his exit from post at Def Jam, a gig that had lost its allure due to a record business that is in the toilet. For those speculating for the last few days in the blogosphere, the rumor has become reality. Today’s NYT reports that Jay-Z’s next move will be to create Translation Advertising with partner Steve Stoute and formalize something that has been happening anyway over the last few years. For those close to Translation it was not uncommon for Stoute to spend hours on the phone with Carter coming up with ideas and programs for brands. Now the two have a company umbrella to call home and I’m sure Interpublic will be bending over backwards to make the venture a success. Money seems to chase both Stoute and Carter and this will be a successful venture we are sure. No talk of a digital arm, nor interactive advertising component yet, but even in a multicultural advertising market, the addition of Jay-Z already makes them a powerful player.
