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The overthrow of President Alpha Conde in Guinea capped a steady slide from grace for the veteran opposition leader and human rights professor who critics say failed to live up to pledges to deliver democratic restoration and ethnic reconciliation. A dishevelled Conde appeared in a video circulating on social media as he was being held […]
The post Who is Alpha Conde, Guinea’s toppled president? appeared first on NewsDay Zimbabwe.
Many people have been killed since clashes began on Monday. Scores too had been killed in the run up to the vote as protestors marched against Conde's bid for a third term.
AN Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) senior official has sued six men believed to be State security agents for torturing her in Domboshava over a video she posted on social media protesting the abduction of three MDC Alliance officials.
Moreblessing Nyambara, the Artuz national secretary for gender and social welfare is currently nursing severe injuries from the incident which happened on Saturday.
In an interview with NewsDay, Nyambara said on the day of the incident, a man in military uniform approached her, while she was at a shopping centre in Domboshava waiting for her turn to buy subsidised mealie-meal.
“He then said he wanted to know why I was inciting people to turn against government by posting a video on social media about the abducted MDC MP Joanah Mamombe and two other party youths.
Nation Mudzitirwa, the Artuz spokesperson revealed that the union will be approaching the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission to file a report over the incident.
Two drivers working on behalf of FedEx were fired after posting a video to social media that showed a confrontation between them and a white Georgia customer.
“FedEx called and told me to take down this video and fired both of us today,” one of the men involved tweeted along with a short clip of the confrontation that took place.
A part of the confrontation that transpired between the delivery driver and a Georgia customer was caught on tape and widely shared on social media.
The driver, who NBC reports was employed by an independent service provider, added that he posted the video because “we go through racism everyday on that route in Leesburg but he [the white customer] was the first one to actually come up and actually threaten us.”
TOPICS: News essential workers FedEx viral video
Fresh off his “Life is Good” collaboration with Drake, Hndrxx unleashes his newest project, a 21-track LP featuring heavy-hitting names.
“I want to remain true to self, but also true to my fans and just giving them a good project, a great project to be able to listen to, but also for different artists to be able to feed off of, create off of, come up with different ideas and just being at the forefront of just making a solid album, a solid, complete album.
Will Smith Joyner Lucas — “Will (Remix)”
Joyner Lucas recently dropped a viral homage to Will Smith, fittingly titled “Will.”
ScHoolboy Q — “Pop Shit”
Top Dawg Entertainment’s rising rapper Reason teams up with his veteran label mate ScHoolboy Q for a brand new single, “Pop Shit.”
Chloe x Halle recently confirmed the album title’s meaning with fans on Instagram Live.
As governments struggle to contain COVID19, public service announcements and communication must focus on making citizens accept that the illness is a reality, giving them the knowledge to prevent and treat the infection and debunking myths and fake stories which impact the effectiveness of the response.
This could save many lives
There is fertile ground for fake stories about Corona to thrive
If there is a thin line between love and hate, there is an even thinner line between fake news and reality, especially on social media.
While lockdown-induced mischief cannot be ruled out, there are other reasons fake news and misinformation thrives: low trust, information asymmetry, a culture of weaponizing information, life experiences, cultural beliefs, myths and fragile social cohesion.
Fake news of conspiracies against Africans and Muslims is too close to the reality of botched vaccine trials in northern Nigeria and two European scientists proposing that coronavirus vaccine trials start in Africa.
As a few West African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria begin to relax lockdown rules, governments, the media and civil society must intensify communications aimed at sharing factual information on coronavirus prevention and cure; building and keeping trust; and defusing existing and new prejudices.
José Mário Vaz took office on June 23, 2014, after securing enough votes—61.9% to Nuno Gomes Nabiams 38.1%—during the second round of presidential voting on May 18. Domingos Simos Pereira, the leader of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) was named prime minister. The U.S. State Department offered these words, These elections offer the opportunity for comprehensive reforms to break Guinea-Bissaus cycle of corruption, and make progress on providing public services and advancing the countrys development.
In August 2015, President Vaz dismissed the government, including Prime Minister Pereira. Vaz appointed former Minister of National Defense Baciro Djá as the new prime minister on August 20. However, Djás appointment was contested by his own political party, PAIGC. His appointment also raised concerns from the Economic Community of West African States, a 15-member collective, about the president being able to substitute the role of prime minister. The following month, the Supreme Court ruled that Djás appointment was unconstitutional. He resigned on Sept. 9.
See also Encyclopedia: Guinea-Bissau .
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Guinea-Bissau
“As the mayor of Georgia’s largest city, I expressed opposition to Gov. Brian Kemp’s recent order allowing certain businesses—dine-in restaurants, gyms, hair and nail salons, barbershops, tattoo parlors and bowling alleys—to reopen before health experts say doing so is safe.
However, Lightfoot is grappling with many young people being non-compliant with the shelter-in-place orders her city is aggressively enforcing in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 in its neighborhoods; black neighborhoods, in particular.
As the nation’s third largest city’s first black woman and first openly gay mayor, she has had to struggle with the virus’ disproportionate impact on the black community.
Dr. Henry Louis Taylor, a professor of Urban and Regional Planning and the director of the Center for Urban Studies at the University of Buffalo, said we should not give these mayors a pass or holding them partly responsible for the catastrophic impact the pandemic has had on the black communities in their cities.
Given these African American mayors’ knowledge of their black communities and its social demographics they should have been better prepared for the deadly pandemic regardless of what the federal or state leaders did, Taylor said.
St. Andrews African Methodist Episcopal Church of Sacramento, California was founded in 1850, the same year that California was admitted to the union. It stands to this day as the oldest continuous African Methodist Episcopal (AME) congregation on the west coast.
The church began humbly, spurred on by a small group of early black settlers in the Sacramento area who in 1850 gathered at the home of Daniel Blue. They were led by preacher Barney Fletcher for worship. Later that year the members of the church filed a petition with the Indiana Conference to be officially admitted to the African Methodist Episcopal Conference. The petition was accepted in Indiana which returned a few materials to the new Sacramento church along with a letter of welcome from Rev. W.R. Revels to the fledgling congregation.
St. Andrews’ first pastor was John Fitzgerald. The church was initially known as Bethel AME Church and was admitted to the Indiana conference under that name. Soon thereafter, however, it became St. Andrews African Methodist Episcopal Church.
For the decade between 1855 and 1865, the church hosted three of the four California Colored Citizen’s Conventions. These conventions, which included delegates from most of the states counties, were organized to illustrate the economic progress black Californians had made during their short residency in the state and to highlight a number of civil rights grievances including the inability of African American males to vote or of any black Californians to give testimony in the states courts. The Conventions met at St. Andrews in 1855, 1856, and 1865.
In 1925, St. Andrews celebrated its Diamond Jubilee. Among those serving as trustees at that time were Julia Brown and Laura C. OReilly, the first woman ever elected to a local AME church trustee board in the California Conference.
In 1951 the currently existing church building was constructed in Sacramento, giving the church a permanent home. The old site is now owned by the County of Sacramento and is a parking structure.
Stewart Trial Attorneys based in Atlanta — one of the most respected African American law firms in the country — is now handling the Ahmaud Arbery shooting.
According to BlackBusiness.com, L. Chris Stewart is the founder of the firm, which handles a variety of cases including wrongful death and civil rights.
However, Stewart Trial Attorneys is also known for its civil rights cases.
The firm also represented some of the nation’s highest-profile civil rights death cases, including Alton Sterling, who was killed on video by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Stewart told Black Enterprise the laws do not make fighting civil rights cases in court easy.
Our forever president, Barack Obama, will join a star-studded lineup and speakers in a live broadcast commencement event for graduating high school seniors this evening.
Presented by XQ Institute, the LeBron James Family Foundation, and the Entertainment Industry Foundation, Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 will feature Mr. Obama and a host of other stars such as King James, Pharrell Williams, H.E.R., Lena Waithe, and more.
The event will be simulcast across various social media platforms and major broadcast networks, including YouTube, NBC, ABC, FOX, CBS, Instagram, and over 20 digital streaming venues.
Obama joined JPMorgan Chase’s “Show Me Your Walk” HBCU commencement event, hosted by Kevin Hart and featuring Sen. Kamala Harris and others who shared their words of encouragement for this important cog of the American education system.
Check out @GraduateTogether to connect with all social media connected with the Barack Obama To Address High School Class Of 2020 Students
\t\t\t\t\t\twas originally published On The Urban Daily:
Abdulai Mansaray: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 6 September 2021: On August 19, 2020, I questioned whether the coup in Mali was a sign, “Is Africa returning to its bad old ways? (Sierra Leone Telegraph. Com, Binkongo.com). It took one year to fulfil that prophesy, no arrogance intended, but we told you [Read More]
Lionel Bernstein, Denis Goldberg, Arthur Goldreich, Bob Hepple, Harold Wolpe and his brother-in-law James Kantor were white.
Hero of the anti-apartheid struggle Denis Goldberg, the only Rivonia defendant white man jailed for life, is the latest to die, at the age of 87.
Around the world, there is a history of white people who protested against racism in general and black oppression in particular.
Viola was a white housewife who worked with the American Civil Rights movement and Martin Luther King for the rights of black people.
Schwerner was also known for his door-to-door campaigns, seeking out white people to support the civil rights cause.
Jolene Alterskye faced charges of crimen injuria for comments she made about the judiciary.
Alterskye made comments on social media and in a text message following Rohde's conviction and sentencing in February last year, after Western Cape High Court Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe sentenced the former real estate chief.
Alterskye later formally apologised to Judge Salie-Hlophe and prosecutor Louis van Niekerk.
Western Cape NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said: \"The Acting Director of Prosecutions in the Western Cape, advocate Nicolette Bell, has withdrawn the charges against Jolene Alterskye, following her representations.
\"In her representations, Alterskye makes an unequivocal apology to Judge Salie-Hlophe, Judge President of the Western Cape High Court John Hlophe and the NPA - subsequent to her disparaging remarks against the justice system and the state.
The “Thotiana” star recorded his son’s mother Jaidyn Alexis going on a rampage and smashing a window at his home as he filmed her.
Sharing the moment with his fans on his Instagram Story feed, Blueface is shown laughing at Alexis’ tirade and then jokes that it must have been his sexual prowess that led to the violent outburst.
Via social media, Alexis shared in her own IG Story and on Twitter that there was a lot more to the story.
But we don’t see the footage of when a b*tch got inside now do we babe.
—
Photo: Getty
\t\t\t\t\t
\t\t\t\t\t\tBlueface’s Baby Mama Jaidyn Alexis Smashed Out Window At His Home
The property manager says he was introduced to property technology at a conference held for real estate stakeholders in 2018 in the UK.
Lugunda reveals that the current crisis has pushed what started as a trickle with the introduction of online search portals into a viable alternative way of doing business in the real estate sector.
Other digital strategies in real estate include platforms that connect tenants and landlords, augmented virtual home tours, which are far from a novelty, but are becoming far more accessible these days and building information modelling platforms (BIM).
By streamlining age-old processes of renting or buying real estate, managing and maintaining properties, it will ultimately improve the lives of its users.
Not only will you be using your social media accounts to interact with your real and digital community, but others will turn to social media to find out more information about their potential real estate agent.
The original doc featured first-person accounts of women, including Academy Award-winner Viola Davis, voicing their struggles with colorism and discrimination.
It also explored the history of colorism and how it’s consciously or unconsciously taught to Black written and executive produced by D. Channsin Berry, the sequel challenges those who think colorism is an outdated conversation by reminding viewers that it’s still pervasive today.
VIDEO
The sequel also takes a closer look at how societal prejudice based on skin color affects the self-esteem of Black women around the globe.
The trailer follows a woman explaining that in certain parts of Ghana women strive to lighten their skin constantly because “they don’t see themselves as being Black and beautiful.”
Dark Girls 2 actively connects what one interviewee calls the “colonial legacy” of colorism to recent incidents occurring today, including ignorant comments made by rappers on social media about their dating also explores the popularity of skin bleaching as a response to the collective trauma colorism has inflicted on Black people and exposes some of the risks associated with the practice.
The Media Association of Jamaica (MAJ) described Clarke as a titan of Caribbean media, adding that his mission was centred on press freedom and media independence.
“With his counterparts and friends Harold Hoyte of the Nation in Barbados, J Lester Spaulding of Radio Jamaica Limited, and Ken Gordon of the Trinidad Express, Oliver championed a united regional media giving birth to the Caribbean News Agency and the Caribbean Broadcasting Union.
“The quality and growth of Jamaica's media environment and its excellent level of press freedom attained are the legacies of the work and passion of Oliver.
“Oliver Clarke will forever be regarded as a media pioneer, a press freedom fighter and one who transformed the business of media into a critical contributor to national development.
Describing Clarke as a great Jamaican patriot, NCU President Dr Lincoln Edward said the late businessman “advocated tirelessly to protect and promote press freedom across the Americas through international forums such as the Inter-American Press Association as well as the Commonwealth Press Association
He pointed out that it was in recognition of Clarke's distinguished public service that the university conferred on him the Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, during the institution's commencement in August 2013, where he delivered the keynote address.
Neither graphic reports of the horrors experienced by some in State quarantine nor Prime Minister Andrew Holness' explanation that there is simply nowhere to house them, have dampened stranded Disney Fantasy crew members' pleas to be allowed to come home.
“There is nowhere like home,”one crew member told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.
The rules, first outlined in March then later amended in April, stipulate that cruise lines would only be allowed to let off crew in US territories if they agreed that they do not use public transportation, do not mix with the public on the way home, and do not stay at hotels being used by the general public.
Disney Fantasy crew members have been intently watching all of this as their ship sails to various countries to allow other colleagues to disembark.
We would adhere to two unannounced visits to our house daily and we are willing to sign [documents indicating] that all information given is factual, including health status and home address,” one crew member told the Sunday Observer yesterday, making the case for a return home.
The block party advertised on social media drew a crowd of 3,000 mostly Black people on Saturday as the state reopened businesses and public spaces.
In at least 35 states, public health officials are sharing the addresses of people who have the virus with first responders.
STATES
Rebekah Jones, former manager of the Geographic Information System team at Florida’s Department of Health, says she’s been fired for refusing to manipulate data in reference to COVID-19 cases.
Public health officials in states such as Virginia, Texas, Vermont, Florida and Georgia are accused of manipulation coronavirus infection statistics to deliberately make things look better than they are.
Judge Biery ruled that the “disability” provision in the state’s vote-by-mail election code applies to all registered voters who “lack immunity from Covid-19 and fear infection at polling places.”
Nine people, including one police officer, have died in the West African state of Guinea, the security ministry said Wednesday, following days of unrest after a tense weekend presidential election.
In a statement, the ministry pointed to shootings and stabbings in the capital Conakry and elsewhere in the country since Sunday's presidential vote.
\"This strategy of chaos (was) orchestrated to jeopardise the elections of October 18, \" the ministry said, adding that many people had been injured and property was damaged.
Clashes were ongoing in Conakry on Wednesday, where a security officer, Mamadou Keganan Doumbouya, told the press that at least three people had died.
And a local doctor, who declined to be named, said he had received two dead bodies, and nine injured people, at his clinic.
The violence follows the high-stakes election in which President Alpha Conde ran for a third term in a controversial bid that had already sparked mass protests.
With tensions already running high, Guinea's main opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo on Monday declared victory in the election -- before the announcement of the official results, which are expected this week.
Opposition supporters are deeply suspicious about the fairness of the poll, although the government insists that it was fair.
Much of the tension in Guinea centres on Conde's candidacy.
In March, the 82-year-old president pushed through a new constitution which he argued would modernise the country. It also allowed him to bypass a two-term limit for presidents, however.
Security forces repressed mass protests against the move from October last year, killing dozens of people.
On Wednesday, plumes of black smoke rose over an opposition stronghold in the capital Conakry, where protesters erected barricades and lit fires, an AFP journalist saw.
Youths in alleyways also hurled stones at police officers stationed along a main artery who fired back tear gas canisters.
The security ministry stated that \"a police officer was lynched to death\" in a Conakry suburb, without specifying when the attack occurred.
In a social media post earlier on Wednesday, Conde appealed for \"calm and serenity while awaiting the outcome of the electoral process\".
- Clashes and barricades -
Ten candidates are in the race besides alongside frontrunners Conde and Diallo, old political rivals who traded barbs in a bitter campaign.
Despite fears of violence after the pre-vote clashes, polling day was mostly calm.
Then Diallo's self-proclaimed election victory ratcheted up tensions, and celebrations by his supporters descended into violent clashes with security forces on Monday.
The opposition politician said that security forces killed three youngsters that night, although AFP was unable to confirm the details.
Security forces also barricaded Diallo inside his house, the politician said on Tuesday.
Monitors from the African Union and the 15-nation West African bloc ECOWAS both said that Guinea's election was mostly fair, despite insistence from Diallo's camp tha
Some governments have stared this bleak figure in the eye with all round economic stimulus packages which have included cuts to Pay As You Earn and corporation taxes like the Kenyan government.
Later that evening, she watched a news clip in which the Minister of Finance, Mr Matia Kasaija, said a prospective economic stimulus package was on its way.
To feed the national budget which Parliament had passed and also keep the economic stimulus package hopes alive, the ministry was banking on six quick loans from the World Bank, IMF, French Development Fund and the African Development to raise close to two billion dollars.
As heads of schools donated to the National Task Force on Covid-19, several teachers, especially in private schools, cried out for relief food saying they had not been paid since the president closed all education institutions in March to combat the pandemic.
The Uganda Hotel Owners' Association revealed that their members have been forced to send at least 400,000 employees on unpaid leave due to the Covid-19 lockdown that has plunged tourism, the country's biggest foreign exchange earner and other sectors of the economy, into disarray.
Of all the couples who have been featured on Married at First Sight, there haven’t been many who have been more intriguing to follow than Shawniece Jackson and Jephte Pierre.
They appeared on the 2018 spin-off Married at First Sight: Happily Ever After preparing for a baby, not wearing their rings and attempting to fight for their marriage after depression, outside sexual relationships and heartache.
Despite the ups and downs, Shawniece and Jephte haven’t shied away from stepping in front of the camera and revealing the raw ups and downs of their relationship, critics be damned.
We caught up with them to see how they’ve navigated the struggles of working on their marriage in the public eye and how they don’t allow the outside opinions, including the many on social media, to keep them from doing things their way.
Shawniece, would you say keeping Laura’s best interests in mind and your shared love for her played a part in you sticking with your marriage after Jephte’s infidelity?
KLFY says the Kaplan police officer Steven Aucoin made the comment in a live feed for the governor’s Friday press conference.
Chief of Police, Joshua Hardy, slammed Aucoin, saying this behavior is not tolerated within the department and Aucoin was fired after an investigation of the entire thread.
However, he argued that Aucoin’s comments could’ve been a misunderstanding because of how Facebook works.
Chief Hardy explained, “There were some comments that were further up that was not suitable for a police officer to put up on Facebook.”
According to screenshots taken by a Facebook user of the comments, Aucoin posted other comments like, “LOL you people have no clue you think your pathetic existence is meaningful.
A section of formal workers on Sunday took to social media to air their disgust after the National Response Covid-19 Fund made an appeal asking them to donate Shs10, 000 each, to compliment government's efforts in the fight against coronavirus.
The Shs15 billion could come directly from the 1.5 million employees and if the companies were so gracious enough to match, that would get us another Shs15 billion to get to Shs30 billion,\" said Mr Patrick Mweheire, the chairman Fundraising Subcommittee National Response Fund to Covid-19 which was established by President Museveni to mobilise resources from the private sector to supplement an already strained Ministry of Health in its combat against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Below is a sample of the concerns from social media:
\"The government has refused to relieve us of PAYE, Corporate taxes, our salaries have been cut, companies have closed, they are swindling money in the treasury by way of allocating MPs free millions of shillings, we are grappling to feed our families having lost our jobs or part of our salaries and they have the audacity to ask us again to contribute?
Hours after the appeal, Senior Presidential press secretary, Mr Don Wanyama said President Museveni on Monday (May 18) address Ugandans on government's efforts in the fight against Covid-19.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the country have risen to 227 after 24 people tested positive to the virus on Saturday.
Guinea Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has called for the amendment of the country's constitution, and set up a committee to come up with a proposal.
Last month, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) acknowledged Mr Embaló as the winner of the Guinea Bissau re-run held on December 29 and urged him to form a government.
\"After a deep analysis of the country's political situation, the regional heads of state decided to recognise Mr Umaro Sissoco Embaló victory of the December 29 presidential re-run\", Ecowas said in a statement
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\"Bissau Guinean political actors have to work in an inclusive and constructive way to implement Ecowas relevant decisions particularly in forming a new government and the appointment of a new prime minister,\" he said in a statement.
The Africa Union also congratulated Mr Embaló and urged Bissau Guinean politicians to adhere to Ecowas decisions and work for the country's stability.
Tolbert was ousted in a military coup on April 12, 1980, by Master Sgt. Samuel K. Doe, backed by the U.S. government. Does rule was characterized by corruption and brutality. A rebellion led by Charles Taylor, a former Doe aide, and the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), started in Dec. 1989; the following year, Doe was assassinated. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) negotiated with the government and the rebel factions and attempted to restore order, but the civil war raged on. By April 1996, factional fighting by the countrys warlords had destroyed any last vestige of normalcy and civil society. The civil war finally ended in 1997.
In what was considered by international observers to be a free election, Charles Taylor won 75% of the presidential vote in July 1997. The country had next to no health care system, and the capital was without electricity and running water. Taylor supported Sierra Leones brutal Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in the hopes of toppling his neighbors government and in exchange for diamonds, which enriched his personal coffers. As a consequence, the UN issued sanctions against Liberia.
In 2002, rebels—Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD)—intensified their attacks on Taylors government. By June 2003, LURD and other rebel groups controlled two-thirds of the country. Finally, on Aug. 11, Taylor stepped down and went into exile in Nigeria. By the time he was exiled, Taylor had bankrupted his own country, siphoning off $100 million and leaving Liberia the worlds poorest nation. Gyude Bryant, a businessman seen as a coalition builder, was selected by the various factions as the new president.
Dar es Salaam — Tanzania expects tourists from at least four countries to start arriving in the country anytime from this month to July, the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) announced yesterday.
TTB managing director Devota Mdachi said yesterday they have been in talks with a number of countries especially those that have witnessed a decline in Covid-19 infections and that the countries have shown intention of bringing tourists into the country.
TTB chairman Judge (rtd) Thomas Mihayo said following the Covid-19 outbreak, the board came up with long and short term strategies that saw the country continue with promotion of its tourist attractions.
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Last week, the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, and other stakeholders agreed to formulate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on how to manage tourist activities in the country.
He said TTB will also inspect the areas to ensure that the services adhere to safety rules as well as equipping themselves with emergency services in accordance with the SOPs
He further said they will hold talks with the embassies, tourist market ambassadors in the country to assure them of what the government was doing to ensure the safety of the visitors.
Covid-19 has changed the way that Muslims around the world are celebrating this weekend with the end of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting and prayer.
This weekend is Eid al-Fitr, a festival that means the breaking of fast, normally a time of celebrations and going to the Mosque.
Most countries have now either cancelled or altered plans for their festivities, however, many have opted to taking their celebration into the virtual world.
With smaller, more intimate at home celebrations and a planned online greeting of “Eid Mubarek” (have a blessed holiday) trending on social media the spirit of the holiday lives strong.
There are an estimated 1.6 billion Muslims around the world, with many from African countries.
Music mogul, Russell Simmons first made his debut with Def Jam Records, he then launched his clothing line Phat Farm. Now, Russell Simmons is presenting his latest venture in the advertising world.
Simmons recently launched Narrative, a digital marketing, entertainment and technology company, with his longtime business partner Tricia Clarke-Stone.
While many might label this latest venture as an advertisement agency, both Clarke-Stone and Simmons are quick to avoid referring to it as such.
“We want to make sure agencies don’t view us as a competitor,” said Ms. Clarke-Stone. “We’re not trying to be agency of record for different brands and clients. We believe we have a level of expertise that’s really rooted in creating immersive brand experiences across platforms.”
Narrative is a company that touts itself on providing marketing solutions for publishers, agencies and brands.
“We work for agencies, we’re not an agency,” Simmons added. “We’re a digital solutions [company]. We think our future is working for agencies, not working around them.”
The company’s purpose is to create digital campaigns driven by social media, branded entertainment and celebrity-driven content, using techniques such as crowd-sourcing, gamification and rewards.
These campaigns are also distributed through pop-culture, entertainment, music and lifestyle websites. Equipped with behavioral-data analytics and a custom ad-serving platform, among other technologies, the company is launching with high hopes of being just as successful as Simmons other businesses.
“We’re creating unique experiences that we’re producing, and then we have the technology to be able to scale it across platforms and then deliver really highly robust analytics,” said Ms. Clarke-Stone.
Narrative is launching with about 9 employees, and by end of year Mr. Simmons and Ms. Clarke-Stone expect to have close to 20, mostly based in New York, with some key people in Los Angeles.
