Stagwell's (NASDAQ:STGW) The Harris Poll Launches QuestRQ, a Next-Generation, Always-On Reputation Intelligence Platform for Modern Business Leaders

Rhea-AI Summary

The Harris Poll (NASDAQ:STGW) on January 21, 2026 launched Harris QuestRQ, an always-on reputation intelligence platform that links live reputation metrics to over three decades of Reputation Quotient (RQ) trend data and the HarrisQuest brand-tracking system.

QuestRQ measures six reputation dimensions, connects reputation shifts to 75+ brand-health metrics, offers a modular self-service platform with consulting support, and targets enterprise use across sectors with early-adoption incentives.

News Market Reaction

+2.11%

1 alert

+2.11% News Effect

On the day this news was published, STGW gained 2.11%, reflecting a moderate positive market reaction.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

Key Figures

Reputation data history: over three decades Reputation metrics linked: over seventy-five metrics Reputation dimensions: six key dimensions

3 metrics

Reputation data history over three decades Trended proprietary corporate ranking data history

Reputation metrics linked over seventy-five metrics Brand health metrics connected to reputation movements

Reputation dimensions six key dimensions Trust, vision, quality, relevance, ethics, culture framework

Market Reality Check

Price: $6.01 Vol: Volume 4,368,094 is 2.33x...

high vol

$6.01 Last Close

Volume Volume 4,368,094 is 2.33x 20-day average 1,870,784, signaling elevated interest pre-announcement. high

Technical Trading above 200-day MA at $5.19, with price at $6.65 and 11.1% below 52-week high.

Peers on Argus

STGW was up 1.37% pre-news, while peers IAS, ZD, CRTO, QNST and EEX showed gains...

STGW was up 1.37% pre-news, while peers IAS, ZD, CRTO, QNST and EEX showed gains between 0.78% and 4%, suggesting a broadly positive move across advertising/marketing names.

Common Catalyst Some peers (e.g., CRTO) had earnings-related communications, but the broader upward move appears more sector-supportive than single-catalyst driven.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Jan 07 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Jan 07	Leadership alignment	Positive	-2.8%	Named Global Chair to oversee media and commerce agencies.
Jan 07	New business unit	Positive	-2.8%	Elevated SPORT BEACH into standalone sports marketing unit.
Jan 06	Executive appointment	Positive	+1.4%	Appointed Wendy Lund as Global CEO Allison and Vice Chair of Health.
Jan 05	Platform launch	Positive	+3.8%	Launched AI-based agentic operating system ‘The Machine’.
Jan 02	Investor conference	Neutral	+3.8%	Announced CEO participation in Needham Growth Conference.

Pattern Detected

Recent strategic and product announcements generally saw positive follow-through, while some organizational/structural news drew negative reactions, indicating mixed sensitivity to leadership changes versus innovation launches.

Recent Company History

Over early January 2026, STGW issued a stream of strategic and innovation updates. These included the launch of AI platform The Machine, leadership changes at Allison Worldwide, the creation of the SPORT BEACH business unit, and alignment of media and commerce companies under a new Global Chair. Conference participation at the 28th Annual Needham Growth Conference also featured. Price reactions ranged from -2.81% to +3.81%, showing that while innovation and event participation often coincided with gains, some structural/leadership news drew selling.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement introduces Harris QuestRQ as an always-on reputation intelligence platform that in...

Analysis

This announcement introduces Harris QuestRQ as an always-on reputation intelligence platform that integrates decades of Reputation Quotient data with live brand tracking. It emphasizes six dimensions of reputation and over seventy-five brand health metrics for decision-making across the C-suite. In the context of recent AI and platform launches by STGW units, this adds another data-driven capability. Investors may watch for client adoption, cross-selling with existing platforms, and how management frames the product’s impact in future filings and updates.

Key Terms

reputation intelligence, reputation quotient (rq), esg commitments

3 terms

reputation intelligence technical

"Harris QuestRQ now delivers these capabilities through a modern, scalable and competitively priced technology platform, with early adoption incentives available."

Reputation intelligence is the ongoing collection and analysis of public signals—news, social media, customer feedback and regulatory mentions—to understand how a company is perceived and why that perception is changing. For investors it matters because shifts in reputation can act like a thermometer for future sales, legal trouble or management credibility: negative trends can erode value quickly, while positive trends can support growth and lower risk, similar to how a credit score signals financial health.

reputation quotient (rq) technical

"corporate ranking data from The Harris Poll's Reputation Quotient (RQ) framework and its live HarrisQuest brand tracking platform"

Reputation quotient (RQ) is a numeric measure of how the public, customers, employees and other stakeholders view a company’s trustworthiness and overall standing, combining factors like product quality, leadership, and social responsibility. For investors it matters because a strong RQ acts like a company’s social credit score—helping sales stability, attracting talent, reducing risk and often cushioning stock value during setbacks, while a weak RQ can signal higher future costs and volatility.

esg commitments regulatory

"In today's business environment, reputation insights shape critical decisions—from C-suite communications and investor narratives to employer branding and ESG commitments."

ESG commitments are pledges by a company to address environmental, social and governance issues—such as emissions, labor practices and board oversight—through policies, targets and public reporting. Investors care because these promises act like a maintenance plan for a business: clear, achievable commitments can reduce legal, reputational and operational risks and attract capital, while vague or unmet commitments can signal hidden costs and damage future returns.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK / ACCESS Newswire / January 21, 2026 / The Harris Poll, today, announced the launch of Harris QuestRQ (QRQ), a next-generation reputation system for modern business, communications, and marketing leaders.

Harris QuestRQ's always-on corporate pulsing system connects live firm reputation metrics to over three decades of trended proprietary corporate ranking data from The Harris Poll's Reputation Quotient (RQ) framework and its live HarrisQuest brand tracking platform within The Marketing Cloud. Together, firms now can measure their reputation live in society, beyond their category; and against their own history. And critically, corporate reputation movements captured in the moment can be linked to over seventy-five metrics of brand health delivering continuous, globally scalable reputation intelligence.

Today's enterprise navigates a constantly changing culture, with new values shifts, voices of influence, previously unknown risks from society, politics and more.

John Gerzema, The Harris Poll's CEO, says: "Communications and marketing are often siloed. But amid today's culture wars, the enterprise must mitigate risk by measuring the interaction of reputation and brand health and acting in concert. Leaders must all be listening and moving in lock step with the same information."

With a proven framework measuring six key reputation dimensions-trust, vision, quality, relevance, ethics, and culture-Harris QuestRQ is modernized for today's business speed. Its self-service platform and live data pipeline empower leaders to act on insights instantly, directly connecting reputation shifts to brand investments and customizing the experience to drive strategic priorities.

Rob Jekielek, Managing Director at The Harris Poll, explains, "'Cultural Relevance' is the new reputational benchmark for how company actions and communications resonate with audiences. It introduces an important tension with Trust. A company that's trusted but not relevant is missing chances to surprise and delight. One that's relevant but not trusted may have compelling value, but also glaring gaps in how it operates, putting it at real risk of attrition."

Harris QuestRQ delivers continuous insights based on validated, representative samples rooted in decades of data science. The platform is modular and customizable, and is supported by The Harris Poll's consulting expertise to help translate data into strategy across the C-suite, communications, marketing and HR.

"Reputation has become one of the most valuable forms of currency a business can have-yet too many leaders are still relying on annual data to manage it," said Wendy Salomon, Managing Director of Reputation at The Harris Poll. "With Harris QuestRQ, we've taken decades of reputation science and rebuilt it for the pace and complexity of today's world. It's leaner, faster and smarter-giving leaders the always-on visibility they need to make reputation a true, real-time decision-making asset."

"Business leaders don't need more dashboards-they need connected intelligence they can trust, move on and explain in the boardroom," said Jonathan Gardner, CEO of HarrisQuest. "Harris QuestRQ was built as part of a larger system, not a point solution. It unifies brand, reputation and communications signals into one coherent framework so leaders can see not just what is happening, but why-and what to do next."

Organizations across sectors-including financial services, healthcare, industrial, insurance, and retail-have already utilized the underlying RQ framework to guide leadership and policy decisions, benchmark against emerging competitors, manage crises in real-time, and inform forward-looking thought leadership platforms. Harris QuestRQ now delivers these capabilities through a modern, scalable and competitively priced technology platform, with early adoption incentives available.

In today's business environment, reputation insights shape critical decisions-from C-suite communications and investor narratives to employer branding and ESG commitments. Harris QuestRQ operationalizes that intelligence at scale, enabling reputation to function as a shared measure of enterprise performance in an environment where narratives move faster and credibility is harder to earn.

"Harris QuestRQ transforms reputation from a number you react to into a strategy you can execute, providing the clarity needed to build a more relevant, resilient, and enduring brand," concluded Gardner. "Backed by The Harris Poll's expertise, technology and consulting, we believe Harris QuestRQ sets a new standard for how reputation will be understood and managed in the years ahead."

The Harris Poll's QuestRQ is now available to organizations across industries and markets. For more information, please visit: https://harrisquest.com/suite/questrq.

About The Harris Poll
The Harris Poll is a global public opinion, analytics and consulting firm that has been helping leaders make sense of public opinion and stakeholder expectations for more than 70 years. Known for its rigorous methodology and deep expertise in reputation, brand and communications research, The Harris Poll partners with organizations worldwide to provide data-driven insights that inform strategy, mitigate risk and unlock growth.

About The Marketing Cloud
The Marketing Cloud (formerly Stagwell Marketing Cloud) is a data-driven suite of AI-powered SaaS and service solutions built for the modern marketer. Powered by proprietary data and advanced tools spanning research, communications, creative, and media, it enables organizations to achieve measurable business outcomes by making smarter decisions, faster. The Marketing Cloud was born out of Stagwell's (NASDAQ:STGW) award-winning network, known for delivering creative performance for ambitious brands.

Media Contact:
Savannah Martin, Harris Quest
savannah.martin@harrisquest.com
+1 334-714-5379

SOURCE: Stagwell

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

FAQ

What is Harris QuestRQ and when did STGW launch it?

Harris QuestRQ is an always-on reputation intelligence platform launched on January 21, 2026 by The Harris Poll (NASDAQ:STGW).

How does Harris QuestRQ measure corporate reputation for STGW clients?

It links live reputation pulsing to the RQ framework, measuring six dimensions—trust, vision, quality, relevance, ethics, and culture—and maps changes to 75+ brand-health metrics.

Which companies or sectors can use QuestRQ from STGW?

Organizations across financial services, healthcare, industrial, insurance, and retail sectors are targeted and can access the platform globally.

Does Harris QuestRQ integrate with existing brand tracking for STGW clients?

Yes; QuestRQ connects live reputation metrics to HarrisQuest brand tracking and The Harris Poll's trended RQ data for integrated insights.

What delivery and support options does STGW offer for QuestRQ?

The platform is modular and self-service with a live data pipeline and is supported by The Harris Poll's consulting to translate insights for the C-suite.

Are there pricing or incentives available for early adopters of STGW's QuestRQ?

The announcement states QuestRQ is competitively priced and that early adoption incentives are available, without specifying amounts.