Advertising Age published a perspective by former DE&I Chair for AMA New York and current Founder of Colossal Work Karen McFarlane, presenting a four-point approach to benefiting from supply chain diversity.
The opinion piece opened with, “Data has consistently shown that supply chain competitiveness benefits from supplier diversity programs, even in a challenging economy.”
Okay, except data—including regular ANA surveys—has consistently shown supply chain diversity is underutilized, underfunded, undercut, and undermined by White advertisers and White advertising agencies.
Sure, there may be 4 ways marketers can cultivate diversity—but there’s one easy way: Cough Up Cash Versus Crumbs.
DE&I In The Supply Chain—4 Ways Marketers Can Cultivate Diversity
How to pave the way for a richer and more inclusive vendor landscape
By Karen McFarlane
Data has consistently shown that supply chain competitiveness benefits from supplier diversity programs, even in a challenging economy. What’s more, brands are positively impacted when both companies and consumers spend their dollars in alignment with their values. Marketing’s core skills center around connecting behavior and value, so who better to make a case for equity and inclusion than the very experts who surface need, stimulate emotion, and incite action every day?
Driving diversity through marketing suppliers is often overlooked, but it’s an effective way to achieve impactful diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) goals and, ultimately, successful marketing programs. Many marketers find the task of locating diverse suppliers challenging. While it may parallel the endeavor of sourcing diverse talent—where a distinct level of effort is needed to uncover untapped talent pools—seeking out diverse suppliers presents unique complexities.
We engaged 25 marketers and posed three questions to gain deeper insights into their approach to DE&I as it pertains to suppliers. We sought to understand if marketers had established KPIs to assess and track supplier diversity as a component of their marketing objectives to monitor progress and impact. The results confirmed that this poses a distinctive hurdle; it’s not always evident whether an agency, for example, is women-owned or Black-owned unless explicitly stated. Proactively seeking out diverse suppliers is a substantial undertaking.
So, while organizations are receptive to evolving their practices, they typically require guidance to navigate this terrain:
Build your network before you need it
Building a diverse marketing supply chain is reflective of a marketer’s network or sourcing process. Unfortunately, databases that could facilitate this discovery process are scarce and consequently, proactively seeking out diverse suppliers can be a substantial undertaking.
This is where the fast/cheap/good rule comes into play. This constraint allows only two out of the three elements to hold true. Marketers may have to sacrifice “fast” when identifying diverse suppliers if they haven’t diversified their supplier lists. Participants in our research leveraged various strategies that included building a comprehensive database, attending sourcing events targeting diverse suppliers and expanding their RFI or RFP processes to encourage wider participation.
Be clear about who you are looking for
Make DE&I a requirement for vendor engagement. One research participant, the president of advertising at a global media company, noted the importance of looking at every vendor, agency or independent contractor through a DE&I lens. Each company has missions and visions, and ideally, a shared commitment to diversity can be identified. Lean on your organization’s mission and vision when talking to potential suppliers and hold them accountable to your requirements.
It’s also essential to consider how vendors define diversity and their methods for achieving it. For example, Tier 1 vendors, or those with whom you have a direct relationship, may look different than those in Tier 2, which are vendors that supply your suppliers and with whom your organization has an indirect relationship. Establish a well-defined strategy for your marketing team and put in place a robust reporting and tracking mechanism to measure progress against your corporate and departmental diversity goals.
Look for potential, not just achievement
Be mindful that diverse suppliers might not have the same access to certain experiences or possess the same size and scale as their larger counterparts. However, this distinction should not overshadow their potential to deliver outstanding results. Bigger doesn’t equal better. In fact, smaller suppliers often can provide a deeper level of service and connection that is particularly valuable in marketing. They can be more flexible and innovative, and they tend to prioritize outcomes over hours spent—another boon for marketers.
One executive from a Fortune 500 brand utilizes a well-defined supplier diversity program that intentionally hires vendors from historically excluded categories and embeds this focus within its business model. This creates opportunities that empower diverse suppliers to leverage their unique strengths, enabling them to demonstrate their current capabilities and potential contributions to your organization’s future.
Challenge the status quo
Advocate for the approval and onboarding of vendors and proactively work with procurement on how to shepherd them smoothly through the process. One size does not fit all vendors, so question whether your marketing vendors need to meet all of the standard company requirements, or if they can be modified based on the engagement.
Meeting some of your legal, insurance and cybersecurity protocols can be an expensive proposition for smaller vendors who don’t have legal or IT teams at their disposal and will automatically narrow your pool or cause vendors to self-select out. Thwart this by engaging with procurement about the scope of work to determine if there is any wiggle room—and if not, spearhead an initiative to determine how to tailor your process.
While nearly every organization in our research showcased a clear commitment to DE&I, with some even establishing core pillars to drive their strategies, very few had fully integrated supplier diversity into their overall strategies. By effectively aligning sourcing, engagement, and amplification strategies with tangible metrics, marketers can pave the way for a richer and more inclusive vendor landscape that propels the organization and its diverse partners toward shared success.
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