16276: Introspection On Intersectionality.

 

Adweek published a perspective from Omelet CEO Thas Naseemuddeen, who presented an interesting interpretation of intersectionality in Adland. Given all the varied takes on the topic, perhaps it should be renamed splintersectionality.

 

The Important Role of Intersectionality in the Ad Industry

 

Omelet CEO on why lived experiences and identities are what make incredible storytelling

 

By Thas Naseemuddeen

 

AAPI Heritage Month is an interesting and reflective time for many of us who exist within the community. It’s special to hear the voices and stories of folks who are doing incredible things for the community and culture at large.

 

It can also be a really interesting time to take a deeper view into the construction of identity.

 

Lived experiences

 

Identity is something that took me some time to fully wrap my head around. I’m Sri Lankan (Canadian). And like many first-generation kids, assimilation into the broader Western culture was my starting point.

 

In the past few years, thanks to a lot of work by a lot of wonderful people, I have been able to feel more comfortable in the multiple parts of my cultural identity. I’m not just a female leader. I’m not just a South Asian person. I’m not just a first-generation kid of incredibly hard-working immigrant parents. I’m not just Muslim. But the aggregation of these things and many many more, make me uniquely who I am.

 

And that doesn’t fit neatly into the box of expectation. I am by definition a bit messy. As a CEO, I feel even farther away from the truths of what I’ve been taught to expect to see in a CEO: the emotionless strength, poise and formality we’ve been taught to seek in leaders. I’m a strange, a little awkward but fully passionate being who brings myself in all my quirky glory to everything I do.

 

I believe this is a part of the conversation that’s often missing or misunderstood when it comes to DEI or JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) and how it shows up in our work. It’s too easy to revert to box-checking of the many spectrums of diversity. But without understanding the nuance of real human stories that underlie every intersection, it’s hard to truly feel seen by advertisers and brands. The manifestations of experience that come from crossing some of these lived experiences and identities are what makes incredible storytelling.

 

Sense of belonging

 

All to say, living on the outside of things can be a strangely lonely place to be. I’m grateful for my own tribe of weirdos who find themselves in a similar (but different) space. In a way, I love being an outsider because it provides a perspective that I believe is valuable in our business of folks who are insiders; it’s forever a healthy distance.

 

It can feel really detached and somewhat negative because in many ways, I haven’t connected in the same ways that others can or let down a certain kind of wall. I’m sure in some of those spaces, I can appear kind of sullen or withdrawn, but it’s not out of anything but not quite knowing if and where I belong. And I’ve felt that way in so many spaces that are built to be welcoming and filled with wonderful people, but it’s that nagging voice that says “They all belong. What on earth am I doing here?”

 

The idea of community, as a result, can feel like a far-away concept. Even when it is built for folks like myself. This makes me remember just how important the nuance of intersectionality is to all of these conversations and the spaces we build to come together.

 

A herculean task

 

Creating cohesion across cultures and identities is a herculean task. Watching events like the Goldhouse Gala a few weeks back and all the activities around AAPI Heritage Month is mind-blowing and underscore the power of community that encapsulates a huge number of intersecting identities and extraordinary humans.

 

Creating a space that holds so many is seemingly impossible. The API community is so faceted, covering an enormous chunk of the earth’s surface as well as its cultural footprint. Goldhouse specifically has done an incredible and mindful job of supporting and celebrating the intersections and interconnectedness of our communities.

 

Intersectionality is an important part of these conversations. Understanding what connects and bonds us and acting on it with specificity. When we see the nuance of intersectionality represented in media and culture (and also in how we gather), it has the power to shift things even more profoundly.

15196: Wanna Cook? Better Switch To Twitch, Bitch.

Is this banner ad for Twitch—presuming women would prefer cooking over gaming—sexist or just awful? It’s actually a misinformed presumption. Game over.

15045: Egyptian Club Campaign Deals A Full Deck Of Stereotypes.

This club campaign from Egypt plays with odd gender and status stereotypes. Why are all the females categorized as a “queen” while the males are “jack” depictions? Not a “king” in the deck…

14847: Pale People Peddling Peloton Proves Problematic, Patronizing And Pathetic.

All the outrage over the Peloton commercial feels like White privilege angst—White woman privilege, that is. While it’s tough to argue the spot cycles cultural cluelessness and gender discrimination, it’s interesting to note the leaders of the responsible White advertising agency appear to admit being White men from another planet.

14817: Uncivilized Design Perception That Women Don’t Belong…?

This campaign—Civilizations Design Perception—is described as follows: “It expresses the identity of the design and the power of the different civilizations like Arabic, Persian, Roman, Greek, Samurai & World War II. Creating the contrast of identity and character through design structure, lines, and color, to express a period were identity needed to be expressed freely and without restriction.” Whatever. Gotta believe White women will take offense to the lack of females in the work.

14712: Bashing Boring Bonobozo Divertorial Drivel.

Adweek published a droning divertorial—a new word for divertsity dreck from divertisement dimwits—typed by Bonobos CEO Micky Onvural. The CEO called for White men to jump on the White women’s bandwagon. Ironically, Onvural is responsible for an ad campaign that pissed off lots of men. Maybe her dull divertorial is an attempt to make amends. It’s more likely that she’s just another hypocritical huckster—which actually makes her very similar to the Mad Men she’s seeking to rally.

The Appetite for Gender Equality Is There. Now Men Need to Step Up as Allies

They need to join the fight in vocal, active ways

By Micky Onvural

My dad wouldn’t call himself a feminist. He married my mom at 36, and they had three children. My mum stayed home, and he worked as a merchant at the same company for almost 40 years. Now retired, he spends a lot of his free time on the golf course. Not exactly the portrait of hardened feminist, at least from the outside.

But, of course, appearances aren’t everything. And while there are thousands of ways to express feminism, the assumption that it’s strictly about protesting or campaigning is all too common. I believe that the small day-to-day actions and attitudes can, will and often do add up to having an even bigger impact on gender equality.

This was definitely my experience growing up and has formed my perspective around the quieter form of feminism that I seek to embrace.

From an early age, my father impressed upon my sister and me the importance of independence. He cheered us on during exams, celebrated when we were accepted to university and beamed with pride as we entered the workforce. There was nothing we couldn’t accomplish in his eyes, no limit to where we might go. And it was exactly the same for my brother. There was no distinction along gender lines. It all just was.

Now I find myself leading a menswear company as CEO after moving my kids and husband across the country. The saying that women marry somebody like their father, in my case, is laughably true. My father was my ally growing up, pushing me on toward the future, and in the present, my husband is my equal partner in everything we do. While we’re both building our careers, he flies cover for me on late meetings, business travel and acts as my sounding board at moments of self-doubt.

It’s easy for me to sit here and write about how my feminist father, husband and even my boss have helped me get to where I am today, but I realize that this experience is unique. It’s too unique. Not all women are raised in this way; too few have the unbridled support of their partners, and so many don’t have the privilege of working in an environment that champions them. It takes men willing to stand up for women to accomplish true gender equality.

What began decades ago with the first steps of the women’s rights movement is still being shaped and fought for through movements like #TimesUp, through activism for women of color and transgender women, through efforts to close the pay gap and so much more. Strides have been made, of course, but there’s a long way to go.

A recent study by Promundo, a global organization that promotes gender justice and equality, showed that 60% of men think there should be more women in positions of leadership at work. When I marry that with the finding that men want to do more to help and women are asking for more help, it seems like the time to make meaningful change in the workplace is now. So, what’s the issue? Why aren’t more men jumping in to help drive change?

Of course, there is no easy answer to that. But from the many conversations I’ve had with men on this topic, it seems like there’s a split between a misunderstanding of how to help, fear of doing something wrong and, in some cases, obliviousness. When I hear these things in conversation, I offer concrete examples of how men can have a vocal, active role in the fight for gender equality. These are sometimes simple actions, like yielding the floor in a meeting, or more thoughtful ones, like challenging men to educate themselves about the challenges women face in their everyday lives. I’m heartened, though, that the appetite for change is there.

The conversation about allyship and equality is not just about the workplace and working women. It is just as important that women are being supported and lifted up in the home. In the same research conducted with Promundo, it was found that about half of women reported that they want more help from their partner with childcare and almost as many stated that they did a disproportionate amount of the housework. Here, I look to the example of my husband. I would say, for the most part, we are 50/50 on all things related to our children and to the home. It reminds me of my own upbringing and our bubble in which the playing field was always level. Obviously, that kind of environment matters to me, but it also sets an important example for my two young sons. This is the example we want them to be raised with.

And ultimately, that is where this all leads: to the next generation. To the work of creating a generation that doesn’t dream of equality but expects it. With boys, like my two young sons, believing that women are their equals in every way. And with girls, like my daughter, having the same access to opportunity as anyone else. Together, we can build that future through actions big and small, and we’ll all be better for it.

14649: Ad-Libbing On Ad Lib Podcast With Ogilvy Chairman Emeritus Shelly Lazarus.

A recent Advertising Age Ad Lib podcast featured Ogilvy Chairman Emeritus Shelly Lazarus, who spoke about her experience as a woman in the advertising industry. “The advertising business was fabulous…fun…glamorous…heady,” gushed Lazarus, noting that she became the “first woman in account management” at Ogilvy. While she was often the “only woman in the room” at meetings, she felt a certain sense of power. Lazarus recognized, “I was answering on behalf of all women in the world.” In regards to gender inequality, however, Lazarus remarked, “I never felt discriminated against.” Okay, but it’s a safe bet that when Lazarus was the only woman in the room, she still outnumbered the people of color in attendance. Plus, Lazarus was likely not actively representing “all women in the world,” as women of color—especially Black women—remain woefully underrepresented in the business and its campaigns. Finally, the percentage of White women who’ve felt discriminated against in adland will never come close to matching the percentage of women of color who’ve faced discrimination.

14629: Running In Circles To Address Divertsity And Diversity.

Campaign reported on another divertsity device—Grow Your Circle—invented by White advertising agency Forsman & Bodenfors New York. According to Campaign, Grow Your Circle is “a platform that allows ad agencies and commercial producers to find people from all backgrounds.” Gee, how many similar lists and resources are currently available to represent the underrepresented? To create the redundant heat shield, Forsman & Bodenfors New York coughed up $500,000 of its own loot, which will probably be written off as a tax deduction. The White advertising agency was allegedly inspired to act after struggling on a project to assemble an entire production with a female-only crew. Were they also operating with a female-only agency team? Whatever. It’s interesting to note that the Forsman & Bodenfors website fails to display the makeup of its own leadership and staff. Then again, maybe it’s not that interesting. Or surprising.

Agencies: Here’s another way to find diverse talent

By Oliver McAteer

Forsman & Bodenfors New York created Grow Your Circle as a home for underrepresented people with skills to slay just as much as that old white guy you know.

There are zero excuses for not taking on diverse talent.

Here’s another reason why: Forsman & Bodenfors New York has launched a platform that allows ad agencies and commercial producers to find people from all backgrounds.

Grow Your Circle is the result of a $500,000 investment of the agency’s own money after it set out to run an entire production with a female-only crew and struggled.

Amber Wimmer, interactive production lead at F&B NY, said: “Grow Your Circle provides a platform, a voice, and an opportunity for underrepresented talent across all production disciplines.

“There is so much unseen talent in this industry; Circle champions intersectionality and inclusion while allowing agency producers and production houses to dig a bit deeper to better tell authentic stories for brands.

“We hope Circle inspires the industry to recognize the power of their buying decisions, fulfills our responsibility to help minimize the inequality across the production industry, and creates better work as a result of it.”

The digital tool allows agencies and producers to find underrepresented talent in the U.S. from disciplines across all types of production including film, digital, and experiential. More importantly, it gives access to many other entrepreneurs, like those who identify as LGBTQ+, come from diverse backgrounds or live with a disability.

Since the platform soft-launched at the 3% Movement conference in November 2018, membership has skyrocketed with partners and talent including 72andSunny and Droga5, and independent production companies Prettybird, WAX, and Armada.

The new tool is part of a larger F&B effort to fight inequities in the industry. An inaugural member of the 3% Movement, the agency recently achieved 100 percent pay parity.

14377: AMV BBDO Gets Whiter Without Snowball.

Campaign reported AMV BBDO Group Chairman Dame Cilla Snowball is rolling out of the White advertising agency. She’ll be replaced by a White man and White woman, which will technically increase racial exclusivity but not improve gender equality in the shop. Brilliant.

Cilla Snowball to leave AMV BBDO

Group chairman and group chief executive steps down after 26 years.

By Gurjit Degun

Dame Cilla Snowball is leaving Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO at the end of 2018 after 26 years. She will be succeeded by chief client officer Sarah Douglas as chief executive and managing director Justin Pahl as group chairman.

Snowball joined the agency in 1992 as its first new-business director and has served as managing director, chairman, group chairman and chief executive. During her time at the company, AMV has won numerous agency of the year accolades for effectiveness, creativity and marketing.

Over her 26-year tenure, Snowball has also been chairman of the Advertising Association and president of Wacl, The Marketing Group of Great Britain and The Thirty Club. She received a damehood in the Queen’s birthday honours in 2017, eight years after she picked up a CBE for services to the sector.

Andrew Robertson, president and chief executive of BBDO, said: “About a year ago, Cilla told me she was giving me 12 months’ notice of her intention to leave her position and pursue a portfolio-based career, working on the boards and government initiatives that she is frequently approached for.

“Since then, I have spent most of my time pretending the conversation never happened; and Cilla has spent hers tirelessly developing the agency’s business, reputation and leadership team. As always, though, Cilla meant what she said. And now, after 26 years, that time has come.”

Douglas and Pahl’s new roles are effective from 1 January 2019. They have been at AMV for 18 years and 10 years respectively.

Snowball said: “It’s very hard to leave a business I love and work that I enjoy. If you’ve worked as long as I have in a great job like mine, I think it’s best to go when people ask why, not when you are leaving.

“I’m beyond grateful for the opportunities and support I have been given at AMV BBDO, surrounded by the best work, people and clients. I’ve always loved doing portfolio work and I am excited about the next chapter.”

14359: MullenLowe Misses Multicultural Mark.

MullenLowe in Colombia is responsible for this El Tiempo campaign promoting gender equality. Of course, the messages fail to note the other glaringly missing characters: racial and ethnic minorities.

14299: Plain Jane Pontification.

Adweek published divertsity dimwittedness from Jane Smith CEO and CCO Alisha Goldstein, who stumbled into “5 Steps for Instilling a Diverse Culture in Your Agency.” Goldstein declared, “The need for diversity is not new to our industry, but our definition should be.” Yes, rejiggering the definition allows White people in adland to skirt around the dearth of racial and ethnic diversity—and instead promote White women, diversity of thought, diversity of experience, diversity of house pets, etc. Goldstein proudly presented her “strategies for nurturing (and amplifying) a diverse group of voices” as follows: 1) Mentor; 2) Encourage debate; 3) Celebrate successes; 4) Give constructive feedback and; 5) Learn from your team. Um, shouldn’t a competent leader already be doing these things naturally? Oh, wait a minute—“competent” and “leader” are two terms that rarely coexist with White people in the advertising industry. It’s always amazing how common sense and common knowledge are trumpeted as breakthrough thinking by folks who had previously never given a thought to the issue of inclusiveness. BTW, the Jane Smith leadership displays Jane Doe diversity.

5 Steps for Instilling a Diverse Culture in Your Agency

It needs to go further than the steps taken in recruitment

By Alisha Goldstein

If innovation is the brains behind a modern global agency, then diversity is certainly its heart.

As my startup has grown, I’ve come to realize that a commitment to culture is just as important as a commitment to clients. And I have seen firsthand how diversity can drive innovation and creativity.

The need for diversity is not new to our industry, but our definition should be. Like many entrepreneurs, my own definition of diversity was initially too narrow, focusing solely on inherent traits such as race and gender. Instead, teams also require acquired diversity—traits gained through experience, such as cross-functional and international experiences—to fuel dynamic engagement among team members, drive innovation and potential and stimulate ideas that can stand out in the current complex media landscape.

A 2017 survey of 171 companies by the Boston Consulting Group agrees, finding “a clear relationship between the diversity of companies’ management teams and the revenues they get from innovative products and services.” The innovation boost isn’t limited to a single type of diversity, the study notes. “The presence of managers who are female or from other countries, industries or companies can cause an increase in innovation.”

To quote Steve Jobs, “The more varied the input, the more original the output.”

But hiring alone isn’t enough. It’s also important to focus on encouraging and rewarding individual growth and promoting teamwork across the board. This approach is key to creating a non-competitive, supportive work atmosphere where all employees have each other’s back and where managers actively mentor and encourage advancement.

To that end, here are my strategies for nurturing (and amplifying) a diverse group of voices.

Mentor

As a creative leader, it is necessary to develop talent through mentorship. To me, that means challenging each individual to break out of their comfort zones, pushing them and their potential into new territories and expecting growth and self-sufficiency at all levels. Regular and proactive reviews are a great way to monitor accomplishment.

Encourage debate

Invest in team building and create opportunities for everyone at all levels to have an opinion. Brainstorms both with and without leadership are important. Know that fostering a high degree of trust will allow you to perform better and more productively, with more knowledge sharing and innovation.

Celebrate successes

Acknowledge the success of the individual as well as the team to build confidence, trust and moral. Celebrating and rewarding good work is a big part of encouraging and ultimately achieving both individual and company growth. Leaders should never be threatened by their team’s successes—giving credit and accolades for a job well done should be a pleasure and is a sign of the leader’s success as well.

Give constructive feedback

Not every idea is going to work. Take time on even the busiest projects to give feedback on why an idea or approach didn’t quite work. Sometimes the process is as important as the idea and is often overlooked. Offering feedback on efficiency and approach to process is valuable, especially in a service business, and includes all team members in achieving our goals.

Learn from your team

As agency leaders, it is our job to seek out, observe, absorb and digest new thinking and perspectives. As entrepreneurs, we know we don’t get it right every day and that there is always a lot to learn. I quickly figured out that my team is a limitless resource offering incredibly valuable insight.

Simply put: Diversity propels innovative thinking, and globalization demands it. Creating a culture of difference is no longer a choice but a requirement to building a modern global business.

Alisha Goldstein is the founder, CEO and CCO of Jane Smith.

14292: STEM Sell.

Advertising Age published sponsored content from the Ad Council, featuring an interview with partners of the new She Can STEM campaign. While the She Can STEM website displays diversity, the partners spotlighted by Ad Age (depicted above) display divertsity. Hey, let’s encourage all girls to pursue science, technology, engineering and math. Pursuing a career in advertising and marketing, however, is an exclusive endeavor.

14268: Females Fundamentally Flawed…?

Advertising Age published a perspective from Zambezi CEO Jean Freeman, who opined that women can better advance professionally by learning business fundamentals. Um, if a man had made such a statement, he’d likely be branded as a mansplaining misogynist. Why haven’t Kat Gordon and Cindy Gallop complained that women are being held back in adland because no one will teach them the basics? Maybe the 4As should build an all-girls high school to educate female students about P&L, balance sheets and legal documents. But seriously, is there really a problem with women in advertising displaying corporate cluelessness? Cultural cluelessness is forever in abundance. Women, however, appear to be doing fine managing clients, adhering to budgets and handling all the responsibilities of running advertising agencies. Hey, only racial and ethnic minorities require remedial training to qualify for positions in the advertising industry.

Beyond empowerment: The case for teaching business fundamentals to women

By Jean Freeman

There’s no shortage of women’s events these days. I’ve attended them all — 3% Conference, Makers, Girlboss Rally, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen, She Runs It. These platforms have had a meaningful impact on the ascension of the next generation of women leaders. They inspire creativity, confidence, community, and also encourage mentoring. More women (and men) are stepping up to mentor the next generation of women.

But in addition to mentoring, I’m seeing an even more pressing need for teaching. Specifically, teaching business fundamentals. Much of the discussion at women’s conferences focuses on personal actions, emotional intelligence, building self-confidence and creating a personal brand. This is all valid, but gender equity platforms need more rigor around the mechanics of business. Fundamental business smarts are what will truly move women forward, and women are recognizing this.

Frustrated with the slow progress in corporate environments, more women are going into business for themselves, founding companies at a historic rate. According to a recent study, women-owned businesses account for 30 percent of all businesses worldwide.

One of my favorite Ted talks is “The Career Advice You Probably Didn’t Get,” by Susan Colantuono, CEO of Leading Women. She pointed out that the most important skill set that determines whether women in business move up the ladder and out of the bog of middle management, where 50 percent of the workforce historically is women, “has to do with understanding where the organization is going, what its strategy is, what financial targets it has in place, and understanding your role in moving the organization forward. This is that missing 33 percent of the career success equation for women, not because it’s missing in our capabilities or abilities, but because it’s missing in the advice that we’re given.”

Teaching women how a company runs is key. We need to develop learning around business and financial skills—the kind of expertise that contributes directly to a company’s success and profitability. We need to expand the offerings at conferences to also include business overview and training. Understanding the mechanics of P&L, why the balance sheet is probably the most important financial document, and how to interpret legal documents are examples of the fundamentals to which women at the mid level should be exposed.

Of course, not all staffers are interested in such details (regardless of gender). In our industry, we have creatives, brand planners and designers who laser-focus on the content we produce. Nevertheless, as agency leaders it’s incumbent upon us to identify and nurture the businessperson within our employees, especially women. At our agency, we’ve started a program to teach our creatives how to understand and consider business objectives when creating campaigns. We not only teach our agency’s business model, we teach our client’s business model. The same program can be applied to teaching women as well.

As Susan points out in her Ted talk, companies achieve their financial goals when “everyone is pulling in the same direction.” It’s in our own self-interest as business leaders to teach women more than just self-esteem and assertiveness in business. We want people who will help companies move our business. We need to lean into the hard skills, not the soft skills. Understanding business fundamentals will propel women into the higher ranks. Once they have the tools, they really will become empowered.

Jean Freeman

Named one of the 4As’ 100 People Who Make Advertising Great in 2017 and to Working Mothers of the Year by She Runs It, Zambezi CEO Jean Freeman works closely with organizations that advance women in advertising, including SheSays, The 3% Conference, Pledge Parental Leave and Free the Bid.

14261: Mo Momentum Mumbo-Jumbo.

Adweek published divertsity daydreaming from Momentum North America President Donnalyn Smith, who declared it will require “a sincere commitment” to ignite change in the advertising industry. Sorry, but Smith’s lack of familiarity with the global dilemma puts her sincerity in question.

Smith shared her alleged commitment for diversity by stating, “In recent years, the advertising community has started to come to grips with the bold-faced truth that we haven’t really talked the ‘real’ talk, much less walked the walk. If you take a hard, honest look at the range of companies in our industry at the present time, they all too often reflect the workforce of 1978, not 2018.”

First of all, people who claim diversity has become a hot topic for adland “in recent years” have clearly been ignorant ignoring the problem, as heated conversations have been happening for scores of decades. The last serious protest took place in 2006 when the New York City Commission on Human Rights spanked Madison Avenue shops, and other diversity discussions date back to the early 1970s at least. Anyone holding even half a clue recognizes the current White-dominated workforce reflects 1958 versus 1978.

Smith is obviously a proponent for divertsity, not diversity. For her, enlightenment struck “in recent years” as the White women’s bandwagon leapfrogged racial and ethnic minorities in the battle for equality. Hell, Smith was actually named a 2017 Working Mother of the Year by She Runs It. Her divertsity dream involves creating a mentoring scheme styled after graduate school programs. Gee, Smith’s brainstorm sounds like a White women’s version of MAIP—which, incidentally, has been running for over 40 years. It’s always amazing how the pseudo-revolutionaries believe they’ve invented a breakthrough concept, when they’re ultimately exposing their corporate and cultural cluelessness by mimicking a long-standing tactic.

If Smith has truly turned Momentum into a multicultural Mecca, MultiCultClassics extends sincere apologies and requests that everyone please disregard this post. But progressiveness is unlikely, based on the patronizing pap penned by her boss, as well as the company website store selling MoMo Hammer Pants and dates with the MoMo IT guy—the latter sales item seeming quite inappropriate in these days of heightened sensitivity around sexual harassment.

Diversifying in Advertising Requires Creativity and a Drive to Instill Fairness

Company output won’t be inclusive if your workplace isn’t

By Donnalyn Smith

The fundamental idea is very simple, like all powerful notions. A marketer’s best work is only made possible through a diversity of talent applied to that company’s business. In recent years, the advertising community has started to come to grips with the bold-faced truth that we haven’t really talked the “real” talk, much less walked the walk. If you take a hard, honest look at the range of companies in our industry at the present time, they all too often reflect the workforce of 1978, not 2018.

It is unassailably clear that there is still much work to be done for our industry to mirror the demographic diversity emerging in the early 21st century in the U.S. and abroad. And with the tumultuous events of the past few years highlighted by the emergence of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements for women’s empowerment and anti-sexual harassment, the broader culture is intensely focused on the fight for respect and equality for diverse, often marginalized groups, particularly women and people of color.

While diversity as a centerpiece of social justice efforts is reaching a fever pitch, what can our industry leaders do to spark increased hiring and retention of talent from a mix of backgrounds and identities? While there have been nascent attempts in several quarters to infuse a broader range of cultural and social perspectives into both client and agency marketing teams, we as an industry are still a long way from critical mass. Clearly, there are still many organizations that haven’t prioritized diversity, or perhaps they have but are struggling for guidance for the most effective way to implement best practices.

A sincere commitment

If a marketer or an agency is truly devoted to staff diversity, they must apply sizable resources toward achieving it. This could take the form of investing in a fully integrated program offering entry-level immersion experiences that includes job rotations through a broad range of marketing disciplines over an extended period of time, up to a year if it makes sense.

Similar to a graduate school program, aspirants should be schooled across the wide palette of marketing and advertising disciplines including creative, media, client-side brand marketing and PR. If this sounds like a souped-up, deluxe version of your traditional agency internship program, that’s not where I’m leading. Rather, I envision something much deeper and impactful. The experience and mentoring with senior company executives—including the C-suite—could be much more focused and regimented and then lead into a more sophisticated and beneficial experience. As most of us know or have experienced, traditional company internship programs are often more rudimentary, and the curriculum or training is much more cursory and often administered by middle managers with limited senior-level or C-suite active participation.

What I am advocating can only be accomplished through extensive training and 360-degree feedback modules that bring together the gamut of stakeholders in an ongoing, committed basis including the C-suite and evp/svp level, chief talent officers, recruiters and, of course, the diverse talent.

A program of this caliber, if executed properly, would rise to the level of postgraduate, master class work. Imagine, if every company in our ecosystem—large, medium and small—took this approach en masse. In this way, we would all be the catalysts for broader industry-wide transformation. For inspiration, one need turn no further than to Verizon, whose chief marketing officer, Diego Scotti, has been one of the pioneers on this front with his Ad Fellows program.

By launching something similar at your company, you will reap strategic benefits; this would not simply be an altruistic endeavor. You would in effect be creating a mechanism that would actively create and identify a healthy pool of diverse talent on an ongoing basis, which you can ultimately draw from to contribute to the greater success of your company and your partners. The goal could be to place all participants post-program within the industry.

Hopefully, these thoughts and ideas will work to inspire a wave of similar efforts from brands and agencies across the entire industry. There is a lot of work ahead to increase diversity in advertising and marketing, but companies should look at diversity as an opportunity not an obligation. Those corporate cultures that value innovation and progress have the opportunity to foster a competitive advantage that could transform the company in more ways that you could imagine. Cheap PR, like cotton candy, tastes nice but is ultimately unsatisfying. Elbow grease and creativity to support an unshakeable will to fairness and personal growth will actually be beneficial to the bottom line. It really is about progress and prosperity.

Donnalyn Smith is president, North America of Momentum Worldwide, based in New York.

14253: Little Gender Exclusive…?

Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly was originally called Little Brothers of the Poor when founded in France in 1946. Maybe it’s time to update the name again, especially if advertising and promotions feature so many little sisters.

14229: Virtuous Versus Vicious.

Campaign published a divertsity drive-thru delivery from McDonald’s Vice-President Marketing and Food Development Emily Somers, who applied unconscious bias to the White women’s bandwagon. Somers closed by declaring:

Importantly, I don’t think there’s any contradiction between treating people with respect and being open and honest with feedback. Even when it’s hard. You have to call out both good and bad behaviour. If you see it, call it.

Hey, maybe someday Somers and her Mickey D’s teammates will “call it” and call out White advertising agencies for the bad behaviour of perpetuating exclusivity. Of course, Somers will consider it after she helps “create a virtuous circle of [White] women’s leadership.” It’s disturbing that people who prioritize divertsity over diversity view themselves as virtuous.

McDonald’s marketing boss: tackle unconscious bias to create a virtuous circle of women’s leadership

By Emily Somers

McDonald’s vice-president marketing and food development explains why technology is allowing the brand to be more human than ever.

It’s never been a more exciting time to be a populist brand

I’m excited by the emergence of new ways to deliver the populist campaigns which are crucial for an inclusive brand like McDonald’s, meaning that we can now create ideas that not only appeal to everyone, but also appeal to each one of us as individuals.

The broadcast reach and power of TV (or more broadly AV) is still unmatched to deliver emotional engagement en-masse. But there are also some fantastic opportunities offered by all traditional media as they digitise — meaning there are new and innovative ways to engage audiences with more timely, targeted, relevant messaging.

As we evolve our offering and enable customers to transact digitally with our brand, our broadcast media partners are also evolving, to unlock the power of addressable advertising at scale.

This is opening up new forms of creativity allowing brands to enjoy the best of both worlds — where populism meets personalisation.

Make sure you don’t make your brand so frictionless that it disappears

Technology is transforming our business, like so many others. Offering us valuable ways to make customer experiences simpler, slicker and more seamless — but it’s also important to create real and human experiences, which connect and engage with our audiences.

Some retailers may be tempted to strip out the human-element of their business as they chase cost savings.

For us, it is different — people are at the very heart of what we do. Yes, we are rolling out kiosk ordering points and remote ordering via an app to make life ever more convenient. But at the same time we are investing in enhancing the customer experience, and with that comes investing in our people and transforming roles — with restaurant teams that are focused on hospitality, and with table service.

It may surprise some people to learn that with our digitisation in restaurants we are now employing more people than ever, creating another 1,000 manager positions this year.

Let’s tackle unconscious bias to create a virtuous circle of women’s leadership

There’s a growing sense that gender equality in the workplace is the right thing. I’m keen businesses also recognise that it’s the smart thing.

Research shows that companies with 30% of women on their board fare better in periods of economic volatility than companies with only 10%. McKinsey reports that women outperform men on measures of motivating others, fostering communication and producing high-quality work. All important in the boardroom and beyond.

But unconscious bias can hold companies back. All too often businesses show insufficient belief in the potential of women. Even if they are unaware of what they are doing. They show unconscious bias in hiring, in promotions, in opportunities.

These working cultures then undermine women’s self-belief, creating a vicious circle. Now is the time for us to break this cycle and create a virtuous circle.

How? By disturbing complacency. By making the unconscious conscious. By challenging received wisdom. Let’s get the evidence out there. Let’s train men and women alike about unconscious bias. And let’s create a virtuous circle that could be a much-needed engine of dynamism in our creative industries.

Be yourself, but with skill

Happily enough, given what I’ve just written, one of the most encouraging voices in my career has been a man’s. When he hired me Paul (Pomroy, McDonald’s UK CEO) was keen to tell me that I must make sure I keep being me. It was liberating and empowering.

I’ve realised since that there’s an important addition to this imperative to be yourself. You need to do so with real thoughtfulness.

Recognise your limitations as well as your strengths. And recognise how you, or those around you, can mitigate those limitations (surrounding yourself with talented people is definitely key to success). Pause and reflect on which part of your personality you’ll play to in any given situation.

Yes you need to be yourself. But you need to be yourself with skill.

If you see it, call it

Culture matters. How people work matters. McDonald’s has a working culture of decency, respect and fun, which suits me down to the ground.

Importantly, I don’t think there’s any contradiction between treating people with respect and being open and honest with feedback. Even when it’s hard. You have to call out both good and bad behaviour. If you see it, call it.

Emily Somers is vice president marketing & food development at McDonald’s UK and a member of Campaign’s Power 100.

14239: Credle Crapola.

Campaign published a 1200-word pile of bullshit dumped by FCB Global CCO Susan Credle, who shat out her caca commitment to diversity in advertising. According to Credle, “Diversity of talent is a matter of life and death for agencies.” Technically, Credle’s editorial excrement was focused on divertsity, as she waited until the final paragraph to briefly mention people of color. Plus, Credle appears to be a fair-weather feminist. That is, in 2012, she declared, “I never got into this business thinking that it’s going to be tough for a woman. … And I actually never felt it was tough for a woman—I thought it was just tough.” Now Credle’s a fiery revisionist revolutionist for the White sisterhood. As for people of color, Credle is suddenly committed to getting more of them on juries at award shows. Hey, why not? After first securing spots for White women, we might as well give minorities the right to vote for trophies too. Sorry, but people like Credle will see to it that racial and ethnic minorities—as her previous agency estimated—are over 60 years away from experiencing equality in adland. Divertsity of talent is a matter of life and death for agencies. It’s a fact of life.

Diversity of talent is a matter of life and death for agencies

By Susan Credle

It took too long, but the industry has finally realized we need to more actively address the glaring diversity gap in creative agencies, says FCB’s global chief creative officer, Susan Credle.

When I started my career in advertising, I had very few female leaders around me to look up to. My first agency job was intimidating. I’d worked hard to get there, but I still felt like I’d be laughed out of the room (full of men) if I presented my own ideas.

In the last 20 years, I’ve been thrilled to see diversity evolve from being a nice thing to do, to being a responsible thing to do, to finally becoming a business imperative. It took too long, but the industry has finally realized we need to more actively address the glaring diversity gap in creative agencies.

In an industry that demands innovation, and consumers that demand representation, homogenous agencies face an existential threat.

Agency leadership has to prioritize and advocate for diversity

Diversity of talent in our offices has progressed in a lot of ways, particularly with women. I’m proud to be part of an agency with female CCOs in India, Brazil, San Francisco, Chicago, and Canada, and to work with an incredible head of talent—Cindy Augustine—who’s constantly pushing us to do more and cast our net wider.

Last year, we played a huge role in Free the Bid, a global initiative started by director Alma Har’el that advocates for ad agencies and brands to ensure at least one bid for every commercial job comes from a woman director. (On average, each project gets three bids, and after years of gender bias, women directors don’t often have the opportunity to build competitive reels.)

If we can guarantee that one of every three bids is from a female director, we’ll see change in a heartbeat. I thought it was a brilliant idea. So I called all my CCOs in North America to see if they agreed (they did), and then I called my CCO friends in other major agencies to ask if they’d be willing to sign on. Within 24 hours, my entire company and just about every agency were on board.

That’s one benefit of being a woman in a position of power: being able to quickly network with other CCOs and advocate for women. As a result of Free the Bid, FCB has significantly increased its outreach to women directors and they’ve been awarded many of the jobs.

It also started an encouraging trend among production companies. They’re funding more young women and helping to build their reels because they know they have a third of a chance of winning a job if they have a talented woman on their roster.

Find and nurture diverse talent

Today’s consumers don’t just want ads to be relevant to their interests and needs; they want them to speak to who they are and where they come from. Thanks to the Internet and social media, today we’re all exposed to different stories, we interact with people who aren’t like us, and we see more of the world.

This is especially true on platforms like YouTube. In part due to its strong creator culture, YouTube has been a home to groups that have been underrepresented in traditional media. Case in point: nearly two-thirds of black millennial viewers say YouTube is a place where black people have a voice. And, in the US, 60 per cent of self-identified LGBT respondents see positive change for LGBT people on YouTube in a way they don’t in traditional media.

It’s clear that consumers want to connect with and get inspired by others who share their background. This holds true for the stories we tell too and it starts with who we hire to tell those stories.

First and foremost, we have to make the industry itself more attractive, particularly to first-generation college graduates. It’s on us to emphasize that the industry is purposeful, respected, financially rewarding, and that we truly believe our efforts at work are worth the time we put in.

Secondly, we should look beyond portfolio schools. Where are the poets? Where are the painters? Where are the photographers that tell amazing visual stories but haven’t thought about advertising?

Third, we need to value diverse voices. We can’t hire diverse people and then ask them to act like everyone else. Remember when women went to work and tried to act like men? That’s not embracing diversity.

A lot of agencies strive to bring in young people with diverse backgrounds and expertise—and that’s a good first step. But research has shown that there needs to be diverse talent representation in an agency for people to feel comfortable speaking up. If you’re the only person of color in the room, it’s that much harder to find your voice. Leadership must commit to making people feel creative, not intimidated. Mentorship is important here—I mentor several people once a month so they know they’re a valued team member and have someone at the top to talk to.

How to stay accountable as we make progress on diversity efforts

The time is now for agencies to make change. Lip service isn’t enough. Here are the three tenets I use to hold myself and my teams accountable.

1) Commit: It can’t be a one-and-done effort. You have to wake up every day committed to making it work and, when it’s not working, ask why. We should be incentivizing organizations to treat diversity as more than just a box to check; it’s vital to the business because it has real economic value.

2) Measure: Support diversity efforts with hard data. If another agency is watching what you’re doing and sees tangible proof that diversity is making a positive difference, how quickly do you think they’ll want to do the same thing? That’s what happened with Free the Bid—when people saw that more great female directors were suddenly being celebrated, more people wanted to commit to the cause.

3) Talk: Keep the conversation going across all levels. Every time I talk to my CCOs, we discuss how they’re approaching diversity, and if we’re hiring people who will push us to the next level creatively. If diversity isn’t part of the hiring conversation, it becomes invisible. It’s one of those things that has to be front and center all the time.

I truly believe the more you show diversity out in the world representing your company, the faster your company will become diversified. At FCB, PR is an important part of that effort. We’re always pushing for diverse representation on panels, award juries, and in the press. For instance, I’m thrilled FCB is sending the first “Working Parent Cannes Correspondent,” Sarah Latz, and her son Henry to cover the Cannes festival for us this year.

The challenge we as an industry have to collectively take up

Advertising is a people business, and it only gets better when we have talented people with different points of view. The changes I’ve seen since joining the industry are amazing and inspiring, but we can always do more.

We’re not going to solve the diversity gap overnight—it’ll take a high level of focus, urgency, and commitment across the industry. But it’s a goal worth fighting for, and an essential one for the future of advertising.

We’ve done a better job representing white women, but I’ve seen very little change with people of color. That’s a high priority for me. On every jury and every panel, every time we put a group together, the team isn’t complete unless it includes people of color. Is that an impossibility within your organization? Then that’s your next brief.

14237: More Martin Mumbo-Jumbo.

Shoot Online also spotlighted The Martin Agency’s Talent and Culture department, providing more details than the Adweek report presented in a previous post. For starters, Shoot Online’s headline positions the Talent and Culture department as a diversity and inclusion initiative. So newly hired Director of Strategic Engagement Kelsey Larus might be a Chief Divertsity Officer after all.

Chief Culture Officer Carmina Drummond offered more gobbledygook by declaring, “We want progress. We’ve discovered it’s not enough to have diversity initiatives or incentives. Those efforts are right, but right can be ignored. We need to be intentional in our behavior to create positive change.” Um, it would be nice to know the specific “diversity initiatives or incentives” that have been not-enough-yet-right-but-ignored at The Martin Agency. Keep in mind, the White advertising agency is part of IPG, the White holding company that boasts being recognized for leadership in diversity and inclusion. Shouldn’t IPG’s flagship shops already have extraordinarily effective initiatives and incentives in place to ignite progress?

Drummond also stated, “What attracted me to Kelsey was her experience driving culture-focused reform. She’s versed in how work communities move, grow, rise (and fall) to challenges. We’re excited to burn some bridges and build better ones.” Wow. Having “experience driving culture-focused reform” and being “versed in how work communities move, grow, rise…” sounds like stuff you’d type in a LinkedIn profile without offering tangible or measurable proof of execution. And which bridges need to be burned and built better? Hey, maybe the staff held a symbolic bonfire including a Joe Alexander effigy.

Shoot Online noted, “The Martin Agency has proactively closed the gender pay gap, pledged to #FreeTheBid, spearheaded the Times Up Advertising movement, tripled its paternity leave, amped up the re-entry program for working mothers, and hired a conflict resolution specialist to serve as a resource to employees.” Plus, Danny Robinson was elevated, becoming the first Black person on the executive committee. Gee, the changes appear to favor White women over people of color. Acknowledging the agency needed to work on true diversity (versus just divertsity), CEO Kristen Cavallo recently pledged, “We’re on it.” Get on it, already.

The Martin Agency Launches Talent & Culture Dept. To Promote Diversity, Inclusion

The Martin Agency has created a department called Talent & Culture that will report to Carmina Drummond, Martin’s chief culture officer.

“We want progress,” said Drummond. “We’ve discovered it’s not enough to have diversity initiatives or incentives. Those efforts are right, but right can be ignored. We need to be intentional in our behavior to create positive change.”

As a part of this ambition, Martin has hired Kelsey Larus as director of strategic engagement. Larus has an extensive background in strategic implementation having worked for the Obama Administration, the Democratic National Convention and two Presidential inaugurations.

“What attracted me to Kelsey was her experience driving culture-focused reform,” explained Drummond. “She’s versed in how work communities move, grow, rise (and fall) to challenges. We’re excited to burn some bridges and build better ones.”

Larus joins Marty Ritter, VP/ talent development, and Tina Chamberlain, VP/talent resources, in their sprint for change. The Martin Agency has proactively closed the gender pay gap, pledged to #FreeTheBid, spearheaded the Times Up Advertising movement, tripled its paternity leave, amped up the re-entry program for working mothers, and hired a conflict resolution specialist to serve as a resource to employees.

These changes continue a series of moves made by new leadership at Martin. Most recently was the appointment of Danny Robinson to chief client officer. Robinson, a creative director who possesses his MBA and founded urban pop culture agency, Vigilante, is the first African American on the Martin executive committee. CEO Kristen Cavallo also doubled the representation of women to the highest level of the company, adding Karen Costello as chief creative officer and Drummond as chief culture officer. Costello is the first female to hold the role of CCO in the agency’s 53-year history.

“Corporations often hide behind ‘fit’ and not ‘contribution’ as a metric,” said Cavallo. “Fit can be a rationale for homogeneity, and that’s dangerous. This is our chance to do things differently.”

14233: Backward Bullshit.

This promotional divertsity message for “Have Her Back” features patronizing puffery from Campbell Ewald CEO Kevin Wertz. Actually, it’s hard to think about how many talented people of color have been driven away from advertising—waaaaay more than women, incidentally—because of the cultural cluelessness at White advertising agencies like Campbell Ewald. Hell, it’s not as if Campbell Ewald has lacked White female representation—and the place has hustled to add even more women at the leadership levels. So you’d think Wertz would work to woo back the larger minority group, given his agency’s record on the matter. But his actions speak for him quite clearly.

14228: The Color Of Clio.

Given all the commotion surrounding gender-diverse juries for award shows, it’s odd for Clio to produce a banner ad announcing 2018 juries that features an old male judge. Plus, it’s disturbing—albeit not surprising—to see the 2018 Clio Entertainment Jury is predominately comprised of White men and White women. And it’s quite an unimpressive bunch of White people to boot.