Rita Ferro: Building a Diversity Muscle at Disney Ad Sales

quotThere39s an unbelievable amount of work that remains to be donequot Ferro declared minutes into her afternoon portion of the Advancing Diversity virtual conference39s second day quotYou have to be extremely patientquot Nevertheless there39s no question media companies have made substantial progress inside of an ongoing coronavirus pandemic to nurture a diverse workforce that produces diverse impactful content and ad campaigns Ferro told MediaVillage and AdvancingDiversityorg founder Jack MyersquotOur company has understood the importance of having diverse voices and diverse storytellers to represent the audiences we serve We39ve doubled down over the last 18 months I39m encouraged by the momentum I seequot Ferro continued quotIt39s never going to be back to where it was I don39t think anyone in the industry will allow itquotIn recent months Disney Advertising Sales has launched several diversityexpanding projects that encourage participation from their clients One is quotProject Elevatequot an outreach crafted to accelerate the growth of minorityowned small businesses with nationwide potential Ten companies will be selected to tap resources of Ferro39s organization and possibly various brands The resources range from customized ad campaign development and opportunities to showcase over Disney39s media landscape to consultation on ad creativeamp160 The first pair of participating minorityowned enterprises are vegan candle maker CAVO based in San Francisco and Korean cultureinfluenced natural skin care product line Glow Recipe the beneficiary of investor funding on an episode of ABC39s Shark TankThe other eight companies will be announced and start their quotElevatequot relationships in the coming months Ultimately the goal is giving all 10 participants the best environment to engage their target consumers quotWhen you learn how to do something you earn your business and wellbeingquot Ferro saidAnother venture getting off the ground involves the universe of historically Black colleges and universities HBCUs This one has multiple layers such as clearing a path for advertisers to launch ongoing campaign and employment relationships with HBCUs and encouraging brands to run messages on ESPN and other Disney TV channel content featuring HBCU activity onandoff campus Ferro also wants her organization and advertisers to reach out to HBCU students and advocate the benefits of a media career whether in programming ad sales or data research Such joint advocacy can be extended to state schools across the nationWhat39s critical now that the business benefits of expanding diversity in every possible direction are getting through to executive management is for media companies to develop road maps and milestones to accomplish broader results quotWe all have to be accountable be responsible be allies and show empathy to one anotherquot Ferro suggestedAs for people of color and members of other diversity groups looking to break into media a big key to that breakthrough is being as prepared as possible to assume that media role when the invitation is extendedquotDon39t let anyone make you feel scared or afraidquot Ferro advised quotDo your best job and surround yourself with the smartest people around Know your work You39re good enough to be therequotClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Rita Ferro: Building a Diversity Muscle at Disney Ad Sales

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