Advertising 2045: The Tipping Point of the New Majority

During the Publicis Mediaamp8211hosted CES panel quotAdvertising 2045quot Lisa Torres president of the agency39s Multicultural Practice moderated a lively discussion on the implications of this trend on advertising media and the future of storytelling She reminded audiences that there are seismic shifts happening in the demographic makeup of the US with half of the postmillennial generation now being nonwhite Younger generations are also more likely to be biracial than ever before People of two or more races are projected to be the fastestgrowing group over the next several decades according to the Census BureauPanelists discussed specific best practices and actions that companies can take to ensure more equitable representation and opportunities for all demographics across ability age ethnicity gender sexual orientation veteran status and more given these significant trends Three key themes emerged inspired by the mantra that Publicis Media Americas39 chief executive officer and Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors 2020 inductee Tim Jones has championed quotTrust Talent TransformationquotTrustThere is established research indicating a strong correlation between components of trust communication effectiveness conflict management and rapport and productivity Panelists pointed out that building trust is a critical step in creating and developing productive nonhomogeneous internal and clientagency teams But cultural differences in diverse and multicultural teams can create misunderstandings between team members before they have a chance to establish any credibility with each other panelists noted One of the biggest litmus tests for trust is ensuring words translate to action According to Torres quotthis action has multiple ripple effects across talent employees and the next generation and it is our responsibility to deliver on itquotAnother approach is to look to peers for guidance Jones explained how he relied on trusted thought leaders to guide him as he developed his diversity strategy as a force for business growth Jones cited one thought leader as particularly influential and a close colleague of his quotRenetta McCann chief inclusion experience officer at Publicis Groupe was an inspiration on how to approach this challenge from both an internal and external perspectivequot he said quotAnd importantly on how to organically incorporate metrics for success across multiple stakeholders that capture shortterm wins like ERG engagement as well as longterm indicators like greater diversity in the senior ranksquotBuilding trust also applies among brands media and viewers Tina Perry president of OWN emphasized the special covenant the network has with its viewers to ensure authenticity in diverse representation and originality in programming The goal is to give every OWN viewer an opportunity to quotsee herselfquot and provide advertisers with a quotsafe place for brand expressionquot she said According to Perry this approach has resulted in quotratings and audience wins for OWN with three of the top 10 scripted series in all adsupported cable being featured on the networkquotTalentEmpowered motivated and diverse talent is a hallmark of organizations recognized with prestigious industry awards such as the DiversityInc Top 50 and Fortune39s 100 Best Workplaces for Diversity Panelists discussed the approaches they39ve taken to hire and retain diverse talent Jones for example shared insight into Publicis Media Americas39 Graduate Training Program where employees are exposed to different parts of the agency provided mentoring opportunities and learn how crossfunctional groups collaborate within the agency and across clients Publicis has 80 people currently going through the programThis program is one of the inspirations behindamp160the Ad Fellows initiative at Verizon spearheaded by Diego Scotti executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Verizon The Ad Fellows cycle at Verizon covers four different companies over an eightmonth period trying out various roles in public relations creative media and clientside brand marketing Companies such as American Express AnheuserBusch and Walmart have joined the program per Jones who reminds us that quotwhen you pay it forward you also get paid backquotJack Myers chairman and founder of Media Village shared another important industrywide initiative the Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors which annually celebrates the industry39s most influential leaders in diversity equality and inclusion initiatives who are accelerating the pace of corporate cultural change Myers emphasized that the main criteria in choosing the inductees is their proven track record for action He also highlighted the Advancing Diversity Council which launched this year during CES and comprises current and previous Hall of Honors inductees as well as other DampampI experts and executives from the major industry associations The council discussed a fivepoint plan for advancing diversity from advocacy to activism focused on research education communications mentoring and financial solutions It will announce definitive activation opportunities in each area of the coming weeksTransformationTransformational and longlasting change requires transparency which means admitting what is currently unspoken unseen unshared or unacknowledged Unconscious bias is one of those issues that can often be invisible because it is ingrained in our human behavior It is also one of the most insidious causes of discrimination To combat these unintentional biases said Kathy Kayse Ad Council39s chief media strategy and partnerships officer the organization launched quotLove Has No Labelsquot as a public service advertising campaign that encourages people to examine and challenge their own personal implicit biases and transform their perceptions The campaign39s launch video amp8212 of skeletons dancing and embracing and then revealing themselves as diverse couples families and friends amp8212 has received 360 million views across 240 countries with 45 million shares since its 2015 release Kayse said quotwith 100 million in donated media from Publicis Media and support from global brands including PampampG Wells Fargo State Farm Unilever Allstate and Bank of AmericaquotquotThe campaign has made an important difference in eliminating implicit biasquot she addedThere is still much work to be done According to the US Census 42 percent of the population selfidentifies as quotmulticulturalquot which includes African American Asian and Hispanic as well as differentlyabled and LGBTQ Despite this AIMM39s Multicultural Benchmark Study shows that only 16 percent of marketers incorporate cultural insights that will engage these communitiesPerry highlighted the partnership that OWN has forged with the ANA on the very important SeeHer campaign which aims to increase female representation across minority groups She described SeeHer as a movement to drive increased accurate representation of multicultural women in ads and programming by leveraging cultural insights to connect with consumers and drive growthLooking AheadThe year 2045 may be a quartercentury away but it is closer than you think The advertising marketing and media community will need to spearhead efforts to address the entrenched inequalities unspoken biases and unfair decisionmaking that still permeate our industry amp8212which according to Myers has one of the quotworst records in terms of diversity and talent retentionquotWe have every right to be somewhat optimistic about the future as we observe the impact of initiatives such as Ad Fellows Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors LoveHasNoLabels and SeeAll Of the utmost urgency is the ability to identify and nurture courageous leadership that will challenge the status quo disrupt sacred cows and move the advertising marketing and media industry to a point of true representation compelling authentic belonging among all of those who seek to join and advance in this industryPhoto courtesy of PublicisClick the social buttons to share this story 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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Advertising 2045: The Tipping Point of the New Majority

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Raquelle Zuzarte

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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Advertising 2045: The Tipping Point of the New Majority

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