Opinion - Business
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How brands won at the Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games offered a unique opportunity for brands to celebrate inclusivity, but many still miss the mark by focusing on disability rather than athletic achievement.
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A brand’s fest friend
While it might have been a difficult summer for festivals, the party isn’t over yet.
Does football need a new home?
As the fallout from England's defeat in the Euro 2024 final continues, is it time for brands and fans alike to think beyond the men's game?
Let’s hold Labour to account over its strategy for the creative industries
Will Labour's pledges spark a true renaissance of the creative industries, asks the founder and chief creative officer of Hijinks.
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Queer Ad Folk: The only LGBTQ+ non-white northerner in the leadership room
Mother London's Tom Wong lifts the lid.
HIV and me: how advertising can end the stigma
With World Aids Day taking place next week, it’s time for the industry to do more to support people living with HIV.
Inclusive marketing: embrace or cancel?
A new study reveals what consumers really think.
Hispanic Heritage Month-ish: A time of general confusion
Marketers want to talk to Hispanics, but grouping us by that term is not the answer.
Finding the Latino in the Austrian
Speaking through, not to, U.S. Hispanics/Latinos.
Courage over complicity: Addressing the DEI&B crisis in ad agencies
After three years, the 4A’s still finds a significant lack of diverse representation at the most senior levels of agency communities.
Pride 2023: Coming out while leading an agency
Three tips for making it easy for those who are closeted to come out at work.
Pride Month is too quiet
Here’s how marketers can fight fear and fatigue.
Studios must do better at promoting shows to diverse audiences
For every hit show created by underrepresented people, there’s another of equal quality that receives critical plaudits only to get abruptly canceled without a word about why or how.
Why so many Western brands get it wrong when talking to APAC audiences
Too often, global brands opt for a cultural shorthand in Asia, causing misappropriation or offence through lazy use of tropes, says this design expert. Here's how to avoid it.
The ad industry must stem the rising tide of Anti Semitism in the U.S.
A call to action to close out Jewish American Heritage month.
The most urgent lesson of brand allyship: Hold the line against opposition
For LGBTQIA+ customers, the stakes are high and the ball is in Target's court.
Yes, Asian Americans are still here. Did you forget us?
We don’t just exist during the month of May.
Pride starts now for brands that mean it
The stakes are higher than ever in 2023.
Craving human-centricity? Remove war language from your brand’s vocabulary
Military language proliferates in marketing culture – and the nature of these words carry impact.
How did good intentions lead to an ecosystem lacking in DE&I?
And how can we fix it?
Creatives need to take up the trans cause
Our industry depends on people who redefine living.
The duality of women’s history
During this year’s Women’s History Month, the CEO of global design firm Turner Duckworth reflects on the unexpected support systems that made her the person she is today.
Wearing two hats is the uniform agency leaders need
Agency leaders that wear two hats are often the best equipped, well-rounded and prepared for any situation.
How “cultural MacGyverism” unlocks diversity’s full power
The best creative minds are adept at applying cross-cultural insights to navigate the challenging world of advertising.
But She Still: A poem
In this poem, Sarah Collins, copywriter at Partners + Napier, encapsulates how women have always pushed through obstacles — and calls for future generations to rise and do the same.
Why diversity and inclusion is so hard
The answer is simple — but it is also so difficult that it might very well be impossible.
Gen Z's unwavering expectations for brands during Black History Month: Action over performative allyship
Gen Z’s expectations for how brands should activate around Black History Month has influenced a larger consumer expectation. It’s time for brands to revisit their commitments made in 2020 and lead with action instead of false promises.
No matter the size of your budget or agency, real DE&I impact is possible
We found ways to prioritize funding and staff time to deliver the impact we needed.
Reclaiming our identity: How Arab culture has been misrepresented
There is a lack of infrastructure for brands to authentically connect with Arabs and Muslims in America.
How to thrive, not just stay dry, this January and beyond
There are many of us in this community who are willing to help.
Titi Me Preguntó: What are the multicultural marketing takeaways from Benito for 2023?
Here are four lessons from the Year of Benito to create successful Hispanic engagement in 2023 from Andy Checo.
The financial impact of well-being and the employee experience
Replacing employees can be costly for companies, meaning there are clear benefits to keeping staffers’ career, emotional, financial, mental and physical well-being in mind, says Chasing the Sun’s Mark Mohammadpour.
How to diversify the Super Bowl ad directorial roster
As women and minority viewership grows, diversity remains scarce among the pool of Super Bowl commercial directors.
Formulation, concentration and the three-headed llama
How to solve the cultural gap between creative and production.
Lessons for the industry from advertising’s first female copywriter
A passionate feminist with unconventional and radical views for her time, Helen Lansdowne Resormentored and promoted a generation of women to positions of power and prominence in advertising.
Diversity needs more white people
A united and educated front is the only way we'll be able to jump over the barriers often imposed when it comes to featuring us in the work.
How to future proof yourself
After more than 20 years in the industry, GALE executive creative director Geoff Edwards discusses how he stays relevant as the marketing world evolves.
Community-led creative can better support LGBTQ+ audiences
Diverse, intersectional perspective can lead to creative work that resonates.
Redefining multicultural marketing as the new mainstream
Brands will win or lose market share based on how well they adapt their marketing strategies to engage, represent and authentically serve a diverse audience.
Death to the RFP
The RFP process is painful, time consuming and traumatic — for all parties involved.
Is the anti-influencer movement really upon us?
A New York Fashion Week post-mortem from KWT Global’s Jessica Spar.
How working moms can truly work from anywhere
After an incredible and sometimes challenging month of living and working abroad with my family and young children, I’m here to tell you: DO IT.
Brittney Griner and the girls we forgot to represent
Girls and women who do not fit within the expected interpretation of femininity experience bias and lack of acceptance.
Crafting culturally authentic ads that appeal to everyone
When brands speak authentically to a specific population, their ads end up more appealing to the general population than the average ad produced by those same brands.
Multicultural marketing is mainstream marketing
Hispanic Heritage Month should remind us that multicultural audiences are becoming the mainstream.
Why does everybody hate advertising?
People don’t just hate us because we bombard them with intrusive advertising; it’s because we don’t talk about them like they are humans.
Finding solid ground in my Hispanic-Jewish-British heritage
Ezra Gonzalez explores his identity as a British, Jewish and Mexican man living between two cultures — and how his heritage shapes his views on Hispanic Heritage Month.
Latines can end white cronyism in advertising
The Latin community is a sleeping giant that is about to be awoken, and corporate America must get ahead of its demand for equality and representation.
Talent? Required. Degrees? Not so much
Can the creative industries solve their culture, talent and inclusivity problems by relying less on expensive degrees and more on things that matter?
Advertisers must do more to address the mental health crisis
Brands have a long history of changing perceptions on key societal topics through marketing.
Why is accessibility an afterthought for marketers?
Most brands’ approaches to accessibility can best be described as haphazard — but the path is relatively straightforward.
Perks, profits, and the pursuit of happiness at work
The trickle down effect of a positive work culture will improve every aspect of your business.
Quiet quitting? I loudly disagree
"This might be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t get the ‘quiet quitting’ thing," says the chief executive of Tin Man Communications.
Why listening to Black audiences can be just as powerful as advocacy
It's how marketers can develop the empathy, strategy and tactics to effectively advocate on our behalf.
We are more than ‘other’
Black and Brown inclusivity is still missing in the ad industry.
What’s next?
VMLY&R’s Carrie Patterson Reed writes about how she hopes the industry will learn and move on from the past few tumultuous years.
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Tear up your corporate travel plans after the fall of Roe
The overturning of abortion rights in the U.S. raises big considerations for companies around employee travel.
The pageantry paradigm
Aligning awards, events and the industry with actionable inclusion.
In a post-Roe world, we need to be better at marketing healthcare to women
Now more than ever we need to speak more bluntly to women about their health and address some painful facts rather than resort to unhelpful typecasts and stereotypes.
Why being bold during uncertainty makes you a better leader
The best leaders are those who are not afraid of being wrong.
Appreciate talent and they’ll appreciate you back
If a little appreciation can go a long way, a steady drumbeat of appreciation can transform an entire organization.
Speaking for ourselves
It’s more urgent than ever for women to reclaim the narrative around our health.
Making social media more welcoming for trans and nonbinary people
Join me in a commitment to flood our newsfeeds with powerful, positive, and truthful representations of trans and queer joy.
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Hot employee summer
A guide to working remote and extending a vacation destination effectively.
You're the difference
What sets us apart is what can bring us together
How to get your employees to share fewer depression memes
Since our industry only seems willing to solve problems when they’re in a creative brief format, I gave it a go here.
Lessons for marketers from brands that have gotten Pride Month right
Consumers want real solutions — not empty statements.
I challenge my team to be better global citizens. Here’s how you can, too.
For leaders in the ad industry looking for ways to better support the AAPI community and advance broader cultural understanding and acceptance among staff, here’s where to start.
Creating a more AAPI-friendly workplace
Finding ways to help employees forge connections helps to cultivate a sense of belonging and connectivity, needed more than ever as we continue to adapt to hybrid work.
We haven’t made enough progress for AAPIs in advertising
2020 was a turning point, but we need more than the energy we create amongst ourselves to rise up and influence change broadly.
Why agencies can’t stay silent on Roe v. Wade
The impending Roe v. Wade court decision is going to make gender disparities in our industry exponentially worse.
The gender tax: How much are you willing to pay?
Being a woman in the business world levies a mental tax that can ultimately impact productivity and performance.
From misfit to MVP: The audacity to thrive as yourself
Only a mentor who reflected some of my experiences could have helped me navigate tough situations at work without slowly erasing myself to fit in.
Mental health policy and programming in the workplace must play a bigger role as modern workforces continue to evolve
Studies show that top executives have the greatest impact on worker satisfaction and health, from modeling a healthy work-life balance to prioritizing employee health in the workplace, says M&C Saatchi Sports & Entertainment’s Steph Lund.
Remote Gen Z
A few workplace shifts could go a long way to retain this younger cohort.
We need to do more to uplift freelance artists
Starting with a more equitable pay structure.
Let’s normalize miscarriage leave policies
As common as miscarriage is, strong workplace policies that support employees and their partners when they experience this loss are unfortunately not.
We need to walk the walk on mental health in the workplace
When companies stress and reward productivity, it’s easy to ignore individual needs in an effort to be valued.
‘Thanks’ just isn’t enough
We need to recognize women for their contributions and ensure a road without obstacles to the top.
Why the out of office alert is out of touch
We need an unbiased phrase that recognizes that we get to step away from work — no matter where our work takes place.
Freedom, flexibility & recovery
72andSunny CEO Evin Shutt explains how the agency is adapting its policies and benefits to better support employees.
Does anyone really get DE&I?
It’s clear that many people don’t truly understand what DE&I means, Grey Group’s Yolanda Haynesworth writes.
How to do organizational purpose the right way for your people
If being purpose-driven is all the rage, why do we seem more disengaged and disconnected than ever at work?
Why I gave my entire agency one month off – no strings attached
Burnout is real, but it’s also avoidable.
The power to raise change
It’s our responsibility to support transgender employees.
A reflection on Dry January, from a sober media sales guy
There is tons of creativity in client entertainment that doesn’t involve drinking.
In 2022, we're queer – but are we really here?
In the pop culture machine of Adland, LGBTQ+ contributions still aren’t fully realized.
More talk, more action
Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging is a business imperative.
Why the Great Resignation is a Great Opportunity
Don’t dodge the unfamiliar or unexpected; that’s how opportunity is packaging itself these days.
Why not capitalizing “Brown” erases cultural history
Keeping “Brown'' lowercase is another attempt to strike out cultural experiences that define our beliefs, attitudes and values.
6 ways brands can reach Asian communities
Not doing so will impact their bottom lines.
Has the pandemic set back my path to vulnerability?
Vulnerability is necessary, especially in the moments when it’s raw and feels impossible to share.
Making advertising work for working moms
We need to make it easier to be a working mother in all businesses, including ours.
Forging a grateful future
Expressing genuine appreciation became personal practice and a business strategy for me during COVID-19. I hope we’ll all keep saying thank you – and meaning it – moving forward.
Chief Everyone Officer
The new CEO
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US Latino stories…¿Adónde estás?
US Latinos have become a demographic force to be reckoned with, but there is still a noticeable absence in stories that genuinely reflect their culture, realities and aspirations.
Retaining BIPOC talent: It’s more than money
Higher titles and compensation are easy ways of explaining BIPOC job movement, but they are an oversimplification.
Approaching planning like a GPS
Why marketers need to ditch the annual planning cycle.
Pausing our collective urge to Ted Lasso
Please, I beg of you, not so fast.