While hiring is a great first step on the road to diversifying the workforce, it's not the end-all solution. We checked in with Joy Smith, Senior Equity and Inclusion Manager at Marcus Thomas, about how agencies can support and create space for their employees, and how brands can form a consistent connection with marginalized communities year-round.
How do you make space and support your employees in marginalized communities, beyond hiring?
We recognize that diversifying your workforce is only the first step on this ongoing DEIB journey. To ensure that those from marginalized communities belong, you must be intentional in creating spaces that are intentionally exclusive to them. These spaces are used to create community and support among those with shared identities. A goal of our DEIB strategy isn’t just to hire and retain talent from marginalized communities but to create development paths to leadership opportunities. Career development programs and organizations are made available to members of BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and disabled communities, as well as women in the workplace. We engage with industry organizations like the 4As, the Association of National Advertisers, and ADCOLOR to source relevant opportunities that will shape the careers of members of those communities.
In what ways does your team ensure that diverse, intersectional perspectives and ideas are included in the creative process?
Our ideation process, called “The Approach,” incorporates steps and prompts to address and avoid stereotypes and foster inclusive creative and communication ideas and campaigns. We are currently developing inclusive audience profiles for our top clients based on a non-mean-based analysis of audience data. We ensure research is inclusive and have conducted research specifically aimed at understanding underrepresented groups on behalf of our clients.
An agency-wide inclusive marketing curriculum is currently in development.
Our design team is ADA trained and are ADA compliant in all of our digital executions.
Calendar holidays and honorary months put a momentary spotlight on marginalized communities, creating a wave of temporary support and celebration. While this is a positive step, the industry agrees that authenticity comes through consistent engagement. What can brands do to maintain continuous connection with groups?
Connecting with consumers in general requires genuine, authentic insight that makes people feel seen. The same goes for those from marginalized communities. These insights need not be rooted in holidays, honorary months, or histories of oppression and marginalization. They are living a human experience like everyone else with everyday happenings that resonate among them. Brands that speak to the unique perspectives and cultures they are part of will not only connect with these groups but will be able to maintain that connection through time. Insights like the overlapping conversations between Black women at a kitchen table take what seems ordinary for others and highlights it as culturally significant for that group. When brands are able to identify moments in the lives of people that resonate, they earn a connection with groups that will remain tapped into what they have to offer.
Which brands do you see as true agents of change, across the full spectrum of DEI, including social issues? How do they inspire you?
There are brands, both big and small, with efforts to create change in their industries and beyond across various social issues. The obvious picks are large corporations like Ben & Jerry’s and Nike that use both advertising and social corporate responsibility efforts to highlight social justice and equality, or Patagonia’s commitment to fighting climate change. Each of these enterprise corporations uses the weight of their brand to change the hearts and minds of people while implementing policies, processes, and practices internally that lead to actionable impact.
The Lip Bar is a beauty brand founded by Melissa Butler, a Black, female entrepreneur. The company aims to challenge traditional Eurocentric beauty standards by providing product lines that cater to all skin tones. Butler leaned on her own experiences of trying to find beauty products that worked with her skin tone to create an inclusive brand after being rejected on “Shark Tank.” You can now find The Lip Bar in over 1,000 retail locations nationwide. The brand story is both inspiring and empowering.
Finally, Marcus Thomas’ client Ditto is an inclusive brand that inspires me. As the first innovation in sewing in over 100 years, Ditto is creating a path for body diversity and inclusivity for sewists. The product was launched at 2023 New York Fashion Week with a panel of sewing influencers discussing the impact that custom sizing will make on their craft. Guerilla-style marketing took over the city with messaging that highlighted the need for size inclusivity in the fashion industry. You can learn more about the product launch here: Ditto Brand Launch