Disinvestment in DE&I initiatives is real, and so is the separation that comes with it. M&C Saatchi's Sabrina Lynch warns that no sane marketer should put up with it.
Black executive leaders in marketing are rare in two ways: seniority and identity. To become a self-taught walking Wikipedia, you have to be good at your job and you have to work harder than others. If you don't, you won't get far.
The very concept of Black executives in marketing (and beyond), not to mention the dwindling efforts of DE&I programs, appears to be under attack from growing anti-DE&I legislation in the United States and Western countries. Last year, her DE&I role decreased by 44%, Google and Meta cut her DEI programs, and WNET Group's Eugenia Harvey left the organization. The University of Florida will also eliminate all DE&I-related positions, she announced. Her message is clear: identity and audience, which are usually ignored, don't matter.
Growing hostility to efforts to increase representation and widen key audience groups has forced companies into silence. This is further exacerbated by backlash and boycott threats against “woke” companies. A case in point: a letter sent by a senator to Target CEO Brian Cornell stating that the company's DE&I program and “racial employment quotas” were discriminatory.
This is a big problem.
We need to know what excites our audience.all viewers
As a young executive of color, you will be expected to understand other cultures, communities, and behaviors from the start. On the other hand, I have never been asked to expand my knowledge of white audiences. Because the white audience was always expected to be the default audience. There is a double-edged sword there. It's the job of marketers, planners, and strategists to truly know what makes their audiences tick. We need to be three steps ahead of what they want before they ask questions. So it's all the more frustrating to see our industry forced to retreat from expanding its multicultural knowledge. The problem is that it only addresses a white, heterosexual audience.
But don't worry. There is a quick solution. Outsource this lack of audience intelligence to “professional” agencies.
Many companies hire professionals from diverse cultures, ethnicities, and age groups without adequate representation within the company. It's a wise move, but it's not infallible. When this critical component is outsourced, the problem may appear to be “solved” and quickly forgotten, when it may never actually be solved. Multicultural marketing is currently in danger of becoming an instrument of “other” communities. And to be othered means to be ostracized. To be considered a specialized subject is, so to speak, to be treated as a specimen, not a priority. Whether you're an Indigenous data scientist, a white chief strategy officer, or an Asian American copywriter, it's important for me as a marketer to step up and understand the other person's culture. It is our responsibility. Understanding the mindset of your audience, whether it's a consumer, cohort, shopper, customer, or noun of the month, enhances efficiency.
No one should feel restricted to being a subject of separatism.
Outsourcing DE&I is understood by other audiences.
Fundamental inquisitiveness should be cultivated rather than left to subcontractors. It is unhealthy for the new wave of strategists and creators entering the field to support this concept. If you do not interfere with your own comfort by understanding how others live, it will instill the belief that it is always someone else's business. Aspects of identity should be explored through active learning initiatives for internal and agency departments. This gives marketers a comprehensive understanding of different audience segments, along with a solid foundation in cultural anthropology. This sends the message that all audiences should be considered by businesses as people who are interested enough to include them in a brand's overarching audience. It could change our business and our customers.
The legal measures currently being taken in the United States that force setbacks for government agencies and in-house teams alike are unnecessary setbacks that, ironically, benefit our world as we explore the analysis of relevant variables. Not a good kind of “backward”.
It took far too long to break the outdated and false notion that consumers should receive top billing. Given the amount of effort and blood that has been shed to literally achieve some degree of social balance, I have no intention of turning back. We don't need to discount more diverse teams innovating together and expanding our understanding of our fellow women (and men).
