If you’ve been conscious in the year 2020, then you’ve witnessed a national conversation develop. Some of the ugliest truths about our country have been stripped back and laid bare. Individuals, organizations, companies, and the like have had a mirror turned to them to reconcile with the ways in which they benefit from or contribute to racism and the systems that perpetuate it. It’s a conversation that, on this scale, is long overdue—although it’s certainly nothing new. Amongst this national conversation, the Advertising industry holds its own responsibility to act.

Diversity in advertising, marketing, and communications is a multi-faceted conversation. In fact, it’s the same for many industries—but there are nuances to consider for ours. We craft highly-targeted messages that inform perception. There’s a responsibility there to accurately and consciously reflect our communities, especially marginalized ones.

Disparity in the Industry

Unfortunately, a disparity exists in the industry. Many of our agencies have teams of people who don’t reflect the communities they’re trying to appeal to. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 0.7% of advertising and promotions managers are Black or African American (9% are Hispanic or Latino and 7% are Asian). Compared to national demographics, the percentages don’t align. As a result, our agencies are filled with people who aren’t equipped to effectively and genuinely build messaging for Black and brown consumers.

The Value of Perspective

A lack of diversity brings a lack of perspective. No matter how nebulous an idea, there’s power in the competency of culture as an agency—and there’s no way to achieve it without representation. We all have implicit bias, or the way that we’ve been conditioned to feel and think about certain groups of people. That’s why it’s simply not enough to want to be understanding or to want to be champions of diversity and inclusion. The reality is that even the best of intentions can’t replace the conscious work required to not only make space in the room, but to build a culture that supports anyone who occupies that space.

The structural and ethical issue for an agency with a homogenous team (or even just leadership) is that implicit bias runs completely unchecked. For an agency in 2020, that’s not just a blind spot—it’s a liability.

The Richards Group disrupted the industry when comments from an internal call surfaced from agency founder Stan Richards, who described a proposed spot for client Motel 6 as being “too Black.” One of the largest independent advertising agencies lost major clients while on a national pedestal, and it begs the question, what’s to stop this from happening at these clients’ next agency? With Black people only representing 0.7% of the industry, how long can we afford to not have the right voices in the room?

Stan Richards has since said: "Those words were said innocently, but they were hurtful to members of our staff. I have apologized for that, as I should have. Having spent much of my adult life fighting prejudice, I should have known better.” Regardless of intentions, the bigger message here to advertising agencies is that this could easily be you. As long as representation is lacking, there will be a disconnect.

Not only is improving in-house diversity the equitable thing to do, but it also just happens to be good for business. In partnership with The Female Quotient and Ipsos, Google’s Consumer Insights surveyed nearly 3,000 consumers from various backgrounds. The research aimed to determine how inclusive advertising affects consumer behavior. 64% of those consumers took some sort of action after seeing an ad that they deemed to be diverse, inclusive, and representative. For some groups, that percentage spikes even higher. For example, an overwhelming 85% of Hispanics and Latinos, 85% of members of the LGBTQ+ community, and 79% of Black consumers surveyed said they took specific action on ads featuring this diversity.

Committing to the Work
Lacking diversity as an agency isn’t necessarily an indictment. If we, as an industry, can name the systems at play and work to dismantle them internally, we’ll be much stronger for it. Having a diverse workplace isn’t just some initiative to check off on a list. There’s real value there, even past fulfilling our responsibility to be representative. Creating diversity doesn’t happen overnight, and it requires a change in culture and ongoing education. We’re talking about equity here, which means that “not racist” will never be a destination. We have to choose every day to be anti-racist by naming and dismantling racist and oppressive systems. The changes touch many areas of operations, and they’re necessary to build a more inclusive and equitable industry.

To continue the conversation, check out organizations like Apollo 51, Allyship & Action, and ADCOLOR.