Zone’s marketing manager, Ricky Wallace, is inspired at Creative Equals’ flagship event to celebrate and encourage diversity in the creative industry…
Yesterday I attended RISE, the flagship conference by Creative Equals which aims to champion diversity and inclusivity in the creative industry. With only 12–14% of creative directors women (paid on average 7% less than their male counterparts) and 75% of female creatives having a male boss, Creative Equals strives to put inclusion at the heart of all creative work.
With more than 35 inspirational speakers and panellists appearing at LSO St Luke’s, it was a packed agenda. Here’s what I learned.
- Creativity is everything
The room was filled with passionate creatives, marketers and strategists who all believe in the power of creativity. Creative Equals’ founder, the brilliant Ali Hanan, and Campaign’s global editor-in-chief, Claire Beale, both explored the importance of creativity in driving social change. In today’s current “inclusion crisis,” as Hanan refers to it, creative leaders have the power and the responsibility to change narratives. Meanwhile, Beale says that anger about the current political climate works wonders: “Creativity is at its best when it has an enemy,” — which is summed up perfectly by the powerful Nike advert starring Colin Kaepernick.
2. Advertising without trust is just noise
The public are losing trust in advertising — 37% of Brits trust advertising less than they used to and 50% think that TV ads are just plain annoying. So all the hard work that creatives produce is getting lost. Keith Weed, ex-CMO of Unilever and chair of the Advertising Association (AA) wants to do something about this. The AA have a working group with broad and senior representation from the likes of the DMA, IAB, ITV, Sky and Google to address the issue. Arresting the Decline of Public Trust in UK Advertising identifies six overarching factors affecting public perceptions of advertising, from bombardment to unhealthy advertising, and can be downloaded here.
3. Tokenism is real
Tokenism is the practice of recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of diversity within a workforce. Samantha Renke, disability activist and actor (I loved her in the Maltesers advert!) gave a humorous talk about the subject and the lasting impact it can have on the individuals involved. She strongly believes she is not a token gesture in the acting industry and is campaigning to tackle true diversity in the workforce, a theme echoed by Paralympics presenter Sophie Morgan who often questions if she is commissioned for jobs because she is a good presenter or because she is disabled. This self-doubt, known as Impostor Syndrome, was given a spotlight in an interactive “fishbowl” session which showed me that…
4. We all feel like impostors sometimes
Gemma Greaves, CEO of the Marketing Society, chaired an impassioned session that encouraged RISE attendees to explore their own personal experiences of impostor syndrome. I was impressed at the honesty and bravery of those who chose to take part. Stories of self-doubt and loss were underpinned by a feeling of overcoming adversity and the empathy in the room was beautiful to witness. However, it’s worth noting that around 90% of the room were women and I wondered if the participants would’ve been so comfortable about revealing their personal demons if more men were present.
5. We shouldn’t be afraid to get things wrong
Trans activist and model Munroe Bergdorf believes that, when it comes to important societal issues, we need to listen to each other and try to make a difference. And, crucially, we shouldn’t be afraid to get things wrong (which is better than not trying to effect change at all). She mused how brands are often scared to be the first to convey a different opinion and this view was echoed by AMV BBDO who discussed their brilliant work with Libresse, the international brand of feminine hygiene products (Bodyform in the UK). AMV BBDO’s research had shown that 56% of girls would rather be bullied than talk to their parents about periods and a staggering 90% of women hide their periods altogether. So AMV BBDO created their taboo-breaking and brilliant “Viva la Vulva” campaign, which shows that feminine care isn’t something to be ashamed of. It was a bold move, but it worked.
6. The high street is not dead
Mary Portas’s no-nonsense approach to diversity was a breath of fresh air. “The high street isn’t dead,” she said, “but the muppets who run the businesses should be!” Her passionate argument about the lack of innovation by some business leaders to help the high street helped drive home the point that a more diverse workforce can look at things differently and help to create new cultural codes. On women in leadership, she believes: “As the doors open, we need to kick the fucking hinges off it!”
7. Creatives are a CMO’s best ally
At Zone, some of our biggest relationships are with chief marketing officers. They are the guardians of brands and lead their customer experience journeys. Abi Comber, ex-CMO of British Airways, is a firm believer that the creatives in an agency are a CMO’s best friend: “As a client, I want to look into the eyes of the people creating the stuff we put out.” Radha Davies, senior brand communications director at King, added that she wouldn’t dream of working with a team who weren’t representative of a balanced society. If they turned up to a pitch without a woman on the team, they would have zero chance of working with her.
8. We have a long way to go
Broadcaster June Sarpong discussed how we are all agents of change. Enlightening us through the analogy of Anansi the spider, a hero in traditional west African folklore, she explored how we should all be given the same opportunities despite any preconceptions from people in power. This sentiment was shared by Meera Syal, who shed light on how she is trying to change the narrative of South Asian representation in the media. She cited the only two TV series last year that had South Asian characters in lead roles: one focused on terrorism and the other on child exploitation. She argues that if this is the only representation South Asian people see of themselves and the wider audience sees of them, then naturally it will contribute to negative stereotypes and division in society.
9. We still need to mind the gap
The gender pay gap in the creative industry got worse last year, going up from 23% to 27%. I find this astonishing with the amount of campaigning and coverage the issue has had in the past few years. It is great that conversations around diversity and inclusion are being had, but more needs to be done. I mentioned before that only around 10% of the audience at RISE were men. Where were the male senior leaders who have the influence to affect change? And the representation of BAME and disabled people was just as few, if not fewer. Holding a mirror up to yesterday’s audience shows that we still have a long way to go.
