IN OUR SECOND ANNUAL EXPERIENTIAL IN COLOR PROGRAM, WE TALK WITH 16 RISING STARS ACROSS THE BRAND AND AGENCY SIDES OF THE BUSINESS ABOUT INDUSTRY TRENDS, INCLUSIVE CAMPAIGNS, AND WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BELONG IN EVENTS
Recruiting Diverse Talent is Just the First Step
In our inaugural Experiential in Color program last year, we explored the talent pipeline and some of the factors contributing to a lack of diversity at the middle management and leadership levels across the business of events. For 2022, the conversation turned to belonging, a necessary next step in not just hiring diverse employees, but fostering a culture that champions growth and advancement.
For marketers like Talib Abdullahi, national event coordinator at Tito’s Handmade Vodka, actions speak louder than words when it comes to reaching equity.
“A lot of it comes down to listening and empathizing. I think when you’re sitting in a room of your colleagues or your employees, you have to recognize that everyone has a different story to tell, and the story of how each of us got into that room can vary greatly,” Abdullahi says. “Some people have worked pretty hard to get there, or are working a bit harder and not getting as far.”
A phenomenon like the Great Resignation points to the need for companies to be intentional about their workplace culture, but especially in order to retain diverse talent. It’s not enough to hire a diverse range of people. Companies need to foster a culture of diversity.
“You can really tell the difference between companies that are actually working towards equity versus the companies that are checking a diversity box, because all of the diverse or inclusive hires are at the junior level,” says Akosua Boadi-Agyemang, global experiential marketing lead at Microsoft. “The first step is in shifting the culture internally and to do that you have to, as a company, set your goals and establish the ‘why’ so that you’re invested before you go out and practice ‘inclusive hiring.’”
And it’s a critical and exciting time for the industry to develop talent, according to our honorees.
“We need cultural and neural diversity, and we need to acknowledge that great ideas and great work is a representation of various communities,” says Isis Arias, marketing manager-consumer product experiences at Netflix. “To say you can’t find good people or you don’t know how to source diverse talent is no excuse. In this day and age, we can source influencers on TikTok, so we can find anyone, right? We just have to be more vocal and more intentional about it.”
This year’s program features a slate of brand-side and agency-side marketers who were selected through a nomination process that took place in April. Our Experiential in Color recognition program is designed to share the perspectives of, and shine a spotlight on, Black, Brown, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander directors, managers and junior talent.
Meet the 2022 honorees.