How to future proof yourself
After more than 20 years in the industry, GALE executive creative director Geoff Edwards discusses how he stays relevant as the marketing world evolves.
A framework to define authenticity in marketing
How can brands develop work that is considered authentic if they don’t know what authenticity means? Here are five characteristics to consider.
Brands can be better Latiné allies by embracing what matters to us
In their efforts to avoid controversy, brands are ignoring issues that Latinés care about.
Why the part-time creator is your company's secret weapon
The future of work is digital, co-created and shared. Why wouldn’t you want employees at the center of this movement at your organization?
It’s time to reconsider influencer exclusivity demands
By pushing exclusivity, brands may actually be hurting their own influencer marketing efforts.
How brands can combat a recession through Singles Day
The managing director of Hylink on three takeaways for brands this 11/11 season.
Political advertising debases our profession
The current state of political advertising exploits and hardens the coarseness of our civil discourse.
How Abercrombie could have avoided its near-fatal collapse
To be successful brand transformations require deliberate work and a long-term commitment from both brand and agency.
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Community-led creative can better support LGBTQ+ audiences
Diverse, intersectional perspective can lead to creative work that resonates.
Redefining multicultural marketing as the new mainstream
Brands will win or lose market share based on how well they adapt their marketing strategies to engage, represent and authentically serve a diverse audience.
Death to the RFP
The RFP process is painful, time consuming and traumatic — for all parties involved.
Is the anti-influencer movement really upon us?
A New York Fashion Week post-mortem from KWT Global’s Jessica Spar.
How working moms can truly work from anywhere
After an incredible and sometimes challenging month of living and working abroad with my family and young children, I’m here to tell you: DO IT.
Brittney Griner and the girls we forgot to represent
Girls and women who do not fit within the expected interpretation of femininity experience bias and lack of acceptance.
Crafting culturally authentic ads that appeal to everyone
When brands speak authentically to a specific population, their ads end up more appealing to the general population than the average ad produced by those same brands.
Multicultural marketing is mainstream marketing
Hispanic Heritage Month should remind us that multicultural audiences are becoming the mainstream.
Why does everybody hate advertising?
People don’t just hate us because we bombard them with intrusive advertising; it’s because we don’t talk about them like they are humans.
Finding solid ground in my Hispanic-Jewish-British heritage
Ezra Gonzalez explores his identity as a British, Jewish and Mexican man living between two cultures — and how his heritage shapes his views on Hispanic Heritage Month.
Latines can end white cronyism in advertising
The Latin community is a sleeping giant that is about to be awoken, and corporate America must get ahead of its demand for equality and representation.
Talent? Required. Degrees? Not so much
Can the creative industries solve their culture, talent and inclusivity problems by relying less on expensive degrees and more on things that matter?
Advertisers must do more to address the mental health crisis
Brands have a long history of changing perceptions on key societal topics through marketing.
Why is accessibility an afterthought for marketers?
Most brands’ approaches to accessibility can best be described as haphazard — but the path is relatively straightforward.
Perks, profits, and the pursuit of happiness at work
The trickle down effect of a positive work culture will improve every aspect of your business.
Quiet quitting? I loudly disagree
"This might be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t get the ‘quiet quitting’ thing," says the chief executive of Tin Man Communications.
Why listening to Black audiences can be just as powerful as advocacy
It's how marketers can develop the empathy, strategy and tactics to effectively advocate on our behalf.
We are more than ‘other’
Black and Brown inclusivity is still missing in the ad industry.
What’s next?
VMLY&R’s Carrie Patterson Reed writes about how she hopes the industry will learn and move on from the past few tumultuous years.
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Tear up your corporate travel plans after the fall of Roe
The overturning of abortion rights in the U.S. raises big considerations for companies around employee travel.
The pageantry paradigm
Aligning awards, events and the industry with actionable inclusion.
In a post-Roe world, we need to be better at marketing healthcare to women
Now more than ever we need to speak more bluntly to women about their health and address some painful facts rather than resort to unhelpful typecasts and stereotypes.
Why being bold during uncertainty makes you a better leader
The best leaders are those who are not afraid of being wrong.
Appreciate talent and they’ll appreciate you back
If a little appreciation can go a long way, a steady drumbeat of appreciation can transform an entire organization.
Speaking for ourselves
It’s more urgent than ever for women to reclaim the narrative around our health.
Making social media more welcoming for trans and nonbinary people
Join me in a commitment to flood our newsfeeds with powerful, positive, and truthful representations of trans and queer joy.
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Hot employee summer
A guide to working remote and extending a vacation destination effectively.
You're the difference
What sets us apart is what can bring us together
How to get your employees to share fewer depression memes
Since our industry only seems willing to solve problems when they’re in a creative brief format, I gave it a go here.
Lessons for marketers from brands that have gotten Pride Month right
Consumers want real solutions — not empty statements.
I challenge my team to be better global citizens. Here’s how you can, too.
For leaders in the ad industry looking for ways to better support the AAPI community and advance broader cultural understanding and acceptance among staff, here’s where to start.
Creating a more AAPI-friendly workplace
Finding ways to help employees forge connections helps to cultivate a sense of belonging and connectivity, needed more than ever as we continue to adapt to hybrid work.
We haven’t made enough progress for AAPIs in advertising
2020 was a turning point, but we need more than the energy we create amongst ourselves to rise up and influence change broadly.
Why agencies can’t stay silent on Roe v. Wade
The impending Roe v. Wade court decision is going to make gender disparities in our industry exponentially worse.
The gender tax: How much are you willing to pay?
Being a woman in the business world levies a mental tax that can ultimately impact productivity and performance.
From misfit to MVP: The audacity to thrive as yourself
Only a mentor who reflected some of my experiences could have helped me navigate tough situations at work without slowly erasing myself to fit in.
Mental health policy and programming in the workplace must play a bigger role as modern workforces continue to evolve
Studies show that top executives have the greatest impact on worker satisfaction and health, from modeling a healthy work-life balance to prioritizing employee health in the workplace, says M&C Saatchi Sports & Entertainment’s Steph Lund.
Remote Gen Z
A few workplace shifts could go a long way to retain this younger cohort.
We need to do more to uplift freelance artists
Starting with a more equitable pay structure.
Let’s normalize miscarriage leave policies
As common as miscarriage is, strong workplace policies that support employees and their partners when they experience this loss are unfortunately not.
We need to walk the walk on mental health in the workplace
When companies stress and reward productivity, it’s easy to ignore individual needs in an effort to be valued.
‘Thanks’ just isn’t enough
We need to recognize women for their contributions and ensure a road without obstacles to the top.
Why the out of office alert is out of touch
We need an unbiased phrase that recognizes that we get to step away from work — no matter where our work takes place.
Freedom, flexibility & recovery
72andSunny CEO Evin Shutt explains how the agency is adapting its policies and benefits to better support employees.
Does anyone really get DE&I?
It’s clear that many people don’t truly understand what DE&I means, Grey Group’s Yolanda Haynesworth writes.
How to do organizational purpose the right way for your people
If being purpose-driven is all the rage, why do we seem more disengaged and disconnected than ever at work?
Why I gave my entire agency one month off – no strings attached
Burnout is real, but it’s also avoidable.
The power to raise change
It’s our responsibility to support transgender employees.
A reflection on Dry January, from a sober media sales guy
There is tons of creativity in client entertainment that doesn’t involve drinking.
In 2022, we're queer – but are we really here?
In the pop culture machine of Adland, LGBTQ+ contributions still aren’t fully realized.
More talk, more action
Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging is a business imperative.
Why the Great Resignation is a Great Opportunity
Don’t dodge the unfamiliar or unexpected; that’s how opportunity is packaging itself these days.
Why not capitalizing “Brown” erases cultural history
Keeping “Brown'' lowercase is another attempt to strike out cultural experiences that define our beliefs, attitudes and values.
6 ways brands can reach Asian communities
Not doing so will impact their bottom lines.
Has the pandemic set back my path to vulnerability?
Vulnerability is necessary, especially in the moments when it’s raw and feels impossible to share.
Making advertising work for working moms
We need to make it easier to be a working mother in all businesses, including ours.
Forging a grateful future
Expressing genuine appreciation became personal practice and a business strategy for me during COVID-19. I hope we’ll all keep saying thank you – and meaning it – moving forward.
Chief Everyone Officer
The new CEO
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US Latino stories…¿Adónde estás?
US Latinos have become a demographic force to be reckoned with, but there is still a noticeable absence in stories that genuinely reflect their culture, realities and aspirations.
Retaining BIPOC talent: It’s more than money
Higher titles and compensation are easy ways of explaining BIPOC job movement, but they are an oversimplification.
Approaching planning like a GPS
Why marketers need to ditch the annual planning cycle.
Pausing our collective urge to Ted Lasso
Please, I beg of you, not so fast.
We don’t care what you call Hispanic Heritage Month
We care that you “celebrate it” (and us) by doing something meaningful.
I was a young ad exec working in Midtown when the planes hit
Here are a few life lessons I carry 20 years later.
To make real change, agencies must commit to a cause
Agencies should be defined by the causes they support as much as the clients they represent — maybe more so.
Home alone: lost and found in New York
The story of a trip on home turf to nowhere to reignite inspiration.
How can you tell a diverse story without diverse storytellers?
Many of us are overlooking people with neurodifferences.
Transitioning towards truth
As an individual, an industry and a community.
Let’s talk about sex
An LGBTQ+ education for brands
Where are all the Black-owned creative agencies?
Stop paying lip service to agency and supplier diversity — just start hiring.
The future and you
As we re-imagine our lives after the pandemic, there’s no better time to reflect on our role in building environments where everyone can thrive.
Fatherhood: from a Black Father’s POV
Black leaders at VMLY&R share what fatherhood means to them.
All in, together
By sharing what we have learned, we call on the industry to tap into our collective responsibility to make work where everyone feels seen.
Can we finally leave the marketing calendar behind this Juneteenth?
Representing Black culture is a social responsibility and a business imperative that goes well beyond the 30-some days currently allotted to it.
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Calling all learners
Learning is how you develop great relationships and make incredible creative work that wins.
How to hybrid
The changing face of the agency office.
The ally marketer's guide to queer subculture on TikTok
A letter from the desk of a lesbian creative director.
Sitting Still
The transition back to the office will hopefully leave us with a work experience that melds the best of both worlds.
What’s your origin story?
We need to create opportunities to give voice to others to ask and share their own origin stories.
Having urged everyone off the sidelines, it’s time we heed our own advice
We need to act with urgency without mindlessly rushing forward, issuing statements for the sake of appearances. Words matter, but actions matter more, say True Mosaic cofounders Emily Graham and Bia Assevero.
Being an Asian woman executive in the United States
The combination of bamboo and glass ceiling make it incredibly difficult to climb to the top.
AAPI Representation on screens and in the boardroom
While Asians might over-index at senior- to mid- levels and below, there’s not enough representation at the very top.
We may be breaking the stigma, but we still need to fix the system
Have we really made much progress in supporting or addressing the actual mental health of our colleagues and employees?
Raising the voices of Asian women in media and technology
In my country, when you are ignored, you try harder and shout louder.
Marketers: It’s time to start being real with moms
Motherhood is just one part of our identity.
This Cinco de Mayo, do more than just sell beer to the Latinx community
This past year has provided great examples of how brands can push culture forward.
'Latinx' and its role in authentic brand strategy
Hispanic identity is complex, fluid and continuously evolving.
Beyond hashtags: Solidarity against Anti-Asian violence
Let’s take this opportunity to start a genuine effort to end systematic racism in our industry and country.
Racism is a virus, not Asians: #StopAAPIHate
Recent egregious events in Atlanta are the culmination of centuries of discrimination against Asian-Americans – brands have a responsibility to step up and take action in the same way they did around the Black Lives Matter movement.
A challenge to our industry from an invisible minority
The AAPI community’s existence cannot be conditional or dismissed.
Talent is the Answer
Strategies for attracting and retaining talent today.
We belong in the C-suite
It’s time for Asian Americans to speak up.
For Women, ‘doing it all’ comes at a cost
When your normal sanctuaries are off-limits, how do you make time for yourself?
Companies need to think carefully about hybrid work models
If employers are really committed to a hybrid workplace, they will ensure remote workers are treated fairly.
Starting your first job in a pandemic
Gen Z is entering the workforce remotely — and it hasn’t been easy.
Reinventing the office
A year of lockdown has reshaped the industry — in some cases, for the better.
No time to waste: We must get women back into the workforce
Three things the ad industry can do to stem COVID’s setback of women in the workforce.
Building on the momentum of Black storytelling
The appetite for Black stories has crossed over to mainstream appeal.
Addressing agency burnout
As most of us continue to work from home, agency leaders must focus on our people.