POCAM - People of Colour in Advertising & Marketing

And just like the snake sheds its skin, it’s time to shed the past and embrace a future filled with health, peace and prosperity. Happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrate! --- Video description: An animation featuring a black patterned snake on a red background surrounded by wispy white clouds that drift slowly into frame. The illustration is framed by a rotating traditional fret pattern. As the clouds settle around the snake, the words “Happy Lunar New Year!” bounce onto the screen and the video ends.

Visible & Vocal 5 closes today — last chance to add your voice and make a difference. As a 100% BIPOC collective, we exist to ensure the voice, vision and talent of BIPOC professionals are fully and fairly present in Canadian advertising and marketing. This survey was created to highlight what it's really like for BIPOC advertisers, marketers, communicators and design professionals to work in a systemically white industry. Your participation helps us gather data into one trusted source to help hold industry accountable and continue advocating for real, lasting change. Your perspectives and experiences matter. Please join us! Add you voice today: https://lnkd.in/gWGj4Y25 --- Visible & Vocal is supported by members of the POCAM steering committee, a group of BIPOC leaders advocating for equity and inclusion across the industry: Julian Franklin, who leads the study, Ishma Alexander-Huet, Gavin Barrett, Natalie Bomberry, Erik dela Cruz, Joycelyn Espiritu David, Aleena Mazhar Kuzma, Chino Nnadi, Mark Rutledge, Ken Saint-Eloy, Justin Senior, and Matthew Tsang. #RepresentationMatters #CanadianAdvertising #CanadianMarketing #VisibleAndVocal #BIPOC

Today, we celebrate a leader who changed the course of history. A leader both celebrated and criticized for his bold, unapologetic views. A man whose work sparked movements and left an undeniable mark on the world. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the visionary whose fight for racial justice and equality transformed the lives of millions. Now that's worth celebrating. --- January 20th is #MLKDay. As you take this time to reflect, connect, and feed your soul with what unites us, consider completing the Visible & Vocal survey. Visible & Vocal was created by BIPOC for BIPOC to highlight the reality of working in a systemically white industry — and it closes today. Your participation helps us gather the perspectives and experiences of BIPOC advertisers, marketers, communicators and designers in one trusted source. It's the data we need to keep advocating for real, lasting change. Go here to participate: https://lnkd.in/gWGj4Y25 #RacialJustice #Equality #VisibleAndVocal --- Described video: Black screen with white text that slowly grows in size. The text reads: "Today we honour a leader whose bold vision reshapes the world. He spoke passionately about what truly makes America great. Faced incredible odds and refused to back down. His words electrified millions. His dreams challenged the status quo. Loved by many, criticized by some, his impact is undeniable." The text fades and is replaced by, "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” The video ends with the People of Colour in Advertising and Marketing (POCAM) logo – a speech balloon containing the word POCAM. Ishma Alexander-Huet Gavin Barrett Natalie Bomberry Erik dela Cruz Joycelyn Espiritu David Deyra Jaye Fontaine Julian Franklin Aleena Mazhar Kuzma Chino Nnadi Mark Rutledge Ken Saint-Eloy Justin Senior Matthew Tsang

Visible and Vocal 5, POCAM’s annual by-BIPOC and for BIPOC research study, is in the field for a few more days. Take 10 minutes to make sure your experiences over 2024 are reflected when the industry examines itself. https://lnkd.in/gWGj4Y25 We also look forward to Black History Month 2025 as we prepare to celebrate Black professionals in the Canadian industry. Nominations for POCAM's Black History Month profile series, which is supported by Campaign Canada, are now open. To nominate a Black advertising, branding/design, marketing, PR or media professional whom you admire, confirm with them whether they'd like to be featured and nominate them by emailing their contact info and the reason for your nomination to steerco@wearepocam.ca —or DM me. Driven by POCAM - People of Colour in Advertising & Marketing's SteerCo: Julian Franklin, Joycelyn Espiritu David Justin Senior Ishma Alexander-Huet (She/Her) Aleena Mazhar Kuzma Erik dela Cruz Natalie Bomberry Deyra Jaye Fontaine Mark Rutledge CDP RGD Matthew Tsang Ken Saint-Eloy and Chino Nnadi.

Calling all BIPOC professionals in Canadian advertising, marketing, PR, media, and graphic design. Visible and Vocal needs your voices and your stories, your count of successes and struggles. Visible and Vocal 5 is POCAM’s annual by-BIPOC and for BIPOC research study and it's in the field for just a little while longer. Take the opportunity to click the link and share your truth, your data, your stories. https://lnkd.in/gWGj4Y25 Visible and Vocal is led by Julian Franklin, supported by data analysis from Barrett and Welsh Inc.'s Nitin Bagga. A tip of my tartan turban to my POCAM Board and SteerCo colleagues. It takes love to do the work we do—Joycelyn Espiritu David Justin Senior Ishma Alexander-Huet (She/Her) Aleena Mazhar Kuzma Erik dela Cruz Natalie Bomberry Deyra Jaye Fontaine Mark Rutledge CDP RGD Matthew Tsang Ken Saint-Eloy and Chino Nnadi. Turn on audio for the full video experience. Described video: Each word of the line "We are still here." appears one at a time in a red speech balloon. The final screen is wallpapered with red speech balloons—each one with the word "here" in it. The video ends with the POCAM Dialogo branding and a call to action to participate in Visible and Vocal 5, POCAM's annual by-BIPOC, for-BIPOC study. The lines on the closing screen read Visible & Vocal 5 is live. Be visible. Be vocal. Answer the survey now. (Link in post.)

As we step into 2025, we celebrate the creativity, success and resilience of BIPOC advertisers and marketers. We hope to see even more recognition, opportunity and advancement of the incredible talent in our community. Cheers to much joy, growth and inspiration in the year ahead! #HappyNewYear Video description: White text fades in on a black background, displaying new year's greetings in various languages, including French, English, Arabic, Persian, Mi'kmaw, Inuktitut, Gwich'in, Urdu, and Indonesian.

Change comes from being visible and vocal! Being an Indigenous creative working as a graphic designer for 30 years much has changed, and yet much remained the same. I've vowed to make incremental changes for future generations in the industry so that they don't have to experience the struggles of discrimination and racism that is embedded in our industry and that I have faced. I'm a Steering Committee member of POCAM, People of Colour in Advertising and Marketing and I am proud of the work that has been done and look forward to the work that still remains. POCAM has begun our fifth survey of BIPOC in advertising and marketing. The data is used to understand the demographics and attitudes of BIPOC advertising to help fight racism and discrimination. Your voice matters. Let's make it count. Take the survey today: https://lnkd.in/gBiW2ET7 #marketingandadvertising #BIPOCCommunity #representationmatters

To all those who are celebrating this season, we wish you a happy holiday. ❄️ Ishma Alexander-Huet (She/Her) Gavin Barrett Natalie Bomberry Erik dela Cruz Joycelyn Espiritu David Deyra Jaye Fontaine Julian Franklin Aleena Mazhar Kuzma Chino Nnadi 🚀 Mark Rutledge CDP RGD Ken Saint-Eloy Justin Senior Matthew Tsang

Congratulations to POCAM co-founder Julian Franklin on being appointed Chair of the Board at SMCC- Sponsorship Marketing Council Canada! We're excited to see the impact Julian will make through his continuous leadership, innovation, passion and dedication to advancing equity within the marketing industry.

Visible & Vocal is the only industry study created by BIPOC, for BIPOC with the sole purpose of amplifying BIPOC perspectives and experiences. It reveals the truth of working as a BIPOC professional in Canadian advertising and marketing — in our words, with our own stories, in the safety of our own communities. Your participation makes it harder for companies to ignore long-standing issues or rely on superficial diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Join us and help expose systemic barriers in the industry. Take the Visible & Vocal survey today: https://lnkd.in/gWGj4Y25 Your voice matters. Make it count. #VisibleAndVocal #RepresentationMatters #BIPOC #CanadianAdvertisingAndMarketing