Sparks EMEA’s Post

We recently completed a strategic planning process for the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center Performing Arts Center in New Bedford. When we first met with them, they knew they had hit a wall with the old way of being. The world was still emerging from the pandemic and it seemed like an urgent time to think creatively about what kind of organization they wanted to be going forward. 🌀 To ensure the community’s needs were centered in the process, we invited members of the community to sit on the planning team with members of the staff from various levels of the organization. ❓ We articulated important questions about how to take a tried and true way of approaching their work, and rethink it to ensure the organization was truly of, by and for the community. 💪 They were fierce in their pursuit of a new way, and they were courageous in how willing they were to rethink past practices that did not serve them. We had many courageous conversations in which they rolled up their sleeves and got into the work of reconceiving their organization to deeply integrate inclusion, relevance, access, and their role in serving those community needs. We drew on Appreciative Inquiry to open the process in a positive possibility mindset, we drew on the identification of barriers and the consensus method from Technology of Participation to facilitate these deep conversations and surface the best ideas from the collective. Throughout the process, we elevated community voice to ensure the resulting plan was responsive to community needs. 🙌 The plan that emerged was truly transformative. It speaks to a wholly different organization in the future. The core of their mission (presenting performances) is being reimagined so it will be more inclusive and showcase the full range of diversity in and around their community. They took tremendous risks, and we applaud them and are excited to see how this might shift the audiences who come see their work and feel a sense of belonging at “The Z” in the future. They are also going through a huge renovation physically, so the unveiling will truly be a metamorphosis for this amazing organization. Now they are doing the hard work of living into this strategy, which literally includes a goal to “Unlearn oppressive behaviors and embrace a culture of justice and inclusion.” #transformativeplanning #courageousconversations #inclusivestrategy

Creativity is magic Last night, I went to #thecaplesawards ceremony. Fittingly, it was at the HQ of The Magic Circle. There may be 'bigger' awards, there may be awards which result in significant bonuses, there may be awards that are more coveted by certain people. But the Caples stand alone. They're run wholly by creatives, for creatives. This year, Caples Custodian Patrick Collister invited me to join the jury. It was pleasingly international, as were the entries. The judging process was simple and enjoyable. The tech was easy to use. The jury conversations were wide-ranging, thoughtful and persuasive. The voting was based on the work, not the entry. There were no WTF moment when each award was announced. Every single one of them was fully deserved. As Sir John Hegarty said in his on-stage interview with Jury Chair David Harris, "90%, no 98%, of all advertising is shit." So it's right to concentrate on the work that's in the 2% that isn't shit. And the 1% of that 2% that is award-worthy. The work that shows how creativity can solve problems. Whether those problems are commercial, personal or societal. How moments of magic can change attitudes, behaviours, even legislation. We're in tough times right now, and it could take a while for things to get easier. But we're not getting anywhere without creativity. The creativity that builds new businesses. That nurtures fresh talent. That revels in the simple, the smart, the different, the oblique. That makes work fun. That makes magic. #creativity #advertising #awards

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity countdown is ON, and I am so excited to attend for the first time! I am attending: ✔ Self-funded (no sponsors or cohorts) ✔ I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T (no company or agency affiliations) in my Webby voice. (IYKYK) This industry experience started with a split decision and a lot of planning! Last year while sitting in on a virtual "Cannes Recap" at my former agency, I was desperately uninspired by the report back. Last year there was so much culture to be experienced and shared back to aspiring advertising talent young and old (which would have proven inspirational and educational for the entire agency), including the induction of Spike Lee as the first ever Creator Maker of the Year. Yet, not a sentence about culture, DEI, or diverse initiatives. As the national #ERG lead for Onyx, I was embarrassed and as a Black employee, I was disappointed. Fueled by my desire to know more and experience Cannes for myself, and with the help of some close colleagues hyping me up in the Teams chat, I decided before the 60-minute event concluded that I would get to Cannes in 2024 to curate the experience I desired....and I am 2 days out! For those not going and feeling FOMO, I will be sharing my hot takes from culture-shifters in the industry but use this post as motivation and as a CTA to start planning your Cannes 2025 RIGHT NOW! Support is always great so be ready to apply for initiatives like The Black Network and Cannes Can: Diversity Collective next year. However, my PSA for life (career opps included): don't wait for anyone to pick you, send you, or get you where you need and deserve to go! Who else is going? Let's meet IRL. (The first timers What's App is LIT!) #diversityinadvertising #powermoves #inclusiveadvertising #DEIisNotDead #BlackCreatives #representationmatters #seeitbelieveit #timingandpositioning

One last end of the year request for a vote-up from my network. Each year, the Anthem Awards honors the purpose & mission-driven work of people, companies and organizations worldwide. Now, we all know that the moniker "purpose & mission driven" can sometimes be nothing more than "virtue signaling." However, there are brands, advertisers, and organizations who are truly committed to making a difference. There's some great work being done, and it deserves to be recognized. As some of you are aware, we've been leading the way in advocating for sonic diversity in advertings; more specifically, the use of more diverse voice talent in mass market advertising. Our first-of-its-kind research into the impact of racialized listening on ad favorability and effectiveness has paved the way to creating a business case for sonic diversity, and our Stand For Sonic Diversity presentations and website (https://lnkd.in/d93NYyp) continues to education and inspire folks in our industry to make much needed changes in our approach to voice casting, scriptwriting, production, strategy and more. It's an initiative that has had a profound impact on our own casting practices and advocacy within SiriusXM and Pandora. This year, both those initiatives are finalists for an Anthem Award. Currently, there's public voting for a "Peoples Choice" award, which brings me to my ask. If you're so inclined, please register and upvote one of these initiatives to help bring even more visibility to our work advocating for sonic diversity. I say one, because both are finalists in the same category, and you can only vote once. To find our entries, just use the search function on the Anthem page and enter "SXM." If you want a suggestion, based not on the worth of the work but only on the stats, currently the research (re: sonic diversity and ad favorabilty and effectiveness) appears to have an edge. Thanks so much - and regardless of the vote, please check out our Stand For Sonic Diversity website for more information about the initiative. https://lnkd.in/gTcchVZS #StandForSonicDiversity #SonicDiversity SXM Media

The more I’ve learned, the more I listen. Yesterday I sat in a room of (90% female) executive leaders who shaped some of the most iconic brands of our lifetime. I felt like I found the speakeasy in the back of the crowded nightclub. A respite from the typically male dominated executive conferences. A group of people so established that there is no need for posturing… every person keeping it real. It reminded me of the Picasso quote:  “When art critics get together they talk about structure and meaning. When artists get together they talk about where you can buy cheap turpentine.” Although the speakeasy in the back of the club is THE vibe. It can also be very intimidating. There’s a thin line between damn this is cool and I’m not cool enough to be here. A younger version of myself felt a need to  proactively show people that I belong in the room as well. Conversations were less about listening and learning and more about performing. The irony is the more I tried to show I belonged in the room, the less I was able to learn from the opportunity of being invited. Recently I’m working on shifting this feeling. A deep breath and trust that if the people curating these spaces chose me, I deserve to be there. This is actually the moment to shut your mouth. It’s an opportunity to listen. To ask the questions that actually keep me up at night, not the ones I think will make me look smart. What was incredible about yesterday was watching a panels with industry badasses like Jo McKinney, Jeanne Meyer, Scott Woodward, Jamie Miller, Lilly Liu Minkove, Karen Hayes and many others. People with decades of experience piloting massive companies, and pushing culture forward who came to the table with a beginner mindset eager to learn from their peers. Humility in a room of people who have nothing to be humble about. Not as a signal of virtue, but an insatiable curiosity about the world, technology, and the people around them. Thank you April Uchitel, Daniella Castellanos and WE ARE THE BOARD team for cultivating such a special community and giving me the opportunity to join. Btw they connect brands with seasoned industry professionals for advisory and consulting projects if that's something you're looking for. When it's done right, a professional community is something that reminds you that you're not alone on this crazy ride.

In a world where major events captivate millions, it's time to ask: Are we truly including everyone? From the Super Bowl to global conferences, the essence of shared experiences is often lost for those on the sidelines. Accessibility isn't just a checkbox; it's the heart of inclusion. With the technology we have, there's no excuse. Let's demand action from event organizers, performers, and broadcasters to ensure that every event is a universal experience. Because everyone deserves to be part of the story. #InclusiveEvents #AccessibilityForAll #DemandChange #UniversalExperience #EventInclusion #MakeEventsAccessible

After spending last week at The Social Hub's Better Society Academy for DE&I, I'm back at work and reading posts about the Cannes Advertising Festival. This got me thinking about DE&I in the advertising industry. Throughout much of my media career, I felt the need to hold back parts of my identity to 'fit in' with a 'red-blooded' boss, a homophobic client, or by once feigning resilience when called a 'f****t' across the office for taking a last-minute client meeting in a room I hadn't booked. It would be easy to point out the inherent inequities at Cannes, like the exorbitant cost of festival tickets or the price of a bottle of rosé at the Gutter Bar. However, there seems to be progress being made through initiatives from the organizers and festival participants. The Haymarket Campaign Podcast offers some insightful discussions on this topic, and it’s freely available if you have 30 minutes to spare. https://lnkd.in/et9cfRsh DE&I should be a superpower in the ad industry, fueling creativity through diverse experiences and perspectives. When diverse teams and workplaces are supported by psychological safety, creativity thrives. It’s important for Cannes to keep pushing for inclusion as the old guard and old norms and fade out. In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more about how psychological safety can drive creativity, feel free to reach out to Collaborate & Eight or DM me. I’m always up for a conversation. #DEI #Inclusion #Diversity #Creativity #Innovation #Advertising #CannesLions #PsychologicalSafety #TheSocialHub #TheBetterSocietyAcademy

I attended the D&AD festival last week with TwentyFirstCenturyBrand and I initially came away a little nervous about the state of commercial creativity. Some of the judges shared that the creative was lacking this year. One judge noted ‘I rarely saw something that felt new and disruptive’, another talked about how contrived brand and artist collaborations had become. A few of the talks themselves were so shameless in their self/brand-promotion, I’m pretty sure A.I. had written them. Overall, it felt like the festival was not just a reflection of our uncertain times, but of our paralysing anxiety and fear of the uncertainty. I understand the feeling. I’m scared too. And I know it can be hard to go up on stage and offer a truly new perspective when all the balls are up in the air. The talks that stood out to me though were the ones that highlighted how to take advantage of moments like this. The people and brands who saw the swirl, conflict, and chaos as invitations to imagine something better. Like Lisa Smith from JKR and Leslie Sims from Impossible Foods, who repositioned plant based meat to ‘meat from plants’ and demonstrated how challenging dominant narratives in culture can unlock limitless innovation. Or Sinéad Burke from Tilting The Lens who questioned why ‘accessibility’ is even the end goal for brands attempting to be more inclusive. Why can’t products for people with disabilities function and deliver on craft, beauty, joy? Or the great Peter Saville who acknowledged the everlasting tension between commercial and creative, but urged us all to follow the brief, not the rules. We are undergoing a heightened amount of stress and trauma at the moment. These speakers (and many others) sought to remind us that we are all capable of creating awesome things in times of crisis. They instilled in me a renewed hope for the future of commercial and creative excellence, and I’m very excited to see where we go from here. #twentfirstcenturybrand #brandstrategy #creativeexcellence #marketing #commercialcreativity

* This Here Round-up * - Finally kicked off the research phase of a talent project after a several month build-up to define the strategy and make the business case. Personal highlight is setting Shona Sterland the task of predicting who would be nominated for the Mercury Awards by studying past nominees and the indicators that lead to this. The nominees were just announced yesterday, and guess what, she cracked it! #charliexcxftw. - Briefed in a mega update to our showreel, dropping next week, which will be a much better reflection of the mix of clients and work in the studio of late. - Re-building the client interface to our talent project management interfaces on Airtable with Dave, and seeing some 'newness hesitance' fade into gentle positivity from team and clients... Give it a month. - Successfully arming up with lawyers to battle our freeholder who landed us with some extortionate service charges of questionable legality. Still in progress, but after 4 months of brick walls, the little people seem to be winning. - Putting some further finishing touches to our new space on Broadway Market, so definitely ready for a studio warming party - watch this space. - Re-organising our hybrid Talent & Client Services teams roles and job titles to better differentiate these two weirdly similar skillsets into clearer divisions of labour and career trajectories. - Shoots for Jansport and The North Face, Alongside organising and hosting performers for the amazing inaugural Climb Festival for The North Face, and getting a text well past my bedtime to approve a decent bar tab as the after party rolled on. - Campaign Launches - just go and check out Under Armours European Homepages to see our first campaign drop - #Unstoppable - more on that next week. :) Personal highlights - Goodbye Tories! 🧛♂️🕳️ - Hello Summer ☀️☀️

Bader Rutter President David Jordan 🏳️🌈 also had some interesting thoughts to contribute to AdForum's topic of why the DE&I discussion is slowing, and what could be done to change it. “It’s all about risk mitigation during this polarized political cycle; brands tend to avoid controversy. Rightly so. But smart, forward-looking companies still practice inclusion; there’s just more action and less talk. Hiring practices continue evolving, and I’m seeing more diverse employee teams than ever. At Bader Rutter, we know that bringing your whole self to work makes our product better. Set goals, create accountability, share impact — that’s the road map. Adding diverse talent while building a welcoming environment helps fulfill our employee promise: “To be the place where you can be the person you’re destined to be.” Check out David’s thoughts, and other industry leaders in the full story here: https://bit.ly/3VVYv9c