Drew Train

💰Capitalism is complicated 🤑 It’s expanded economic opportunity for a variety of groups, but it also serves a system of oppression in itself. Now, more than ever before in capitalist history, consumer buying power is more diverse as communities of color are looking to engage with brands that make them feel seen, heard and valued. And they are ready to intentionally make choices of where NOT to spend their money when they don’t see themselves included in a brand's marketing. Whatever you believe the role of government should be in supporting communities, corporations do have a place and responsibility to the constituents, customers, stakeholders and importantly the employees they serve. Corporations that prioritize #culturalcompetency, not just diversity, will lead financial performance, consumer loyalty, employee satisfaction and corporate brand reputation. Hi 👋🏽 I’m Mariam, founder of Chatterbox Consulting, an #inclusivemarketing and communications consultancy for brands who won’t keep quiet. I specialize in helping brands create business impact, build communities and drive engagement by authentically centering, celebrating, and serving the needs of underrepresented audiences. 💌Reach out & #LetsChat about how to evaluate and create culturally competent content and campaigns for your brand.

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This is spot on! I would add that until comms/brand strategy is seen as overhead on balance sheets and not as an essential driver for transformation and paradigm shifts, nothing will change. Philanthropy has failed for decades to recognize their own role in perpetuating insufficient models that exclude the active, catalytic role of communication, esp. when it comes to complex issues like climate and social justice. So many orgs and foundations have narrative change as a focus but naively believe they can achieve that with small, overworked, under-resourced and undervalued comms teams. Wake up philanthropies of the world, it’s time to put comms, marketing and brand development in your grants structures as key success factors!

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One of THE most important jobs of PR in any organization is evaluating ALL opportunities for downside risk vs potential upside. Sometimes (and by that I mean often) PR guides the org to do things that will protect the brand and not put it in jeopardy. If you find an org stepping in it that is because PR didn't do its main job. This is a "first, do no harm" type of situation. Good to be creative. Bad to be creative—and stupid. So let's say you're working for the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremonies and someone comes in and says "I really think we should do a parody of The Last Supper using transvestites...." If it's me on point, PR kills that idea almost instantly (probably before the sentence ends)—and if PR isn't gonna do it, you can almost ALWAYS count on Legal to step in. Evaluating Downside Risk—It's a real thing. PR needs to step up in these companies that are being very careless and reckless with their brands. #publicrelations, #pr, #strategy, #risk

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So excited to share our first annual Canopy report in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation. A snapshot of my favorite findings:   🌳 It’s not easy seeing green: While the majority (87%) of Americans engage in green activities each year, less than half (44%) do so weekly or more. Accessibility is a challenge, as over half of Americans need to drive to the nearest park or green space. 🌳 “In a world…”: If trees could talk, Americans would want them to sound like Morgan Freeman. 🌳 Green is the best medicine: 90% of Americans say trees and green spaces contribute to their mental well-being, with top impacts being reducing stress, improving mood, and clearing the mind; 77% say “being among trees is my happy place.” 🌳 Trees root American communities: Nine in 10 Americans (91%) believe that trees help make neighborhoods more livable, and nearly four in 10 (38%) say they chose their home location based on access to green spaces. 🌳 Preserving green spaces matters for the future of the planet: 64% of Americans are experiencing effects of climate change where they live, with more over half (55%) experiencing feelings of “climate dread” (distress from the effects of climate change.) 88% of Americans are aware of how trees can have a global impact for their role in slowing climate change, and 89% of Americans agree that “trees are not just a nice-to-have, they’re a necessity.” ➡ Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/ekZpsm98 Great work Tim Osiecki, Esther K., and Ethan Hermann

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Are you feeling energized about Kamala Harris for President and want to do something with your talent? Then this message is for you. As an industry who gets paid to develop communication so that people better understand a product or service, the absolute greatest opportunity is helping brand democracy. Are you ready to pack up today and move straight to Delaware? Hell yeah. I admire your spirit. This link is for you: https://jobs.lever.co/BFP But for the rest of us left to wonder how we can use our talents to change the world without giving up our day jobs, let’s talk. You can absolutely (and you should!) call the administration and volunteer your time. The Democratic National Committee will also gladly take you. You can reach out to your state and help register voters. You can volunteer with local Dems to go door to door or help at a phone bank. These are all very important things we need. But we also should welcome fresh ideas. We are a creative industry, after all. In 2020, we saw mass grass roots social media campaigns that helped create buzz about Biden and Democracy. Sure, some were small scale like Tiedyen4Biden or the infamously loud Settle For Biden Van. But some got big like #riseupshowupunite. I bet you can think back to one, even now. Those projects not only helped bring people together, they helped further amplify the messaging and passion. They required no money to start the channel. Only time and talent. We need more free thinking… ideas that cost nothing but grow bigger than a coconut tree. We need creators and client whisperers and producers who need the budget of only what’s in your pocket to make magic. We need Gen Zers and Boomers and metaphorical bridges of content. We need US. So today, as you sit there writing a social strategy for a sneaker brand or post copy for a car brand or a mood board for a wellness brand, give the democracy brand some thought. We sure could use your brain right about now, ‘cuz we’re not going back. Your 100 day countdown to the general election starts now. Get out there and make something (anything!) that leaves this world better than you found it.

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There's a new report about the lack of diversity in advertising from the Center for an Urban Future highlighted in aNew York Times story today. Diversity in #advertising has always been a laughable proposition. The industry has never shown any interest in being anything but a siloed monolith of talent and perspective based on Mad Men era sensibilities. Even though the industry, which remains centered in NYC, is now 58% women and consistently leverages diversity and its cultural idioms as an optics tool and signifier of 21st hipness. It's purely transactional, all about the Benjamins of targeted consumers. But those consumers are not represented in the room where the decisions and concepts are finalized. And guess what? The commercials still get the cultural stories wrong as a result. Like the KFC commercial showing Black people eating fried chicken and licking their fingers that ran in Canada last summer. Or the Ancestry.com commercial that showed an enslaved woman eloping with her owner. It would have been romantic, except for that tiny detail. That ad ran in the US was promptly pulled as opposed to the commercial in Canada. Yep, we don't play that over here. The new report, about the profound lack of diversity in advertising, is ironically from another decidedly non-diverse organization, @ Center for an Urban Future, sheds light on advertising's poor track record and reveals the underlying travesty of this whole conversation. Whose voice matters? Black Enterprise Magazine, the National Urban League, and the National Black MBA Association have been talking and providing data about these issues for years, as have others, but its only when a Center for Urban Future, which has no appreciable commitment to diversity on its staff, and the NY Times publishes a story about the report that the issue has legitimacy? Communities that are impacted are not even a part of the reporting apparatus or influential organizations that grab attention about this important issue. Here's the report, draw your own conclusions. Is it merely another example of performance art by an organization with no discernible commitment to diversity within its own ranks or a legitimate call to action that can actually galvanize change. Only time will tell. #advertising, #NYCworkforce, #NewYorkTimes #NationalUrbanLeague, #diversityequityinclusion, #dei

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