Creative Leaders Challenge U.S. Agency Leaders to Advance Racial Equity with Act in Solidarity Pledge

Agency Leaders Unite to End Racial Disparity in PR and Marketing Industry 

CommPRO Editorial Staff 

Leaders of Media Frenzy Global and Obviouslee Marketing recently announced they are releasing a pledge to hold agency leaders nationwide accountable for their lack of contribution to diversity and inclusion. As part of the commitment to eradicate racism and positively impact opportunities for black industry professionals, Media Frenzy Global and Obviouslee Marketing are challenging all agency leaders to publicly voice their support by joining the Act in Solidarity pledge. 

The pledge, created by agency leaders, Katie Kern, Partner at Media Frenzy Global and Lee Deas, Founder & Visionary of Obviouslee, aims to create a meaningful impact across the marketing industry. An industry that, for years, has struggled with diversity, equity and inclusion. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the ethnic makeup of the PR industry in the U.S. is 89.8% white, 8.0% African American, .4% Asian American and 1.4% Hispanic American.  

“As leaders, we must use our platform to speak up,” says Katie Kern. “As an agency, we are aligning our corporate values with the voices of our employees to create loyalty, foster meaningful connections and provide opportunities for everyone to succeed. Every agency can do better across the board; we need to take this opportunity and look inward to truly make a difference,” adds Kern. 

To create a positive impact and provide ample opportunities for the industry’s black and brown professionals, agency leaders are committing to contribute in five key areas: 

Provide Intentional and Thoughtful Education. As agency professionals, we will continue to educate ourselves through conversations with Black team members, the Black community, Black industry leaders and written work. What we know is that we don’t have all of the answers yet. We will make mistakes along the way, but we will show up to learn. We know change is required. Starting today, we will not just educate our company, but the wider community and the industry.⁣ 

Take Accountability. Agency leaders will commit to hiring more black people to fill positions within their board, senior and executive-level team. This will continue until there is increased diversity among agency staff. 

Intentionally Represent All Races. Whitewashing is rampant in the agency world. Moving forward, the marketing of clients and personal representation must include black people in the marketing materials produced and our agency recruiting efforts and hiring processes.  

Revise Code of Conduct. Everyone is accountable. Within 30 days, the goal is to overhaul the company-wide code of conduct, implementing that every agency employee is responsible for any racist and discriminatory actions.  

Reassess Company Values. We will examine our core values. Diversity, inclusion and equity, if it is not already, will be added to our core values.⁣ 

“It is important to not just stand in solidarity, but to act in solidarity. There is a lot of work to be done in our company and in our industry and we are encouraged to see how many other marketers want to also be a part of this change,” says Lee Deas, Principal of Obviouslee Marketing. 

Take action today and sign the pledge here. All signatures will be featured on Act in Solidarity’s social media channels, @actinsolidarity. 

 For more information, please contact Tawanda Carlton, Media Frenzy Global, tawanda@mediafrenzyglobal.com, (910) 358-7224.