Marketers, Minorities and Brand Cooperation: Connecting the Dots with Christopher Kenna – ClickZ

In the first episode of the ClickZ Marketing Masters podcast, our host Tim Flagg talks to Christopher Kenna, CEO and co-founder of Brand Advance. They discuss what it takes to become a great marketing leader, and take a deeper look at how brand engagement with minority communities has changed. Kenna shares her expert insights into the impact of technology, how to measure the success of such collaboration, and the challenges facing the marketing community.

Kenna builds on extensive experience from her role at Brand Advance – which connects brands and agencies with diverse communities through Diversity Media, Technology and Insights – and important consulting work for ITV, Outvertising and more. It discusses how and why expenditure on minority-owned media and minority representation in media advertising has changed so much, especially in the last three years; what has happened to non-tracking brands and why they are now obsolete; and takes a brief look at GlaxoSmithKline as an example of a brand that has been successful in its efforts to increase collaboration with minority communities. Kenna and Flagg also discuss what metrics brands use to measure the effectiveness of working with minority communities.

Most importantly, Kenna offers insight and a call to action on the role that technology plays in this movement. As brands embrace Web 3.0, embark on Metaverse, and adapt to the death of third-party cookies, Kenna points out how crucial it is for marketers to learn lessons from previous failures where technology has reinforced racial stereotypes. As new technology develops, minority groups need to be represented to ensure that platforms are built with all communities in mind. This is the only way to avoid built-in biases. It calls for action that everyone has to play a role in creating a truly diverse landscape where “Ethical marketing” and ‘marketing’ are not two different concepts, but one and the same.

Time stamps

00:25 – Introduction

01:31 – What makes a great marketing leader and why

03:45 – How cooperation with minority communities has changed

08:03 – What ‘change’ looks like for brands and agencies

08:56 – What happened to brands that didn’t embrace media diversity

10:04 – Checking GlaxoSmithKline as the best in its class for inclusive marketing

12:26 – What metrics can brands use to measure success

14:01 – The role of technology in building an inclusive market landscape

17:35 – Challenges faced by those who want to improve the brand’s engagement with minority communities and ensure that these voices are heard

20:01 – What the future holds and the role that marketers need to play