#25: "Good intentions can only get you so far"
Or, on what cake can teach us about inclusion
Happy #GBBO season to those that celebrate! If you aren’t familiar, The Great British Bakeoff is one of the United Kingdom’s great gifts to the world. You can see why people love it on Reddit, but for me, it’s a cozy sweater in TV form.
Bakeoff is all about kind people from different walks of life persevering through challenges, and there is frosting involved. And, unlike other modern reality shows, Bakeoff’s tense moments don’t come from petty drama, but from gingerbread baking unevenly. You get to know schoolteachers and retirees and university students who passionately love making beautiful bread for others.
But it isn’t a perfect show. You may have heard about (or at least seen the GIFs) from the very cringe Mexico Week (BonAp summarized this nicely). The cultural appropriation, terrible jokes and lack of anything… actually Mexican highlighted a big cultural need to tackle diversity, equity and inclusion in Europe.
If you asked the average European business leader about the state of multiculturalism at their company and in their country, they would probably say all is gravy. The will cite their startup has more than 20 nationalities employed. They will ensure the one female senior lead is in every single picture on the website.
As a Filipino-American abroad that has to have the uncomfortable conversation about where I’m “really” from more often than I’d like, those answers don’t satisfy.
My personal theory is that Europe hasn’t had to create the same kind of professional vocabulary as the US when it comes to understanding what makes people feel seen, heard, understood and ultimately — empowered. But we need to. There is a grand misunderstanding of what diversity is and what is important.
Brace yourself for this 2016 discussion about how a study found “Europeans not convinced growing diversity is a good thing” — and before you tell me this study is years old, believe me when I say I see this study get cited a lot to this day. Populism is growing (most recently, in Portugal). And even in places like Germany, which I thought was one of the world’s most progressive nations — get stuck in deeply troubling conversations about how "unregulated migration” is the root of crime.
I don’t have the answer on how to fix it. I can tell you that on a human level, I’m more confident in Berlin than in San Francisco that my chances of being the victim of a hate crime are less.
Morbidity aside, I think we as communicators and community members of the world must figure out how we can fix “it” — the “it” being that for the most part, the actions and influences of powerful institutions and systems do not often account for the underserved, overlooked and taken-for-granted. But, I am hopeful.
After all — if a silly British show about making cookies, excuse me, biscuits, quickly in a tent can hire a (very good!) Black host, highlight the series’ first deaf contestant (and her sign language interpreter) in an authentic, non-tokeny way all while making everyone excited about literal vanilla custard, your company can include more kinds of people at the table.
Today’s guest is an expert on multicultural marketing: Nick Nelson. He and I worked at Edelman together at the very beginning of our careers. I’m so grateful for his perspective on an important, misunderstood subject. Happy learning!
You currently lead multicultural marketing at Edelman. How did you get to where you are today?
If you’d told me 10 years ago that I’d be in multicultural marketing, especially given the sectors I was working in at that time, I wouldn’t have believed you. But that’s one of the many advantages of agency settings: you can constantly reinvent yourself. I’d always been interested in multicultural marketing and had been looking for ways to bring some of the approach into my broader tech work, but it wasn’t until 2020 - amid the murder of George Floyd and the broader racial reckoning that took place - that I was able to show clients (and colleagues) how multicultural marketing and DEI have a place in corporate reputation. From there, I stood up Edelman’s Inclusive Tech offering, a “joint venture” between our Tech and Multicultural practices where we articulate innovation through the lens of how it is making the world more accessible and equitable.
We all see a disturbing trend of companies walking back on their DE&I investments and marketing. Why do you think that is, and what’s your advice to communications pros who are facing internal or external pressure to scale back on DEI messaging?
I’d argue the trend has been somewhat misrepresented - while there are some big, glaring examples of companies waffling or walking back, by and large we haven’t seen a significant shift in companies’ wholesale commitments to diversifying their workforces and making their workplaces more inclusive. What’s actually happening is the big examples are getting so much attention and ‘sticking’ in the news cycle that it’s spooking other companies to be less vocal, to avoid being wrapped up in said news cycle - or worse, wrapped up in litigation. That said, one of the driving forces behind some of the shifts in language and the increasing reticence to talk about DEI as compared to 2020-2021 is what’s coming out of the statehouses and courthouses - everything from ‘Don’t Say Gay’ out of Florida to the lawsuit against Fearless Fund for prioritizing women of color in venture capital.
My advice to comms pros, whether in-house or on the agency side, is simply to stay the course. I believe the main reason why brands get swept up in a negative news cycle is because they back away from their respective DEI initiatives - whether it’s a Pride campaign or simply including more diverse faces in marketing collateral - which exposes the lack of strategy and authenticity and makes it that much easier for outside antagonizers to systematically dismantle the efforts. While much easier said than done, it’s never bad to be caught doing the right thing.
In international companies, issues of diversity are sometimes seen as “an American issue.” What’s your response to that, and what guidance do you have for folks who are trying to convince shareholders about the importance of investing in multicultural marketing?
So, fun fact: most “wealthy nations” outside the U.S. don’t collect race and ethnicity data (and it’s actually against the law in several countries), so if your company is of the belief that DEI practices are simply race-based - as, perhaps, American-centric DEI is represented - then that’s an understandable (albeit misguided) perspective. I think the opportunity for engaging shareholders who come from this perspective is to ask a few simple questions: is your organization’s leadership representative of your broader workforce? Are your employees compensated equitably regardless of race, gender and/or marital status? Are your hiring practices inclusive and unbiased? If you don’t know the answers to any of these questions, then there’s an opportunity to consider what organizational DEI may be able to address at your company.
Regarding multicultural marketing, simply look at the data: spending power for people with disabilities in the U.S. is more than half a trillion dollars; for Asian Americans, $1.3 trillion; for LGBTQ+ Americans, $1.4 trillion; for Black Americans, $1.8 trillion; for Hispanic Americans, $1.9 trillion. These figures are expected to grow *exponentially* over the next 5-10 years in the U.S., and even more so from a global perspective. Couple that data set with the insight that consumers, regardless of identity, are anywhere from 4-6x more likely to purchase from a brand that features diversity and it’s clear that not investing in multicultural marketing is a huge missed business opportunity.
You’re part of a resource group within one of the world’s largest PR firms on racial justice. What is your experience like, and what can you teach others who hope to start or revitalize such a group in their own workplace?
It’s never a dull moment, that’s for sure! I’m so proud of the work our employee network groups (ENGs) lead, and it’s so much more than just celebrating heritage months. Community is so crucial in a workplace, especially when it comes to retention, and that’s ultimately what our ENGs provide. We have eight so far, and you don’t have to be a member of the community the ENG serves to participate (for example, I sometimes participate in our women’s ENG programs). My main advice for anyone looking to start or restart ENGs - or ERGs or BRGs, depending on your workplace - is to be clear on your what, why and how. Oftentimes the demise of an ENG or similar resource group is because it lacks purpose, infrastructure and/or resources. Good intentions can only get you so far.
What did you wish I asked you?
No notes, these were incredibly thoughtful questions and I hope they resonate with someone. That said, I want to use this space to say thank you for being you. For your readers’ context: we met at my very first job out of college and I was not only the new guy, I was also the only Black employee in the office so I stood out right off the bat.
I very vividly remember our first interaction: we had boarded a shuttle bus headed to our office’s summer outing, and a very senior colleague saw me, pointed to me and said “WHO IS THIS? HE DOESN’T BELONG HERE.” And you, my friend, very swiftly intervened and said “this is Nick, and he just started with us!” That moment has stuck with me ever since, and it’s people like you who embody what DEI is all about: advocating for those who can’t advocate for themselves. So keep being you, and again, thank you!
PS: I thought long and hard about printing that last question. I don’t always. But I decided to because I had honestly forgotten about that interaction and when I read it, the ugly truth of it came back to me like heartburn.
I didn’t know in that moment that was a big deal — it was deeply uncomfortable to see a very important Grownup mess up like that. No matter who you are, you can make a good impact by doing something.
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