Matt Jorgenson & Pamela Wong's (Direction First) presentation at Mumbrella360.

White, Straight and Hopelessly Out Of
Touch
(…is
this
the
Australian
marketing
industry?)
@DirectionFirst @DirectionFirst

Companies
in
the
top
quartile
for
ethnic
and

gender
diversity
at
senior
management
are

35%
more
likely
to have
financial
returns

above
their
national
industry
medians

Survey conducted by McKinsey, 366 public companies, internationally

“With the lack of senior female creative mentors and role
models it’s hard for women to envision themselves in a
senior creative role.”
Kara
Jenkins
Creative
director,
Isobar
Australia
and
head
of
SheSays Melbourne
We
still
have
a
long
way
to
go

‘The
Agency
Circle
is
taking
action
Sufficient evidence suggests that the more diverse the group of people you bring to the table to
solve a problem, the better the outcome.
We’re in advertising and we solve problems creatively.
It’s a commercial imperative that we drive diversityin our industry to serve our clients and
their businesses more effectivelyand more creatively.
http://www.theagencycircle.com./diversity/
THE
AGENCY
CIRCLE
A g e n c i e s c r e a t i n g d i v e r s i t y

The
discussion
that
we
aren’t
having…

Sydney
Agency
People…
Live
in
the
city
&
inner
city 41%
Live
in
the
Eastern
Suburbs 25%
Live
on
the
North
Shore 12%
Greater
West
&
Other 3%
Live
in
the
city
&
inner
city 4%
Live
in
the
Eastern
Suburbs 5%
Live
on
the
North
Shore 4%
Greater
West
&
Other 78%
Everyone
else
in
Sydney…
10%
of
Australia’s
population
lives
in
Western
Sydney*
Source:
AdShel Agency
Study
2013;
Australian
Census
2016

• White
• 27
years
old
• Male
• Monolingual
and
speaks
English
at
home
• 44%
live
in
NSW,
37%
live
in
Sydney
• Of
that
24%
live
in
the
Eastern
Suburbs
The
average
media
employee…
PwC
Geospatial
Economic
Modelling
with
census
data,
2016@DirectionFirst @DirectionFirst

Unconscious
Bias
Unconscious bias:

established
by
our
own

interaction
with
other

people
in
our society
and

the
media

“There are concerns that our
ads are too…“eastern suburbs”
“Whenever we are reviewing
our comms, this often feels like
the elephant in the room”
What
are
your
clients
saying?What
is
the
industry
saying?
We used to be quite mono-
cultural

It’s easier than you think to miss the mark

Even big budget ads can be tone deaf
‘Different groups and pockets of society are becoming
increasingly distant from each other[… ] now more than ever
the challenge isn’t just to understand and be good at creativity,
but to understand people and culture as well.
Adam Ferrier

It’s
time
to
ask
ourselves
some
hard
questions

13
“There is still a massive gap in health,
education and income with our indigenous
communities; many minorities still feel
marginalised; racism, transphobia,
homophobia and sexism is still rife in many
workplaces”
LisaG
“Australiais on the right track, [but] we are so
far ahead in some regard, but then so so
lacking.“
MillyN
Australians are still grappling with diversity

…it’s
no
surprise
that
the
ad
industry
is
also
struggling
with
diversity
“Some
new
ads
have
made
a

great
effort
and
step
towards

capturing
the
diversity
of
modern

Australians
in
a
society
where

differences
should
be
more

respected
and
embraced.”

DanB
“What
you
see
on
TV
hasn’t

caught
up
with
reality.
Australia

prides
itself
as
a
multi-‐cultural

country
but
it
hasn’t
been

reflected
on
the
screen.”
Jenny Zhang, Founder/CEO, Totem Pictures,
to PwC, 9 March 2016

It’s a balancing act

“Ads
are
getting
better
at
reflecting

diversity
in
Australia,
but
some

come
across
as
employing
tokenism

as
a
way
to
make
money,
which

looks
pretty
bad.“
Nyssa
Take care to avoid ‘Tokensim’
“Australia
is
on
the
right
path
with

diversity
in
advertising.
It
is
a
difficult

issue
to
address
though,
and
I
think

it's
important
to
recognise
that
when

companies
try
too
hard
to
appear

accepting
of
diversity
it
comes
across

as
insincere.”

LisaG

Telstra: Technology is wondrous
Coca-Cola: Pool Boy
Integrate diversity into the story…it should be invisible and seamless
“It works when the
diversity feels
interwoven with the
story of the ad itself.”
“An ad that truly reflects our diverse
society will be one where you don't
notice that it is supposed to look
diverse, because it just looks like
everyday life”

Take care with stereotypes
“A lot of old stereotypes still are in play and a bit
behind the times. It would be refreshingto see
something modern.”
“Forcing stereotypes of Aussies in ads just shows
lack of originality and creativity…Itwould be
refreshing to see something modern.”
“When watching some commercials, I feel modern day
Australians are portrayed as idiots.”

But certain executions of stereotypes can work
“I like ads with a bit of humour and ones that touch
on some quintessential aspect of the irreverent and
playful Australiansense of humour”
MLA: You never lamb alone Bundaberg Rum: Unmistakably ours
“Classic Australianlarrikinism,show's the diversity
of the Australianculture, as well as our ability to
take the piss out of ourselves.”

Opportunity to build positive cultural change by challenging gender stereotypes
“The inclusion of reversed traditional
gender roles such as men doing the
grocery shopping or being
represented in an activity
traditionally considered 'womens'
roles.”
“Gender stereotypes in children are
defined between the age of 5 and 7
yrs of age”
“Unilever recognised there is a glaring
gap between the worlds of marketing and
real women and has moved to
“unstereotype" its communications. "Forty
percent of women don't recognise
themselves in advertising."
Aline Santos, EVP/Global Marketing at
Unilever, reported at the 2016 Cannes
Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Opportunity to drive positive cultural change by challenging age stereotypes
“Older people use the internet and pay bills
too, LOL. I'm 60 and a grandma, so I guess
I'd like to see more of my generation in
advertising, apart from face cream that
makes you look 10 minutes younger! “
“There definitely seems to be an age bias in
ads, especially for smartphones, internet
deals, electronics, holidays, etc. I feel
inundated by ads for Funeral Insurance. I tell
you what, it will be the death of me! “

Truth
and
authenticity
“Everyday folk. They almost look like
someone that you know or resemble someone
you work with. They don'tlook like actors so
you can trust them.”
“It makes you feel like they know themselves
well and whatthey stand for.“

Dolmio:
Pepper
Hacker Dept of
Finance:
The
Game
Changers
Consumer
are
truth
seekers:
they
can
easily
spot
something
fake
“This is superbly done! It achieves this by using
believable characters and showing very realistic
family situations - the whole gamut”
“Stilteddelivery,cringeworthy viewing. Just
seems overly fake, over the top, like they are
trying too hard.”

Walk
the
talk;
live
and
breathe
your
company
beliefs

Find the common ground

Speak to universal human truths

Qantas
are
making
a
great
stand,
they
have
been

ahead
of
the
game
with
equal
rights
for
some
time

now,
despite
copping
flack.
Michael-‐syd
Challenge
misconceptions
and
don’t
just
jump

on
the
“community
care”
bandwagon.
Edd
Representing
the
truth
about
the
Australian

population
is
better
and
more
appreciated
than

just
sticking
with
'safe'.
leafygreens
The question is…

What can you do?
• Get
out
and
talk
to
your
target
• Do
your
research
• Check
yourself
when
judging
the
people
in

the
focus
group
room.

• Get
off
the
tourist
trail
• Workplace:
Broaden
the
recruitment
base
of

your
team
• Be
clear
on
where
you
sit,
where
your
client

&
consumers
sit
on
these
issues
“People and life are not
so one dimensional.”
“We are so diverse that they
cannot pigeonhole just one
group of people. Things
like that sometimes turn me
off”@DirectionFirst @DirectionFirst

Advertising & media shape our perspective on society
Be an agent for positivechange

Matt Jorgenson & Pamela Wong's (Direction First) presentation at Mumbrella360.

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Matt Jorgenson & Pamela Wong's (Direction First) presentation at Mumbrella360.