Black and brown executives have long faced systemic discrimination in the workplace. They are less likely to receive promotions and more likely to be overlooked for jobs than their non-minority colleagues of similar qualifications and experience levels. When they do receive opportunities to perform these roles, Black and brown executives are often grossly underpaid. A…
I missed meeting new people and I missed bumping into people I know. So six weeks ago, we introduced Shelly Palmer Online Networking Salons. They are free, category-specific, weekly 20-minute, super-curated, small Zoom meetings where you meet new people, bump into old friends, hang out for a bit and then get back to work. The…
In the last presidential election cycle of 2016, $10 billion was spent on political advertising across the U.S. But considering more than half of that is spent within the month leading up to the election, this can have a significant impact on marketing campaigns, especially for the brands that rely heavily on holiday sales. And…
Nostalgia marketing is all the rage, and it will continue to be a popular approach for years to come–especially as the world wrestles with the coronavirus pandemic. Why? Nostalgia takes us back to the past. It’s familiar and certain, which enables it to fulfill a core psychological need for security. Although security in the sense…
Last year, a deck of essential strategy books compiled by a handful of independent strategists, surfaced on LinkedIn. I dug in, eager to soak up recommendations from strategists I admired–who happened to be white and male. But my anticipation soon gave way to dismay and anger. In the entire list of over 20 books, there…
Every agency that has bid for new business has heard this more than once: ‘We’ve gone in another direction.’ It elicits an eye roll or smirk because if we put a bet on what the message was going to contain after a no response, we would all be rich in client losses. This phrase should…
The velocity of data is increasing and will always increase. Therefore, the need for data literacy is increasing and will always increase. All other things being equal, there is a significant difference between being literate and being fluent. To create value for your business, you need to think strategically about sources and uses of data…
Let’s pretend for a moment that it’s 1988. Not because we all want to forget about the pandemic–after all, 1988 came with its own share of tragedies. But that year also saw the birth of the greatest tagline in advertising history: “Just Do It.” They are three of the most valuable words ever to be…
It’s no secret that the podcast advertising market is exploding. Brands like Spotify have made massive investments in the space this year, and market research company Forrester reports a 52% year-over-year growth. In a new report, Forrester examined how podcast advertising is still an emerging field, with room to improve in measurement and targeting capabilities….
There are 700,000 young individuals such as myself who are living under the protection of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). We do not know when our safety in this country is no longer guaranteed. Yet, this has not stopped us from persevering. DACA recipients contribute more than $42 billion to the annual GDP…
How many virtual events have you attended or tried to attend in the past six months? There are likely 1 billion virtual events happening in a single day, all around the world, but how many are actually energizing and memorable? This is pretty fascinating when you think about it. We’ve had the television in our…
The global pandemic has provided the opportunity to talk about what it means to share space. Within marketing and advertising agencies, space is important–and we have felt the loss of no longer bouncing our ideas off neighbors in real time or hunkering down in war rooms until inspiration strikes. But another conversation about sharing space…
Since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, social media audiences have increased significantly. And in this age of fake news and distrust, personal brands are becoming the go-to sources for information. In fact, according to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer, Americans rated “people like themselves” as the most credible sources. The ability of personal brands…
I often think about that key moment that shifted my personal trajectory. In early 2011, when a friend from high school had discovered my Tumblr blog and hit me up to say, “You’d make a great copywriter.” Maybe you couldn’t imagine my disbelief back then. I was a rebounding college flunk out starting over at…
As racial conflict across the world continues brewing, companies are scrambling to figure out how to center their Black employees and consumers. Two of them, Twitter and Netflix, are uncovering fresh insights and fueling their bottom line through community-centered initiatives and employee resource groups, also known as ERGs or business resource groups. I know because…
Every once in a while, an absence of data can paint a much clearer picture of an issue than the information actually provided. Take, for instance, a recent study released by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. To gain a better understanding of how race and gender are currently represented in advertising, the…
To be Black in America is to experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and to love a country that doesn’t always love you back. But it’s our highs and our lows that put the sauce on everything we touch. One does not exist without the other. This is exactly what advertising…
I’m not supposed to be here. From my time growing up in Atlanta all the way into my freshman year at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, my perspective was always rooted in Blackness. Black faces, Black ideas, Black problems, Black solutions. I thrived in that incubator for years, giving and taking from “the culture” we…
On Friday evening, so many of us let out a collective gasp when hearing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing. As a marketer across innovation and media, a female and a current law student seeking an advanced law degree in intellectual property, RBG’s passing hit me in a unique way. I see her…
On Aug. 6, the president of the United States signed two virtually identical executive orders (EOs) banning the use of both TikTok and WeChat. TikTok will survive due to a partnership deal with Oracle that as of this writing, the president has approved. But unless a federal judge issues a stay by the time you…
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