1) With the new challenges facing brands, agencies, and production companies along with learning to navigate countless restrictions and guidelines, comes new opportunities. These opportunities are being driven by transformative, societal and individual changes in behaviors that a brands’ messaging must now address. This is a time of assessment, discovery, and the need for openness and adaptability for change to a somewhat unforecastable future.
As an industry, we rely on our collective, shared knowledge that has helped deliver reliable results in the past. This new era now forces us into unchartered territory where the learning happens ‘together’ and our partnerships’ communication and trust is more crucial than ever.
Our goal as an agency is to help our clients find unique solutions to common problems. We look for disruptive ways that speak to consumer behavioral changes during these new times, while still addressing relatable experiences rooted in human truths. We rely on shared experiences in order to find creative ways to achieve inventive storytelling that now must adhere to restrictions and social distancing guidelines. With these uncharted parameters, we must use the power of creativity in different forms to deliver innovative solutions now more than ever.
5) Earlier this year, TBWAChiatDay Los Angeles worked with our longtime partner/client, The Recording Academy in launching a film that reflects the disparity around female music producers. The film shares a poignant message represented in a 50-person all-female ensemble choir singing an arrangement of Alicia Keys’ “Underdog” as they slowly, group-by-group ceased participation and sit down leaving one woman standing – representing the mere 2% of popular music produced by women.
We aimed to bring light to the topic by sharing this data to encourage and urge for change. An ensembled team of amazing female artists from every discipline of production contributed their time and talent towards this endeavor. The film featured 50 strong female individuals of varying ages, body shapes, ethnicities, and sexual orientation all coming together to convey a message that signifies hope for change and inclusion.
This industry allows us to access and contribute to such amazing platforms. We are grateful to have partnered with many who expressed the same vision and values that push against convention and the status quo to generate conversation. We learned that the strength of unwavering passion, shared goals, and the pursuit of expression during culture-defining moments can ignite powerful creativity and connectivity within the community.
7) Joining TBWAChiatDay LA through the Minority Advertising Training (MAT) program has allowed me to witness first-hand the support and values placed on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within our agency. Jay Chiat, a visionary of his time that advocated for brave and bold work, supported equal opportunity and created this program more than two decades ago which has served as the foundation of the agency’s core beliefs toward inclusion. This program exposes young minority talent to an industry that may/may not have been available to them. It has allowed for young talent to embark on a career that celebrates creativity, building brands, and the art of storytelling through communication. As an agency, our goal is to carry on his vision by not only developing programs that foster and retain our employees through mentorship and training programs but also creating a pipeline for the next generation of talent to enter the creative industry. From high school curriculums to minority programs to our Young Bloods program, we’re educating young talent and giving them first-hand experience on the many career opportunities within this industry. We’ve also given an opportunity for emerging diverse talent to elevate and build competitive portfolios by giving them critical feedback and sharing techniques that will help shape the work. At Chiat LA, we support and encourage Free the Bid/Free the Work initiatives for underrepresented talent and stand behind minority owned, led, and targeted businesses as our valued production partners.
