The need to connect with diverse production talent hit home for ad agency Forsman & Bodenfors NY last year when it tried to assemble an all-female crew for a project but fell short.
After settling for a predominantly female team on that particular job, Forsman & Bodenfors didn’t settle for the status quo in the big picture. The agency proactively addressed the situation, investing $500,000 to develop and create what is now known as Grow Your Circle, a free digital tool that allows agencies and producers to find underrepresented talent in the U.S. from disciplines across all types of production including film, digital, and experiential. More importantly, it provides a point of access to many other underrepresented entrepreneurs and artisans, like those who identify as LGBTQ+, come from diverse backgrounds, or live with a disability.
Grow Your Circle was soft-launched at the 3% Movement Conference in November 2018. Since then, membership has snowballed with partners and talent including 3% Movement, ad agencies 72andSunny and Droga5, and production companies PRETTYBIRD, WAX, and Armada. Now Forsman & Bodenfors NY is officially unveiling the digital tool so it can be tapped into by the ad and production industries at large.
The platform, which can be accessed here, lets agencies and producers search for diverse artisans directly from the homepage, or they can browse companies and individuals in the Talent section. Filter menus help find the right talent based on expertise, location or category specialty. Talent goes beyond just directors and editors to also encompass animators, developers, musicologists and other professionals with varied expertise. The database is also searchable based on company certification–whether it’s a women-owned small business or a minority-owned company.
Grow Your Circle seeks to inspire the industry to recognize the power of its buying decisions, helps to fulfill the responsibility to address and minimize inequality across the production industry and as a result, create better work.
