S T U D I O 1 2 : Meet 18 Champions of D&I

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First Things First

April 6, 2020

By Jameson Fleming

18 Champions of Diversity and Inclusion, and the Younger Generation They're Mentoring

Good morning! In conjunction with this week's issue of Adweek magazine, Lisa Granatstein, editor, svp programming, and Stephanie Paterik, executive editor, wrote an editors' letter about Adweek/Adcolor Champions and our coronavirus coverage:

The Beat Goes On

As we all settle into our new Groundhog Day routines, with home life intermixed with the workday, the beat goes on.

For the second year running, Adweek teamed up with Adcolor and its founder Tiffany R. Warren, who is the svp, chief diversity officer of Omnicom Group, to spotlight and celebrate 18 executives who adhere to the Adcolor mission that calls on creatives and marketers to rise up and reach back. Esi Eggleston Bracey, Unilever's evp, COO, North America beauty and personal care, shares with us how she discovered her marketing magic by being authentic without compromise and then passed on this wisdom to mentee Erin Goldson, global associate brand manager at Unilever's Dove Hair. There are many more uplifting and inspiring stories to read about, and it couldn't come at a better time.

We also know how important it is for you to stay informed about the coronavirus crisis as you make decisions for your business and your family. That's why Adweek has opened its library of coronavirus content to our community for free. You can access more than 300 stories about how the news is affecting our industry, and most importantly, how you can navigate it—from staying connected while working from home to creating goodwill with customers when they need it most. If you're not an Adweek member, you can sign up easily for no charge at adweek.com/register and start reading this coverage. If you find our community valuable, we'd love for you to consider becoming an Adweek Pro Subscriber to support the amazing journalism we do every day.

We hope you and yours are safe and well.

All our best.
Lisa Granatstein Stephanie Paterik
Editor, svp, programming Executive editor

Short-Form Streamer Quibi Debuts, Revamps Marketing For Housebound Consumers

The streaming services have had to be flexible as viewing habits rapidly shifted over the last month. Disney originally made Onward available as video-on-demand, but eventually added it to the vast library of Disney+ over the weekend. HBO freed up a number of hit shows like The Wire, The Sopranos, Veep and many more (here's why the network did that). Peacock is going ahead with its current plans to launch this summer despite losing the Olympics as a chance to promote it.

Quibi launches today, but the streaming service is marketing itself in a way vastly different than originally planned. Quibi's goal is to be the streaming service you watch while waiting in a doctor's office or on a subway ride. With the country locked down, it's pivoting toward filling those 10- or 15-minute gaps at home. Because of the pandemic, Quibi allowed advertisers to update their creative ahead of the launch.

What Marketing Will Miss by Going a Year Without Cannes

With some of the most brilliant creative minds on the planet gathering in Cannes each June, it's an opportunity to learn, network and celebrate. For many, it will be a missed opportunity to push a career forward. But what if agencies don't miss Cannes? "There's always that risk of, 'Hey, we didn't go, and we survived. Look how much money we saved!'" said Tom O'Keefe, CEO of Chicago-based independent agency OKRP. "When it kicks off next year, the question will be: Is it going to kick back up at 100%, or is it going to be 80%?

Infographic: #BiasCorrect Campaign Results Show There's Still Work to Be Done

A man might be persuasive. A woman might be pushy. She might also be abrasive. While a man might be assertive. Catalyst's #BiasCorrect campaign aims to blow up those stereotypes by allowing women to create photos of themselves that feature words people have used to describe them at work, such as "nag," "bossy" and "emotional." The photos highlight the sexist undertones of such words and offer up more suitable alternatives, like replacing "pushy" with "persuasive," for example.

See it: The infographic explains the success of the campaign.

Layoffs Impact Brands, Agencies and Publishers

March's job report saw massive job losses across entertainment, food services and bars. Unemployment jumped to 4.4%.
G/O Media, which owns Gizmodo, Deadspin and more, cut 14 jobs—or 5% of its workforce.
Bustle Digital Group halted production of The Outline, cut 6% of its jobs and initiated pay cuts for employees making more than $70K.
Sojern, an ad-tech firm servicing travel companies, has laid off about half its staff of about 600 employees due to financial instability caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Vaynermedia cut jobs, but says it was restructuring and not coronavirus related. The layoffs impacted a little under 5% of its staff globally.

Walmart Employees Are Featured in New Spot Set to Enduring Song 'Lean on Me'

A new Walmart ad begins airing today featuring its employees singing the late Bill Withers' 1972 classic "Lean on Me" as a message of hope during the coronavirus pandemic.

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