That’s the question that comes to mind when I think about the recent advertising controversies involving the Target Halloween costume and the Good Good Golf/Callaway collaboration. The situations are very different. But from a communications and business perspective, they point to the same larger issue:
Representation matters. But being in the room is not enough.
When something culturally insensitive, offensive, or simply inappropriate makes it through multiple layers of development, review, AND approval, we often ask: How did everyone miss this? We need to ask a different question.
Who was empowered to stop it?
I’ve spent decades thinking about audiences, reputation, messaging, and the ways organizations authentically show up in the world and communicate with their communities. One thing I know in my core is that diverse perspectives make our work stronger.
Representation cannot be limited to who appears in the advertisement, who is featured on the website, or who is included in the company photo. What matters more is who is in the C-suite. Who is sitting at the strategy table? Who develops the creative? Who reviews the campaign? Who understands the historical and cultural context? Who can identify how something might land differently with different audiences?
And, perhaps most importantly, who has enough influence and authority to say, “We should not do this,” and actually be heard?
That is where representation becomes more than optics. That is when representation becomes essential, taking the form of risk management, reputation management, and sound business strategy.
Communications professionals have an especially important responsibility. Our job isn’t simply to make something clever, generate engagement, or secure attention. We steward the brands and organizations we represent. However, there are times that the most valuable contribution we make is asking the uncomfortable question before the campaign launches.
Sometimes, it is challenging the creative everyone else raves about. It is being the person in the room willing to say, “Have we considered how this will be received by people whose experiences are different from ours?”
There is no way that organizations can anticipate every reaction or eliminate every mistake. But they can create environments where different perspectives are welcomed, respected, championed, and empowered throughout every stage of the decision-making process. (I don’t want to think about the millions of dollars that each company spent on those campaigns!)
Diversity without a voice will never be enough. It’s great to get an invitation to be in the room, but to be a valued contributor matters even more. And to have the power and the authority to influence what comes out of that room is where real representation begins.
Seat warmers are not needed; authentic, empowered leaders are.
PS: For clarification, I mean the “Hamilton” Aaron Burr!
