Crossmedia, One of the Largest Minority-Owned Indie Agencies, Is a Case Study in Representation

This year, independent media agency Crossmedia (XM) has already had 10 boomerang employees—former employees who come back. Matt Schroeder is one of them. He left XM in May 2021 to work at Omnicom's OMD and Accenture before returning to XM last month as a managing director of the agency's analytics and data arm, Redbox. XM's culture drew him back in. While other agencies are focusing on improving DEI, Crossmedia was touting its diversity of staff in pitches long ago, he said. Employees on Glassdoor rate XM 4.3 out of 5 stars. Compared with a random assortment of other media agencies it's impressive—MediaCom and Havas Media earn 3.7 stars, Spark Foundry has 3.6 and Hearts & Science has 3.2. Glassdoor metrics also show the agency's CEO and majority owner, Kamran Asghar, has a 99% approval rating. With Just 1% of Ad Agencies Owned by Women, Female Founders Give Tips on How to Start Your Own Shop Agency demographics tell a story Asghar, who is Pakistani, began his advertising career at Ogilvy in the ‘90s. “If you're in my shoes, you look at it one or two ways—do I stand up and celebrate [being different], or should I put it aside and really make no reference to it because I need to stand on my own merits and my own work?” he said. For the first 15 years of his career, it was the latter. Today Asghar celebrates it. He’s seen how much representation matters to his employees. Pre-pandemic retention rates were 87%. The agency did not have its current retention rates available, but noted it has doubled in size in the last two years, increasing its headcount from 150 to 300. Half of XM’s c-suite or partners are women, and 33% identify as people of color. Women make up 52% of the next level of leadership, specifically the department and practice heads who drive the agency's businesses. 24% of those women also identify as people of color. Across the entire agency, 59% of employees are women and 34% are people of color. “While many agencies are setting up hiring DEI leads and people to come in and push out content, mandates [and] policies to get people to rally around diversity, equity and inclusion, here it doesn't have to be so forced,” said Kristin Metzger, XM’s chief people officer. “It’s inherent in what's happening and how we've grown organically.” One DEI initiative the agency sponsors is a six-week mentorship program open to over 60 high school sophomores, primarily from marginalized communities in New York. Over 20 Crossmedia volunteers, acting as teachers, mentors and advisors, introduce the students to a career in media and teach them skills ranging from professionalism to resiliency. XM also offers internships to the mentees once they enter college. “[Commitment to diversity] should live beyond heritage months and should live beyond a moment in time,” said Asghar. From the top down The CEO recalls speaking with XM’s talent leader some years ago and mandating that everyone at the same level be paid equitably at the organization. He also remembers painstakingly reviewing XM’s leadership demographics, determined to drive change. “It's not just color, it's not just gender—it's economic background. It's international. It's ideological as well. But it starts with, I think, physical representation—female and people of color,” Asghar said. The leadership team’s personal experiences guide the way they engage with employees and clients, which contributes to the agency’s high marks. “In my late 30s and 40s, I realized I was always the only senior woman in the room,” said Anne Bologna, chief strategy officer at XM. Bologna said most of her experiences in advertising have felt “very male and macho." XM was an exception, and it was the first agency Bologna hired when she was vp of brand strategy at TripAdvisor. When she joined XM she realized the inclusivity she sensed as a client was reflective of the agency’s internal culture. The way the leadership team speaks about each other reflects the importance of representation. “Every time I speak to Anne I fall more in love with advertising, and Anne’s presence coming into the agency was such an amazing force and show of what a female legend in advertising does and looks and acts like,” said Ali Plonchak, XM’s COO and managing partner. Crossmedia's leadership from left to right: Kristen Metzger, chief people officer; Kamran Asghar, CEO and co-founder; Anne Bologna, chief strategy officer; Ali Plonchak, COO, managing partner. Putting people first Metzger joined XM this year, coming from GroupM’s Wavemaker. Metzger’s hire came after a recent c-suite expansion that saw women claim top jobs, including Christine Merrifield-Wehrle joining the agency as head of investment, Bologna joining as CSO and Plonchak elevating to COO. “You know, everyone says we want DEI at the heart of the agency. Well, [Asghar’s] the heart of the agency,” Metzger said. “It really feels like it's almost a non-issue here, which is interesting to me.” Metzger noted that at Wavemaker, diversity and inclusion issues were something she fought against every day. Her hire underscores the agency’s commitment to diversity and employee satisfaction as it grows. She’s considering several plans for the agency, including producing content for social channels called Shine Sheets, which explain what sets XM apart, mandating a manager training that employees will undertake once they’ve been with XM for five years, shifting the time needed to take a sabbatical down from ten to five years and implementing a four-day workweek. Perhaps the most unique of Metzger’s proposed initiatives is an investment in an agency summer house that teams can visit to work on projects and simultaneously vacation together. The 3% Conference Is Ending but Kat Gordon Continues Her Work to Improve the Industry