How UK Creative Leaders Want to Disrupt 'Archaic' Non-Diverse Industry

“The history and way that adland was set up is archaic, and that’s what we need to disrupt. Optically we’re diversifying our teams, but we haven’t changed the thinking.” So said Bukola Garry, head of diversity, equality and inclusion at Adam&EveDDB. Garry was speaking at a recent roundtable event where Adweek brought together creative leaders from across the U.K. ad scene to talk about the future of talent and leadership. To pave the way for the next generation of leaders, the roundtable participants said the ad industry must finally tackle the systemic issues that have led to a widespread lack of diversity. To name just a few statistics, only 3% of CEOS of U.K. agencies are Black, Asian or multi-ethnic; just 17% of creative directors are women; 6% of creatives are over the age of 50; and only 1-2% of staff across the industry are disabled, according to the organization Creative Equals. These creative leaders reported numerous incidents of talent dropping out of the industry altogether because of a lack of inclusion. So how can the industry finally make change and welcome in a greater diversity of people? Some highlights from the leaders’ candid discussion are below. True change needs trust from the top When Ketchum executive creative director Indy Selvarajah started his role eight months ago, he was skeptical of being able to make change in a large network agency. “I basically had to redesign the entire creative department because it wasn’t fit for purpose. Everyone was the same, and I wanted different perspectives on the work,” he said. “I’ve been at so many agencies that are like, ‘let’s do this’—then suddenly there are five other people with an opinion, and you can’t make change.” However, the difference at Ketchum has been a leader—CEO Jo-ann Robertson—who has backed Selvarajah’s decisions and given him autonomy to overhaul standard practices, he said. “This is the first place where she has gone, do what you think is the right thing, I’m backing you,” he said. “That’s the only way you can make change in a big network agency, because you have autonomy at the top.” Trusting and supporting talent to make decisions is crucial if businesses want to make systemic changes and embrace more diverse thinking, Garry said. “Not only do we need diverse talent, but we also need to trust their judgment,” she said. “The industry is full of initiatives and groups set up to diversify, but we also need to disrupt the decision-making part, and as a senior you have to trust me to make a decision that’s different to what you would do.” At Adam&Eve, the stance she takes—and that she believes other leaders should embrace—is: “If I make a mistake, we make a mistake. You’re not going to put all of this on me. I need that trust.” Are Quotas the answer? While leaders like Selvarajah are keen to correct the lack of diversity in many agencies, the group debated the effectiveness of setting hiring quotas. “I’m not interested in quotas or ticking boxes,” said Rachid Ahouiyek, co-founder and creative leader of Homeground. “The human element is critical. Tokenism will set us back and do way more damage. I’m only interested in talent.” Nene Parsotam, co-founder and ECD at Vine Creatives and a founding member of We Are Stripes, agreed: “The whole thing with quotas is it removes the human element from [hiring]… there’s nothing about changing the company culture.” But Bee Pahnke, head of voice at Grey London, argued that quotas can be an important step in overhauling outdated company cultures. “We’ve seen study after study that have shown us quotas do work. Far from promoting people who don’t have the skills, what quotas do is get rid of people who aren’t equipped to do the job and are in there because of predisposed biases,” she said. “We have a problem of not enough businesses having enough diverse minds at the top. Maybe quota is a dirty word and we need to start thinking about it differently. Quotas is one of the ways that we manage to change the faces at the top who can help change the faces further down.” Changing hiring practices The group agreed that many businesses need to rethink their hiring practices to disrupt the way the industry works. “Our hiring policy is that for every new position we want to see completely diverse applicants for that position,” said Anna Murray, head of production at Mother London. “Things like quotas can work in the right place, but you need a human there to care about it. And when you see people, look at them as a human and ask the right questions.” Vix Jagger, joint ECD at Karmarama, said her biggest lesson since starting her role and searching for new recruits was the need to “diversify the places you look for talent.” “When we started trying to hire people, I did exactly what I shouldn’t have done. I went through all of the traditional places—Miami Ad School, D&AD New Blood, Falmouth, Lincoln,” she recalled. But she soon realized: “Creativity has become so much more accessible in the digital age. You have young people out there making cool shit and they’re not waiting for a university to teach them how to do it. [Creative talent] is everywhere, but it was interesting that my automatic reaction was to look in the same places. I was on auto pilot, but that changed very quickly.” Parsotam recalled consulting for an agency that was hiring a creative director, and one of the criteria in the job description—common in many agencies’ recruitment practices—was having won awards. “I challenged them, and they said ‘oh, we hadn’t considered that,’” she said. “You are going to remove a massive section of really creative people [from the pool] who just happen to have not won an award.” Nurturing talent Breaking into the industry can be a struggle, but a common refrain is that many recruits also find businesses difficult to navigate and progress through because of a lack of direction, mentorship and inclusion. Leila Fataar, founder of Platform13, was one of the leaders who recalled a culture shock when she entered the industry. “I would be like, why is no one listening? It’s like they’re talking Martian. Someone said to me, they speak in PowerPoint,” she said. “I had no idea there was this whole other way to navigate this world. There’s this structure that happens underneath the structure.” Fataar advocated for changing those existing structures, like at Platform13, which has gotten rid of common adland practices such as pitching and timesheets. “You’ve got to change the business completely,” she added. Like others in the group, Garry recalled having to “be stealth and deviate” when she started working in advertising to progress through the industry. “No one wakes up to be a D&I [diversity and inclusion] person, but it was the only way I got into the room to make decisions. I care about this, but would I rather be head of strategy? Yes, I would. Was that going to happen? No, it wasn’t,” she said. One of those hurdles where she encountered a lack of inclusion was in agencies’ social activities, which tended to revolve around pub culture, she recalled. “At one of my first appraisals they said, you’re just not one of us. I said, tell me why?” Ala Uddin, co-founder and ECD of the agency Mud Orange, ran into this as well when he was going through agency internships and had given up drinking, so opted out of much of the after-hours socializing. “I found it bizarre how it affected [my progression],” he said. It was one small example of how his and other diverse voices “are never heard in agencies,” he said. He “lost the love” for advertising and left the industry for a while before setting up his own agency. Garry said stories such as these prove the need to overhaul the industry’s thinking and practices. Crucial to this progress will be mentoring and nurturing diverse talent once they get in, she added. “We can have every initiative, but if you’re hiring people, who’s looking after them? And don’t put me as the D&I person to look after all the minorities,” Garry said. “You have to be responsible when you bring people in. If they don’t understand how the culture works, we have a responsibility, or they fall off. It’s about the mentoring and nurturing.” The role of brands Clients also have an important role to play in pushing for progress in the industry, Parsotam said. She recalled an agency that was pitching to Nike, which had a diverse client team. “But the people who came in to represent the agency were all white males. Nike kicked off, like what’s going on here?” she said. Fataar said this accountability should be mutual, adding: “Agencies need to challenge their clients, as well.” Parsotam warned against agencies looking for “quick fixes” to some of these problems. “After George Floyd [was murdered in 2020], we started seeing more ads with Black people in them, but often I know the agency that it’s come from and I can tell you the entire production team is Caucasian,” she said. “How will things change? It’s not just one silver bullet.” Six Lessons From U.K. Creative Leaders Who Are Reimagining the Industry’s Future