Black Publicists Have Long Been the Secret Weapon to Marketing Success

Black marketing professionals are often behind some of the most culturally shifting campaigns. Such campaigns include the work of Wieden and Kennedy’s JP Petty for the McDonald’s Travis Scott partnership—which led to ingredient shortages nationwide—and the infamous viral social media phenomenon behind Popeyes Chicken Sandwich. But according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2019 report, although women hold nearly 73% of all PR management jobs, only 10.7% of those roles are held by African Americans.

Over my career of almost a decade of working in public relations, I have learned tools to navigate through the industry and advocate for those around me. One key learning: if we want the next generation of Black publicists to thrive, there must be changes to the broken system.

Equal opportunity for all

Oftentimes when I am approached by a client, it is my connection to the demographic they are trying to reach that qualifies me to work on the project. When brands are searching for qualified marketers, it shouldn’t be the color of their skin that defines their capability in this space but their proven track record for executing award-winning publicity campaigns.

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It’s easy to put Black marketers in boxes as if we can only represent Black people, and that’s simply not true. We can tell a variety of stories.

Diverse teams are good business

The U.S. consumer market is changing. Multicultural Americans not only drive mainstream culture, but they are driving markets. If your teams don’t reflect or understand your customer base in a deep nuanced way, you are hurting your business.

Work to create opportunities for people of all backgrounds to have a seat at the table and contribute to the conversation. Don’t assume that someone won’t be able to add value to a campaign because of a preconceived notion of their life experience. Those cultural nuances are what take campaigns from good to award-winning.

Dismantle the pipeline

Underrepresented students are “less likely to build a professional network in PR, build a strong support group among other public relations students, and experience comfort interacting with other students in the classroom and in extracurricular activities,” according to a 2019 study by the University of Alabama and North Carolina A&T University published in the Journal of Public Relations Education.

While many organizations have programs in place focused on recruitment marketers of color, most do not address the systemic barriers that have long been put in place for those without traditional educational backgrounds or formal training. Those without access to a college degree or formal training have long been excluded from having a successful, thriving career in the industry. Removing those barriers and allowing students who show the ability and passion to work provides the access that is critical for Black marketers to gain the experience to rise.

Investing in mentorship and educational programs that provide access to communication professionals with non-traditional backgrounds can really help them strengthen their skillset. Hiring diversity consultancies that focus on diverse hiring and retention of that talent is critical when building a team of diverse thought and experience.

It’s time for Black publicists to be respected as equals in the industry and for the impact of all of our perspectives to be valued. Providing the access to client work that challenges us and helps us to grow our careers shouldn’t be relegated to those with celebrity clients.

One of the biggest risks to a company’s reputation is a tone-deaf marketing campaign. PR professionals need to understand the nuances of the communities they reach and how their campaigns can be perceived, but that will be even more difficult to achieve if they don’t become more diverse and inclusive themselves.

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