Last week we kicked off celebrating Black History Month by sharing our go-to Pack Picks of Black-owned businesses because of their product excellence and business savvy. This week to continue the observance, we are shining a light onto some Black creators of our marketing industry peers who we think are the bees knees of the online buzz.
Yesterday’s Champions
Tom Burrell
We’d be remiss if we didn’t nod to the founder of Burrell Communications, widely considered to be the father of modern Black advertising. In the 1970s, fast-food chain McDonald’s had a demographic they wanted to reel in. But, they had little know-how as to what would actually draw in their Black customer base–and how to avoid alienating them by guessing or slipping into cultural appropriation in advertising. That’s when Burrell stepped up and created taglines that spoke in a way that rang true with the target audience.
It was a progressive and intelligent move by McDonald’s to hire a Black-owned agency, and it paid off in a big way. This campaign’s smashing success is largely attributed to the ads’ approach with non-white voices and representing Black individuals and families as capable, intelligent decision makers. This strategy and similar others from the Burrell group was utilized by other big names that are still thriving today, like Coca-Cola. Deservedly, Burrell was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2004 during his retirement year. Today, Burrell Communications creates multidimensional and transcultural campaigns for brands across the globe.
Carol H. Williams
If Tom Burrell is the king, then Carol H. Williams is the queen. Founder of Carol H. Williams Advertising created her agency in 1986 and has an impressive portfolio. With regular customers like Pillsbury, Disney and Secret, there’s no denying that her institution is a legacy. Williams also entered into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2017 as well as received the Ad Ages “Vanguard Award” for her lifetime achievements.
It’s not totally fair to call her a “yesterday champion” as Williams continues to be an active influential voice for advertising to the ever-sophisticated multicultural audience today. However, her work over the last 40 years has been impactful on the evolution of today’s intelligent and quippy marketing in an industry that is largely White- and male-dominant.
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Today’s Pack Peers
While I could easily go on and list the numerous other folks who have made great strides and worked relentlessly to pave the way, the focus today is on the “here-and-now” Black creators who are making a welcome splash in today’s marketing talent pool.
Andre Kay
This guy. You’d never know from its current national renown that Kay’s social media and software company Sociallybuzz was founded only as recently as 2009. As the original of its kind, Sociallybuzz was the first Black-owned social media marketing agency to hit the web. In 14 years, Key and associates have made short work of creating a startup that businesses turn to for their social media management, advertising, and reputation management.
Their philosophy is the guiding light that’s brought them the success they are finding today, and that is to do their part to meaningfully connect customers to brands that reflect their values and meet their discerning standards. And, we’ve gotta say, they are definitely doing something, if not many things, right! ?
Shannon Washington
Late last year at IPG agency R/GA, Shannon Washington became the first Black woman to ever be instated as a U.S. chief creative officer in the history of all holding company agencies. This feat alone is enough to get her on the radar, and yet she has so much more going on.
A professional with a rainbow of talents, Williams founded sleek travel experience coordination firm Parlour Travel (an agency by Black women, for Black women), and her self-acclaimed proudest accomplishment, Toni–a Facebook community exclusively for Black women in advertising. Having been included in AdWeek’s Creative 100 and being named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People In Business, Williams is one to watch for inspiration, awe, and for the inspiring joy of witnessing her do what she does so well.
Cheryl Grace
As former senior vice president of NielsenIQ, Cheryl Grace brought the company’s award-winning African American Consumer Report into existence, served as DEIB leader for a women’s employee resource group, as well as acted as a distinguished mentor within the company. Since parting ways with Nielsen over a racial discrimination lawsuit in which the company settled, Grace has continued her work as a businesswoman mentor. Striving to be the coach that she wished she’d had as when she entered the industry, she created PowerfulPenny LLC, a transformative lifestyle firm that makes easy access to resources, online courses, worship and executive coaching services with the aim of helping women in particular to help empower them to grow professionally.
An exceptional player on the corporate stage for both her insightful skill sets and her voice challenging workplace discrimination, Grace is a woman of strength and, well, grace.
Travis Montaque
After crafting another lauded business, holistic company-building ecosystem Holler, this entrepreneur continues jetpacking his way to success. Co-founder (along with Bonin Bough) and CEO Travis Montaque hasn’t even passed Group Black’s two year anniversary, and it’s already exploded into the largest Black-owned media collective out there. Boasting an impressive 150 Black-owned media brands, Group Black’s mission to promote economic inclusion and community-building for today and the future was one that the industry was hungry for.
What do Forbes “30 Under 30,” Entrepreneur’s “50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs,” and Black List 100 have in common? Montaque’s name stars on their who’s who lists. A leader in both marketing and diversity conversations, Montaque believes that it is crucial to invest in diverse-owned businesses in order to ensure that a wide range of voices and stories are told and heard. Focusing on personalization and humanity to spread inclusivity and captivate target audiences is not only just, but what he claims is “the biggest business opportunity today.”
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Aim for Tomorrow: Close the Racial Gaps
The fact of the matter is that Black marketers have been key contributors to shaping our industry for decades, and they are only getting more excellent. Yet, there remains a discord; there still aren’t enough Black marketers at the conference tables. (Or tablets. WFHers, we see you! We are you!) The marketing industry is roughly 85% White and 7% Black, with Asian and Hispanic/Latino demographics reporting in even smaller, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Although Black creators have but a fraction of the representation, the impact that these incredible marketers have had and continue to have on media advertising–and the shift of society–is so much more than the numbers indicate. These huge strides were made in the face of adversity, bias and resistance, pushing themselves forward despite the barriers. Imagine what the body of our industry would be capable of once both the apparent and invisible racist walls that limit us are brought to a satisfying crumble!
Keep It Going!
As a diverse digital marketing agency, we at Fullmoon are committed to supporting Black advertisers, brands, businesses, and people. We’d love to keep this list going, if only there was enough time in the day! There are so many more monikers that deserve to be on this list of incredible industry names to celebrate.
Help us celebrate more worthy folks out by naming other stellar contributors and creators you think deserve similar to receive kudos on our LinkedIn post and give them a tag!
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