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CULTURAL EFFECTIVENESS COUNCIL

Council Objectives

The Cultural Effectiveness Council spotlights the role and impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion in driving business growth in advertising organizations.

Through the compilation and synthesis of insights from the field, and the development of custom research, the council strives to build a knowledge base and define cutting edge best practices in reaching, engaging and appealing to cross-cultural audiences of the 21st century.

The Council uses the learnings and expanded knowledge base to advocate for the continued evolution and advancement in established best practices for research and effective cross-cultural advertising.

Cultural Effectiveness Council CultureConnect Podcast Series

The ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council has launched an on-demand series of podcasts on “How to Build Brand Loyalty with Today’s 21st Century Audiences.“ In this series, the Council explores ways of reaching and communicating with contemporary diverse audiences at a time when the composition of the U.S. population is undergoing rapid change.
To access the series, click HERE.

Cultural Effectiveness Council Co-Chairs

James
Janelle JamesSVP, IUU IPSOS
View Bio
Sparber
Dana Sparber VP, Insights and Research NBCUniversal Advertising & Partnerships
View Bio



CULTURAL EFFECTIVENESS COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS


    Cross-Cultural Insights Strategies for 2025 – a Round Table Discussion

    This event brought together industry experts to discuss the evolving landscape of cross-cultural marketing in the wake of recent developments in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The four panelists began with brief presentations of their recent research in this area and then engaged in a rich round-table discussion on staying ahead in the current environment. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    Fostering an Inclusive Culture


    On December 12, the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council explored how organizations can foster a truly inclusive workplace culture, diving into new qualitative and quantitative research on workplace microaggressions. Panelists presented stories and data illuminating how subtle biases shape organizational dynamics. Attendees gained Insights on the varied experiences of different racial, ethnic, and age groups and guidance on the types of research that organizations can conduct to improve inclusivity. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    Authentic Representation – Where We Are and How the Audience Perceives it


    This March 7th event, curated by the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council, explored the topic of authentic representation by sharing research on the current landscape and audience perceptions, as well as research to improve authentic representation in media and advertising. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    Guide to Diverse and Inclusive Terminology Including Definitions and Best Practices


    How can we more effectively understand and communicate with the diverse audiences of 21st century America? The ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council has created a guide to help accomplish this. It contains the latest information about diversity and inclusive terminology—an ever-evolving subject—specific definitions and best practices. This guide helps researchers and media and marketing professionals to recognize and understand preferred terms that are used to identify members of these audiences, to show proper respect and connect with them more effectively. ACCESS THE GUIDE

    Cultural Effectiveness Council CultureConnect Podcast Series: How to Build Brand Loyalty with Today’s 21st Century Audiences


    This on-demand series of podcasts curated by the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council features interviews and panels with marketing and research thought leaders on how to build brand loyalty with the diverse U.S. audiences of the 21st Century. The podcasts build on a series of webinars the Council presented on four “ways in” to these audiences – social causes, language, music, and representation.  The podcasts can be listened to anytime, anywhere. LISTEN TO THE PODCASTS

    DE&I Backlash?

    At this event, the Council examined how the diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) environment in media, marketing, and advertising may have changed after a period of reinvigorated commitment in the wake of widespread protests following the George Floyd case. Experts discussed how to navigate this environment, including examples of inclusive advertising that have boosted brand sales and those that experienced backlash. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    The Future of Qual

    In 2022 the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council conducted 18 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with senior research executives via Teams and Zoom to understand how the 'Future of Qual' would evolve with rapidly changing qualitative methods and the urgency across industries to understand cultural shifts. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    Leading with Inclusive Insights


    On November 1, 2022, the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council hosted a discussion on ways that brands have gained an edge by focusing their insights and subsequent marketing on traditionally under-represented communities. Speakers from General Mills, Vevo, and muliti-cultural agency Alma shed light on the kinds of research they find helpful in uncovering valuable inclusive insights and the potential rewards of this strategy. They cited examples of those insights and discussed the societal trends that underlie them. The session was moderated by Council Co-Chair Janelle James of Ipsos. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    Contending with Algorithmic Bias


    On March 16, 2022, the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council hosted a discussion on bias in the algorithms and models used by organizations, particularly those in advertising and marketing, to make selection or recommendation decisions . Speakers from Publicis Media, Twitter, Wunderman Thompson, Cassandra, and the University of Southern California shed light on why this issue arises, what its effects can be and how to contend with it. The session was moderated by Council Co-Chair Janelle James of Ipsos. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    Building Brand Loyalty with Todays 21st Century Audience


    Over the course of two years, the Council explored fours “ways in” to making new and vital connections with today’s 21st century audience through brands’ creative messages. These “ways in” are representation, language, music and social causes. The four webinars on these “ways in” are summed up in this report. ACCESS THE REPORT


    Navigating The Messy Middle: The Great Resignation


    On Nov. 9, 2021, the third installment of the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council’s Navigating the Messy Middle series examined how media, marketing, and research teams are facing capacity issues due to record departures, and how many Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts (DEI) are likely to shift as a result. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    Navigating the Messy Middle: Intersectionality in the Workplace


    On Feb. 10, 2021, the second installment of the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council’s Navigating the Messy Middle series — which focused on the workplace experiences and strategies of mid-career professionals from diverse communities — hosted two successful executives who have developed their careers in the advertising and media industries. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    Navigating the Messy Middle: Multicultural Conversations on Handling the Hard Stuff


    On May 7, 2020 the ARF’s Cultural Effectiveness Council, featured fireside chats with two industry leaders and a lively exchange of ideas among attendees.
    ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    Webcast #4 Building Brand Loyalty with Today’s 21st Century Audience –The Pivotal Role of Representation


    How do ads avoid shallow tokenism and meaningfully represent cultural values, and identity in the modern world? The ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council will explore this topic to better understand the themes and trends as well examples from today’s top brands to better chart a commercially successful and culturally authentic path forward. We will also touch on representation of communities that are often overlooked, including those within the broader ethnic, LGBTQIA and disabled communities
    ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    Webcast #3: Building Brand Loyalty with Today’s 21st Century Audience: Music as a Cultural Connector 


    On July 1, 2020 the third installment of the Council’s webcast series, on Building Brand Loyalty with Today’s 21st Century Audience focused on the power of music as a universal language and connector in advertising. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT


    Webcast #2: Building Brand Loyalty with Today’s 21st Century Audience – Leveraging the Power of Language


    The second installment of the Council’s webcast series on Building Brand Loyalty with Today’s 21st Century Audience focused on an approach identified by the Council for building relationships with that audience – leveraging the Power of Language. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    Webcast #1: Building Brand Loyalty with Today’s 21st Century Audience through Leveraging Social Causes


    The first installment of the Council’s webcast series on Building Brand Loyalty with Today’s 21st Century Audience focused on building relationships with that audience through leveraging social causes. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

    Forum: Avoiding Marketing Missteps: Navigating the Cultural Waters of 21st Century America


    To address the industry’s need for guidelines for meaningful messaging to the diverse 21st century population and minimizing the odds of a backlash, , the Council hosted a conversation on how to navigate and successfully develop creative for this new target. Council member Janelle James moderated a panel with Alexander McMichael, (Gravity Media), Adriana Waterston (Horowitz Research), Lia Silkworth (Telemundo Network), and Paulita David (PD Strategies). ACCESS CASE STUDIES

    Research: Presentation at ARF CONSUMERxSCIENCE Conference


    Custom research, conducted by the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council using Google Consumer Surveys and Instapanel and supplemented by proprietary research from Leflein Research, revealed insights regarding brand advertising that incorporates social cause messages to better communicate with multicultural Millennials. ACCESS EVENT CONTENT

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