CULTURAL EFFECTIVENESS COUNCIL

Topics covered include:

• How Americans define their identities in the 21st Century
• The role and value of music in reaching and persuading diverse audiences
• How to increase engagement with communities of color on healthcare campaigns
• The importance of representation in advertising creative
• The language(s) of the 21st Century US consumer.

These sessions are currently available:

September 29, 2022 — Episode #6: The Future of Qual, a conversation with Alexa Blechman, Senior Director of Cultural Insights at A&E Networks, Tony D’andrea, Multicultural Marketing Manager at General Mills, Danielle Hemsley, Director Of Research Strategy at Cassandra.

Qualitative research alone or with other forms of research has proven valuable to marketers and businesses who want to better understand their customers and target audience. The Cultural Effectiveness Council has been working on original research on today and tomorrow’s qualitative approaches. Moderator Janelle James, Co-Chair of the ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council and Senior Vice President at Ipsos UU, speaks to her council colleagues on this initiative.

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June 17, 2022 — Episode #5: Contending with Algorithmic Bias pt 2 , A conversation with, Kalinda Ukanwa, an Assistant Professor of Marketing at USC’s Marshall School of Business. Amanda Bower, a machine learning researcher at Twitter.

Technology is an essential part of our everyday life. We rely on it to help us navigate our finance, employment, housing, health care and purchases, among other things. But, perhaps unknowingly, we may be impacted by algorithmic bias, in which systematic repeatable errors in AI treat members of some groups differently than others. In part two of our look at algorithmic bias, we delve further into what consumers and companies can do about it.

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May 5, 2022 — Episode #4: Contending with Algorithmic Bias, a conversation with, Janelle James, SVP, Ipsos IUU (Council Co-Chair), Kalinda Ukanwa, Assistant Professor of Marketing at USC’s Marshall School of Business. Amanda Bower, Machine Learning Researcher at Twitter. Hui Wang, VP/Director of Global Data Intelligence – Analytics Service, at Publicis Media. Kathy Sheehan, Senior Vice President at Cassandra. Ilinca Barsan, Data Science Director at Wunderman Thompson.

We’re increasingly dependent on algorithms in a variety of areas. This has led to problems with algorithmic bias, in which statistical and econometric models or a programmed set of instructions systematically treats members of some groups differently than others. This can be due to the unconscious biases of engineers who build the models, biases in the data they are trained on, biases inherent in the models themselves or algorithms’ treatment of human attributes as single, isolated components rather than intersectional identities. We look at the ways in which models, programs, and algorithms in the media, marketing, and advertising industries can unintentionally favor majority populations and ignore or even discriminate against minority segments and how to overcome this problem.

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April 4, 2022 — Episode #3: The Great Resignation, A conversation with, Janelle James, SVP, Ipsos IUU (Council Co-Chair), Pepper Miller, Founder & President of Hunter Miller Group, Joanna Lara, US Multicultural Brand Partner & Strategy Lead at Google and Co-Founder of Latinos in Tech, and Carla Ebola, EVP, DEI Lead at Energy BBDO.

The ARF Cultural Effectiveness Council Co-Chair’s Janelle James led an examination of the media, marketing, and research industry’s effort to face capacity issues due to record departures, and how many Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategies (DEI) are likely to shift as a result. This dynamic discussion ultimately highlighted the industry’s opportunity to implement inclusive hiring practices by bringing in a more diverse talent pool in response to a once in a generation shake up in the world of work.

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March 7, 2022 — Episode #2: Deconstructing Diversity Today with NBCU Magna and Identity, a conversation with Dana Sparber, Vice President of Insights and Research at NBC Universal, Kara Manatt, Senior Vice President of Intelligence Solutions at Magna. and Oscar Allain, Senior Vice President of Cultural Research at Identity and head of International Research at UM.

We’re living in a time when the way people identify themselves is constantly evolving. Not only do Americans live in a multicultural society, but many embrace communities that go beyond their own heritage. So, if marketers want to connect with consumers and stand out from the competition, they need to reflect this cultural reality. This episode features a discussion surrounding a recent study by NBCU and two ad agencies (Magna and Identity) which identifies steps marketers can take to reach a polycultural society, including having a culture first mindset.

Guests: A conversation with Dana Sparber, Vice President of Insights and Research at NBC Universal, Kara Manatt, Senior Vice President of Intelligence Solutions at Magna. and Oscar Allain, Senior Vice President of Cultural Research at Identity and head of International Research at UM. Hosted by, Barbara Leflein of Leflein Associates (Co-Chair, Cultural Council) and Moderated by Janelle James, SVP, IUU Ipsos (Co-Chair, Cultural Council)

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February 11, 2022 — Episode #1: How Brands Can Leverage the Cultural Relevance of Music Videos, a conversation with Laura Vanison, Director of Consumer & Artist Insights and Robert Velez, Senior Director of Multicultural Ad Sales at Vevo.

If you’ve watched music videos from artists like the Weeknd, Shakira, Justin Bieber or Olivia Rodrigo, chances are you watched it on Vevo, the world’s leading music video network. Vevo reaches over one billion daily viewers globally, and 150 million US viewers monthly. Music videos represent a unique form of premium content. More than entertainment, they’re very much the soundtrack to our lives. This episode looks at how Vevo provides opportunities for brands to connect with hard-to-reach, diverse groups in authentic ways and how corporate engagement can go beyond ads.

Guests: A conversation with Laura Vanison, Director of Consumer & Artist Insights and Robert Velez, Senior Director of Multicultural Ad Sales at Vevo. Hosted by, Barbara Leflein of Leflein Associates (Co-Chair, Cultural Council) and Moderated by Janelle James, SVP, IUU Ipsos (Co-Chair, Cultural Council)