Mixed Company

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion landscape is shifting. There are laws prohibiting it and C-suites minimizing it. What does all of this mean for historically marginalized groups? We're joined by Micheline Grace Lewis & Tope Ajala to take a closer look at how far we've come since the 2008 Madison Ave Lawsuit, Times Up Advertising in 2016, and the 2020 Reckoning, and forecast where the advertising industry is heading.

Intentional Power: The 6 Essential Leadership Skills for Triple Bottom Line Impact explores how the transition from shareholder capitalism to stakeholder capitalism has created an urgent need for a new model of leadership; a model that enables leaders to navigate competing demands from both internal and external stakeholders including the most racially and age-diverse workforce in history, activist investors, purpose-driven customers, and global government regulators. We were joined by one of the book's co-authors, Lisen Stromberg, an expert in human capital transformation, a leadership and culture strategist, author, and widely regarded speaker.

On this episode, we're discussing the latest trends in advertising that are expected to dominate the industry by 2024, with Rick Song; President, Brand Innovators Strategy Group & Board Chair Emeritus of the Advertising Club of NY and Enas Hassan; Program Manager of the International ANDY AWARDS. Advertising has always been an ever-evolving field, but with technological advancements and changing consumer behavior, the landscape is constantly shifting. To stay ahead of the game, marketers must be aware of upcoming trends and adapt their strategies accordingly. ***** The Advertising Club of New York and the Mixed Company Podcast are partners for 2024! This collaboration aims to bring together the best of both worlds - the expertise of the Advertising Club and the engaging content of the Mixed Company Podcast. Each episode will consist of industry experts and thought leaders of every level, because we believe valuable perspectives can come from everyone! Here, they'll share their insights and experiences on v

A Dose of Black Joy & Caffeine was established in 2020 when numerous Black executives & business leaders were asked to have discussions about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Adu, the host of the podcast, noticed that these conversations often neglected to celebrate the individual and instead focused solely on Black trauma. Adu (AdAge 40 Under 40 Honoree & ADCOLOR Influencer Nominee) created a podcast that has become the top choice for Black creative, marketing, PR, and tech professionals who are interested in discussing Black joy and the things that keep them motivated to keep going.

Geoffrey Cook is an advertising strategist who joined us to discuss how his own autistic/ADHD mind benefits him in a creative industry and how business leaders can foster inclusive environments for other neurodivergent professionals.

Kareem Hayes is an Screenwriter, Author, and Actor who has sold over 150,000 books independently. As his new independent film Necessary Evil is making its way through the film festival circuit, Kareem joins us to talk about the art of storytelling independently, how he's making a way for the next generation, and why authentic stories matter.

Seven years ago, we dropped our first episode, The Miseducation of Diversity [highly recommend re-listening with the link below], and a lot has changed, but many things have remained the same regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion within creative industries. So, we're talking about the state of DEI in a post 'George Floyd Economy', while reflecting on episode 1. But first, we hit on McCann's CCO's group chat fumble and the mispronunciation of IS-Suh Rae at CultureCon. https://soundcloud.com/ask-mixed-company/mixed-company-episode-1-div

In partnership with the Advertising Club of New York, Mixed Company Podcast is celebrating and exploring Advertising's partnership with Hip Hop during the music genre's 50th anniversary. On August 10th, Kai moderated a conversation between Dr. Charlene Thomas and Chaucer Barnes at the ADC of NY's office.

Eternal Polk is the director of the upcoming documentary Gaining Ground, produced by Al Roker and John Deere. The brand-sponsored film examines the causes, effects, and solutions to the issue of Black ownership of farmland. Eternal joins us to talk about how the film was made.

Kat Gordon is back on the pod! A few weeks ago, Kat, the founder of the 3% Movement, released a Substack article, The Rise of Introverts. In her article, Kat outlines how leadership in corporations has historically over-indexed with extroverts, but the future will see a lot of shared traits among introverts being in demand because they will fuel inclusive cultures and ground-breaking creativity. Listen, then subscribe to her Substack to read the article https://katgordon.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

The Great Resignation gave a lot of employees the upper hand. But over the last year, the power has shifted back to employers and employees are feeling the squeeze as the job market course corrects. So now what?

Being a creative leader in a role that requires you to advocate for people who are often othered is taxing on the mental. Liv Lewis joins us to add perspective and solutions on how to maintain your peace and thrive when personal and business values don't align.

We're back after our much-needed hiatus. Still candidly talking about what needs to be done to make creative industries more diverse, more equitable, and more inclusive--but with a new flow. Hit play as we chop it up from our vantage as leaders about everything from DEI backlash to Netflix.

Mixed Company Podcast was started in 2016 to speak the unfiltered truth of mid-level professionals to those in power. For over 100 podcasts, Kai, Karinna, and Simeon covered topics that advocated for people who have been historically othered because of their identities. Now, as they’ve in advanced stages in their careers, they’re handing the mics to the next generation of creative leaders to do the same. In this final-ish, episode, Isiah Thompson helps usher in a new era for the people’s podcast and takes the reins. Email askmixedcompany@gmail.com for advice or to bring a topic to the people.

We're back with a mid-late summer episode. Humans are still acting up and we still need to talk about solutions that will get us to a place where diversity, equity, and inclusion are par for the course. Is working from the trap? Need solutions? Email us your questions and comments at askmixedcompany@gmail.com

We're bizaaack. We're in a season of "Nevermind, I'm good". Historically excluded talent are making choices about their careers that are setting precedents for retention that can't be ignored. We're catching up and talking about Nikole Hannah-Jones, Sha'carri Richardson, Zoe Scaman, Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, and more. Pull up.

Defund to Refund is an initiative founded by Huge to help Americans rethink public safety. Through a story-based platform that illustrates the human cost of over-policing, they're on a mission to redirect resources to build safer, healthier communities. We spoke to few members of the Defund to Refund team: Fuming Cao, Justin Anderson-Weber, Brandon Coleman & Deadra Rahaman. www.defund2refund.org

Hate against Asian American Pacific Islander communities has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic. The best strategy to #StopAsianHate is to arm everyone with the right information to spark empathy and action. Strategy Director Stephanie Rickards joins us to discuss her ongoing research to combat Asian stereotypes in the media.

Influencer Marketing is a Billion Dollar business making careers for content creators & cultural voices. Now, more than ever, representation and education in this area amongst brand leaders & talent can be the difference between getting played or getting paid. Tiffany Hardin, founder of Gild Creative Group, is making sure that the partnerships between influencers and brands are equitable and culturally impactful with her consultancy. We ended Black History Month learning more about her unique approach to prioritizing the well-being of culture through influencer marketing.

A candid conversation with ADCOLOR's Marc Strachan, Tiffany R. Warren, and Droga5's Tiffany Edwards.