Your PR Architect

It's just me, I suppose. Or maybe not. I am Jewish, and I'm a little disappointed just now with our cultural tendency to talk about inclusion while failing to practice it. As a culture, you'd think we'd know better. The other day, I received an e-mail blast (with a few details obscured) -- and was asked to help spread the word of an event: By Fast Forward Event Productions, via Wikimedia Commons Dear Library Moms, Please join us at “Moms Make It, Take It, Over Chocolate and Wine” on Thursday, June 11, 2015 at Temple Beth Zion from 7 – 8:30 PM. The event includes making Jewish summer activities, a presentation on turning regular moments into Jewish ones, and lots of good wine and chocolate! What’s wrong with this message? I'm a Jewish dad. And I'm not invited. The message assumes that Jewish households in our community rely on moms alone to ensure a heritage-rich upbringing. It infers that the fathers have a diminished role in providing a Jewis...

For many organizations, diversity is a nice-to-do function. When resources get tight, however, efforts to grow a diverse workforce can lose top-of-mind status. But a quick look at many PR departments and agencies’ staff rosters – and the cheery photos accompanying them – leave the impression that few communications organizations pay much attention to diversity. One example: an agency in upstate New York features a slick video reel on its website with quick clips of its employees leading meetings and brainstorming. There’s not a person of color in that montage. By The Conmunity - Pop Culture Geek from Los Angeles,  CA, USA (Anime Expo 2011 - the crowd) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)],  via Wikimedia Commons We all talk about engagement. When will we do more than talk about it among ourselves? You’ll hear abundant reasons to bring diversity to a PR or marketing communications workplace. The one I advocate is the need for diversity in innovation...

Aside from the minor tedious nature of a 6-plus minute slide show, there's plenty to like about MillerCoors posting scenes from its 2011 diversity summit on YouTube. I like linking diversity to the fundamental goals of the business: "Diversity Sells Beer." Or a clear focus on "regular employees" from different backgrounds, not executives in $1000 suits. (Although diversity initiatives really catch fire only when senior leaders actively champion such change.) Capturing key points on whiteboards, and chronicling them in stills (and video) isn't a bad way to keep these learnings close at hand. It's not a Joe Sedelmeier film, but it works. The disappointment, however: MillerCoors' video has had a stunning 116 views as of this blog post. MillerCoors' parent, SABMiller.plc, has 70,000 employees worldwide. If only 10 percent are MillerCoors employees, that still leaves a stunning gap between the number of views and MillerCoors' workforce. ...