Month: June 2020

MABR Spotlight: Jojo Ananouko examines the NCAA

Kim Sheehan on

Jojo Ananouko took a hard, critical look at the NCAA, particularly in light of what the organization needs to do to be more accountable and responsible to student athletes. A student athlete herself, Jojo understands the complexities of the NCAA’s relationship with student athletes and unflinchingly calls them out on problematic practices. We are so very, very proud of this work.

Download her presentation here (it’s great).

Her paper is attached. [embeddoc url=”https://blogs.uoregon.edu/mabr/files/2020/06/MABR-Thesis-Paper_Ananouko.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

MABR grad spotlight: Minyon Moore on a Responsibility Playbook for Nike’s Jordan Brand

Kim Sheehan on

Minyon Moore took a deep dive into understanding how the Jordan brand could be a more responsible brand. Good thing she did–she’s an intern at Nike working on this brand! Enjoy her insights.

[embeddoc url=”https://blogs.uoregon.edu/mabr/files/2020/06/moore_final.docx” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

MABR Spotlight: Michael Robelli on Project Blue and Covid 19

Kim Sheehan on

Where do climate change and Covid 19 intersect? In his project, Michael Robelli sketches it out for us. He writes “It has become clear that a break from human activity has come with a break for the world.” He then develops how Product Blue, new not-for-profit brand designed to focus consumption behaviors toward products that are good for the environment, Product Blue, can leverage some of our societal learning from Covid 19 to push people toward better consumption behavior.

This report is well researched with great ideas!

Michael Robelli COVID Consciousness Product Blue Position Paper

MABR Spotlight: Emily Barna on Sustainability in the Cosmetics Industry

Kim Sheehan on

MABR grad Emily Barna took an in-depth look at the cosmetics industry, and using a sustainability lens identified some of the key ‘pain points’ in that industry (spoiler alert: plastic, animal testing, and palm oil). She did some great consumer research and found consumers want more sustainable cosmetics! She has some great recommendations here:

We invite you to download and read her final project!
[embeddoc url=”https://blogs.uoregon.edu/mabr/files/2020/06/TerminalProject_EmilyBarnaV2.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

MABR grad spotlight: Trevor Shott on the Green Gap

Kim Sheehan on


The Green Gap is what can be the huge gulf between what consumers say they will do to help the environment and what they actually do. Trevor Shott’s final project for his Masters in Advertising and Brand Responsibility examined some of the things brands can do to close this gap. In his introduction, Trevor explains:

There is lots of valuable information that both brands and consumers can find helpful in his work. Enjoy!

[embeddoc url=”https://blogs.uoregon.edu/mabr/files/2020/06/MABRFinalGuidebook_Shott.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

Photo by Kid Circus on Unsplash

Nicole Lee on Best Practices for Creating a More Diverse Workforce

Kim Sheehan on

The following points are suggestions for agency human resource recruiting teams and
advertising professors to keep in mind on a regular basis:
1. Think Panoramically
a. With talent pools found around the world, the best employees no matter
what their cultural affinity is want to work for companies that wear
diversity on their sleeves
2. Consider the Multiple Effect
a. In digital and social media spaces, youthful marketers drawn from an array
of backgrounds are able to ignite viral campaigns faster and more
effectively in ways that corporate monocultures can’t
3. Think All For One and One For All
a. Diversity that strives to celebrate differences, yet identify universal human
qualities in fragmented marketplaces, creates a more transcendent
narrative
4. Remember That Diversity Isn’t Only About Gender, Ethnicity, Sexual Preference,
Or Race; It Is Also About Demography
a. As potential brand ambassadors, senior and junior citizens are valuable
especially for social causes
5. Embrace the Melting Pot
a. It doesn’t matter where markets have been, diversity is where they are
going

Vikki Ross on brand responsibility

Kim Sheehan on

Vikki Ross is a UK-based copywriter who posted this tweet. Someone asked her–what about doing something spur of the moment just because it feels right? I responded–it has to feel right for the right reasons. And that is what these questions are for.

Does it feel right because you are doing what your competitors are doing?
Does it feel right because it makes you feel less guilty about some other stuff you’ve done?
Does it feel right because your employees are yelling at you to do something?
Does it feel right because you worry you’ll piss off customers if you don’t?

Does it feel right because you have built your brand, in part, around support for that cause?

Maryn Beutler on Empathetic Leadership

Kim Sheehan on

I have taken the last few days to reflect and educate myself on the occurring events in conjunction of completing my Journalism Master’s thesis, defending and promoting the positive effects of Empathetic Leadership. When I chose this topic to research and develop at the beginning of my master’s journey, I didn’t know how fitting it would be for where we have found ourselves today.
I have gone back and forth with my feelings about social media, news outlets and personal conversations in a time like this, the pros, cons and everything in between of standing up for how you feel and what you believe. But by taking a step back to observe, spending my days writing about leadership across all platforms of life, and educating myself politically, socially and economically I came to a couple conclusions I feel are worth sharing.

1. Right now, everyone has an opportunity to be a leader. Whether you think you are a leader or not, your actions, posts, beliefs, conversations etc. are leading someone, somewhere to think and respond in a certain way. Be thoughtful about what you do and say and use your platforms and voice to make a positive impact.

2. I truly believe that the majority of the people in the world, who I follow, in my life, who I talk to, who I work with, are good people, trying to make this world a better place. Unfortunately, there are a lot of ways to make this world a better place right now, so if you see a post that doesn’t align exactly with how YOU think the world can be a better place, don’t scold that person for it, say it’s not enough or laugh about their courage to speak up. I know they are trying, and I hope others believe that they are trying too.

3. Everyone is fighting their own battles. ABSOLUTELY we need to come together to become one force to defeat social injustice, a world pandemic and economic crisis, but we also need to be compassionate towards each person’s individual battles that they are facing. In the midst of coming together to achieve a common goal we need to cherish each other’s differences and use our diverse stories for a greater good.

4. EMPATHY is what is going to get us through these unpredictable times. Being empathetic, “to show an ability to understand and share the feelings of another.”

To achieve this, you need to LISTEN.

I know I am different than some of my friends, coworkers, family members and neighbors. I know that others have been less privileged than myself. I know that I have experienced different events than others. I also know that everyone is fighting their own battle and has been affected by all of these circumstances in one way or another. That is something that we all have in common. How can we use that one commonality to our advantage in a time like this?

We need leaders, good leaders, Empathetic Leaders to step up and fight for what they believe in, but to also consider what others are going through and appreciate the thoughts and beliefs that they can contribute to the cause. That is how you gain followers and create a force that beats all odds. Best part is, we can all be that Empathetic Leader. It’s time to step up.

#empatheticleadership #fightsocialinjustice #blacklivesmatter #alllivesmatter #together #beokbeinguncomfortable #actionsandwords #dosomething

Advertising, education, racism, and failure to act

Kim Sheehan on

Our colleague Doug Zanger just published this important piece in Adweek. He writes how agencies are tasked to solve important problems, but ignore the largest problem facing the industry: the lack of diversity particularly in upper management. In our MABR program, we talk a lot about ‘whose voice is missing at the table’. And in the advertising industry, it is often the voices of People of Color. Without these voices, advertising risk perpetuating old stereotypes, falling back on ‘hopes and prayers’, and being a truly authentic brand.

Agencies must be proactive, not reactive. Agencies must stop responding to report after report about the lack of diversity. One individual that Zanger interviewed said “Whenever people say they can’t find diverse talent, it’s because they’re not looking for diverse talent for the value that it adds. They’re looking for people that tick a particular box or have a precise lived experience. It’s like an act of choice that we as an industry are making not to be more inclusive and representative of what talent looks like or is.”

As we talk about early on in our program, brands (and their agencies) have the luxury of weighing in on social issues–or not. But this is not an issue where silence is acceptable. We cannot relegate the suffering of our fellow men and women to to-do list that we’ll take on when it’s convenient.

This list of 75 things that white people can do for social justice today was brought to my attention and the most important word is today. Today and everyday. A take away for me was #73:

“A wise former teacher once said, “The question isn’t: Was the act racist or not? The question is: How much racism was in play?” So maybe racism was 3% of the motivation or 30% or 95%. Interrogate the question “How much racism was in play?” as you think about an incident. Share this idea with the people in your life when they ask, “Was that racist?””

We strive to be inclusive and welcome a range of voices to our MABR program. We can do better. We will do better–because we know the current-and-future professionals we work with can change the world. They are ready not to settle for status quo. As Zanger’s article concluded: “I truly believe most brands want to say something, but they will make any excuse not to if the agency doesn’t hold them to the fire. So I think that it’s the agency’s responsibility to be doing that right now.” That’s why courage is at the center of our program. It takes courage to hold clients to the fire, and courage to recognize that one’s voice is powerful and can create positive social change. We know our soon-to-be graduates have found their voices. We will do everything we can to have the industry listen to them.