February 27, 2025 • 46 mins
Tim Natividad's guests today bring authenticity to everything they do. Whether it's Danisha owning her Beyhive leadership (complete with a very unique nickname!) or Bill's fearless adoption of Gen Z verbiage, Danisha and Bill believe in work-life integration, not just balance. The result is a funny, insightful, discipline-spanning conversation for anyone curious about what advertising is all about.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello, Welcome to season three of the Future Legends of
Advertising podcast on iHeart featuring the hottest up and coming
stars and advertising as well as the biggest legends in
the game.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
In this series, we explore the future of the advertising
industry through never before heard conversations between those who created
it and those who are shaping its future.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I'm your host Tim Natividad.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
And I'm your host Christina Pile.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
And with that, let's meet the legends. Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Well, I'm so excited to be hosting this next episode
of the Future Legends of Advertising podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Thanks again to our friends at iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
You know, it's so rare in this industry that you
actually get a chance introduced not just a colleague, but
a friend.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
I'm excited to do that.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Today I have the opportunity of introducing one of our
recipients for the twenty twenty four American Advertising Federation Hall
of Achievement, and that is Denisha Lomax. Denisha is the
executive president and head of Inclusivity and Impact for Digitas Agency.
I believe she is the inaugural leader in that position.
Denisha or I believe Unicorn Carter as how some have
(01:23):
affectionately referred to her as a Bay Area native. Her
passion is in making change that sparked early in her life.
While she initially had dreams of becoming a social justice lawyer,
I'm sure we'll get into those early grassroots here. She
also found herself in the media industry, creating safe spaces
in digital advertising and marketing. She fights hard to erase
(01:45):
bias and racism, pushes for inclusivity and representation, and advocating
for those who identify as trans, non binary, or neurodivergent.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Unicorn.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Carter has been with Digitas since twenty eighteen and has
been working in the digital media space for the last
fifteen years, including prior since with eBay, Gap, Old Navy, Yahoo,
and not to date us too much, but also MySpace,
which I still remember. Denisha, you and I we've known
each other for the last few years.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Thank you for joining.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I'm so happy that you're being recognized for the incredible
work and impact. And welcome to the show for today.
Speaker 5 (02:23):
Tim, thank you so much. That introduction was amazing. I
appreciate you as a friend and as a colleague, and
just so honored to be part of the Hall of Achievement.
It's great to be acknowledged in this way, and you know,
have Corn Carter forever.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I imagine that walk me through the story of how Unicorn
Is that a self prescribed nickname or did that come
about somewhere else?
Speaker 5 (02:46):
Well, I have been the leader of the bay Hive
since I can remember. I also self gave that name
to myself, and so I own it. And Beyonce has
been a woman who has broken mini molds, decided to
embark on a path of her own and just create
music that connects in sparks emotion, brings together different communities,
(03:11):
and I've always saw that as my vision in marketing
and advertising. And so who better else to be dubbed
Unicorn Carter than myself? That is the one big, big brag,
not humble brag I'll give myself on.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
First of all.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
I love starting there, and I'll just ask you one
quick question because we have plenty of the show to
get to something that I've said before in my past, Denisha,
is you know I don't necessarily believe in work life balance.
I believe more so in work life integration, which is
this idea and concept of integrating my personal beliefs and
interests into some of my professional work, whether it's being
(03:51):
part of the behive as Unicorn Carter, or whether it's
you know, building out something like the first ever TikTok
Incubator program, which is actually how you and I met,
right with the birth of the TikTok Incubator program and
your work with the Sephar Accelerate program. One, I would
just love to hear you talk a little bit about
your experience there. But number two, more importantly, going back
to this early question here, is how did you make
(04:13):
the decision to and I do believe it's an intentful
decision to take some of your own personal values and
beliefs into some of your professional work. And where did
that bravery come from?
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Yeah? I love that question, Thank you, Tim.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
And I'm reflecting back not necessarily on my origin story,
but the moment that I became a mom. I got
into the advertising industry very early, right out of college.
Like you shared, I did have those dreams of being
a social justice lawyer, but quickly found digital advertising and media,
and the next year and a half I was pregnant, married,
(04:53):
working on having a family, all at the age of
twenty five, and so something in me really clicked around
the idea of motherhood. After having Kamaya, I was like,
I can do anything I want to do, but also
I have to navigate being a young mom in advertising,
which was really new for me. I hadn't seen anyone
(05:16):
do it at that young of an age, and so
I had to bring my personal life into the profession.
You know, there were times where I might have had
to leave work a bit early because schedules weren't necessarily
working out for me and my family, and so I
had to just be vocal. I had to share with
my team, my managers, everyone in the media team at
(05:37):
that time that this is what being a mom and
being a career driven woman meant to me. And so
from there, I had always knew that integrating my personal
life and my professional life was something that I was
going to have to navigate. So did that well. And
also I was able to showcase Kamaya to a new life.
She was young at the time, right, but it was
like getting her access to see people working and people
(06:01):
doing different things and people from different backgrounds kind of
doing it and collaborating together was important.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
So I've been doing it for a while. It's worked out. Good.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Good for you, Good for you.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Well, you know, I'd love to, if it's okay, bringing
on one of our core founders in our discipline and
marketing and in multicultural work, the legendary and esteem Bill Imada,
who will be your core interviewer for the rest of
this podcast. For those listening in, Bill Imada is the
co founder and chairman, also the chief Connectivity Officer of
(06:34):
IW Group. IW Group is a minority owned and operated
agency focused on growing multicultural markets. In fact, earlier this year,
Bill himself was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame.
I believe that was just about six months ago. His
extensive legacy seamlessly overlaps both the business world and the
social responsibility world. The list of accolades and awards for
(06:57):
Bill and iw's work in the community partnerships that he
has established as extensive. It could tick up this entire
episode if we want to. He's an ad Color recipient
as well. Bill has created a space for multicultural agencies
to flourish during a time when diverse audiences weren't always
valued right and he developed a unique culture first, digitally
(07:18):
led and youth driven business approach to build bridges between
corporations to reach those overlooked audiences and of course also
push themselves into new industry categories. Bill has been a
strong advocate for many communities from day one, establishing APIA
scholars Fund, the National ACEE, and the National Millennial and
gen Z Community, through which he's uplifted more than one
(07:39):
million youth via scholarships, mentorships, and entrepreneurship on opportunities. Like
I said, it's rare that I get to interview a
friend and a colleague, and in the case of today,
I actually get to do that times too. Bill, welcome
to the show and thank you for your time today,
and I'll let you to pick it up from here.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Bill, thanks for thanks for joining us.
Speaker 6 (07:59):
Hey, thank you for the introduction. If you want to
be my publicist, I will definitely create an opening for that.
That was like an incredible introduction. And I'm so excited
to be with you and Unicorn Carter. He's from the
Bay Area. I'm up in the Bay Area today as well,
so happy to be here.
Speaker 5 (08:17):
Yeah, I you know, Bill, Tim said it, You're an icon.
You have paid the way for so many folks in
this industry to be seen, be heard, but also to
change things. And I resonate that so much. But before
kind of getting into more of those questions, I actually
want to spend some time talking through how you got
(08:41):
to how you arrived at calling yourself the chief Connectivity Officer.
Where did that come from? I used to actually, fun
fact have that in my LinkedIn bio. It's no longer there.
I think you own that space, just like maybe I
own the Unicorn Carter space. But I would love folks
to hear how you came up with that and what
it means to you.
Speaker 6 (09:02):
So thanks for that question. Part of being involved in
advertising and marketing is trying to connect dots, and I
think this is really important in the advertising industry, is
that finding a way to bring in community, to bring
in media, to bring in all the assets that are
available to us in advertising. And so I picked up
this title because I really believe strongly that everyone is
(09:27):
linked in some way, and sometimes you need just a
little bit of help and a little bit of push
to make those connections. And that's part of my responsibility,
I feel in advertising, is to help people find those
connection points that we always talk about in advertising.
Speaker 5 (09:44):
I love the point of everyone linked, everyone is linked,
everyone's interconnected, and you've been able to do and bring
so much of that to your work and to the
advertising industry, bringing so many different voices in. But not
only are you re and respected in this industry, it
also goes into academia in so many communities. And I
(10:07):
was again I mentioned it earlier on your LinkedIn sleuthing
and following you, and I just love the fact that
you spend so much your spare time teaching courses in advertising, marketing,
public relations, fundraising, and crisis management. How has that teaching
and being in that space evolved you as a leader
(10:28):
and evolve the work that you've been able to do
in this industry.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
So being involved in the classroom is absolutely critical for me,
and I think critical for anyone in the advertising industry
is that we need to continue to remain relevant and
the best way to do that is to engage with students.
Gen zers and younger millennials are teaching me things each
and every day. And so when I'm in the classroom
(10:54):
University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Southern California, DePaul University,
wherever it might be, I pick up in glean details
about this generation and what makes them ticks. So when
you want to learn about gen Z and you want
to learn about younger millennials. The best place to do
it is often in the classroom. So it keeps me relevant.
Speaker 5 (11:17):
It keeps you relevant. Have you picked up any fun
gen Z phrases that you find yourself.
Speaker 6 (11:22):
Saying like riz, which is kind of old now, I think,
you know, they okay, things like I'm demrror.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
Oh, very mindful.
Speaker 6 (11:34):
So things like that. You pick up these things along
the way. But then they also teach you other things.
The best way to communicate with them, how they receive information,
what are their favorite social media platforms, what are their
fears aspirations in things that they're curious about. So, if
we're going to be good advertisers, it's important for us
to always be in touch with the consumer, and that's
(11:58):
the way to do it. But it's also important for
us to be in touch with the faculty and the
administrators that work with these young people each and every day.
So I've learned a few phrases. Some of them are
probably not appropriate for this particular podcast, but I've learned
some very good phrases.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
You know, I have to say, there's a newsletter I
get every Friday in the office and there are a
few folks at the company who I believe it's called
biz riz okay, So to riff off of the phrase
you've shared here, Bill, it is basically an education for
anyone who's not in gen Z. It's a brief newsletter
that reads us into what some things like sleigh, which
(12:40):
is another By the way, the amount of people who
are listening to this and cringing is probably at an
all time high.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
But anyway, there you go.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
Well, Unicornquatter absolutely loves to still say sleigh.
Speaker 6 (12:51):
No.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
One can never make me not say it. It's so appropriate.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
I love that you are picking up those times, and
I think it's also good for folks who are listening
to this podcast to catch up on those terms too,
because I think we both talk a lot about bringing
your authentic self to work and again that integration of
personal and professional. And I think the more folks get
to see us doing that and operating in those ways,
(13:15):
we can learn from them and we can grow. So
I appreciate you for dropping those gyms on this audience.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
One more question for you.
Speaker 5 (13:24):
I'm actually working on my first year finishing out my
grad studies. I'm working on a master's in social justice
and equity education. I read your article on civility, and
I wonder has that perspective changed as we have been
going throughout the year, And what advice do you have
(13:46):
for me as a person who is still trying to
navigate again that authentic self in my work in academia.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
How do you how do you do that? How do
you make that magic come true for you?
Speaker 6 (13:58):
I'm excited your person doing social justice because I think
that's something that many people have forgotten. And I think,
you know, we're looking forward, but sometimes we need to
step back and look back and see where we have
come from. So even in the advertising world, you know,
people say I'm an icon, but there were people before
(14:21):
me that pave the way, you know, the black community,
the Latino Hispanic community, women, even people in the LGBT community,
and people living with disabilities. Those people pave the way
so I could be successful. So I do think from
a social justice lens, we still have work to do,
but it requires us to look back, look forward, look sideways,
(14:44):
look up and down, and to look three sixty at
all the things that impact us as human beings and
impact us in the advertising industry. So my advice on
civility is that we don't always have to winners or losers.
And I think that you know, if you look at
our country today and you look around the world, we
(15:07):
have divisions that are getting deeper and deeper. And I
want to try to kind of resolve this by getting
people together, sitting down, listening to understand, and then finding
ways where we could work together to change some of
the things that are happening to us, not only in
society in America but around the world. And the only
(15:30):
way to do that, I believe, is if we start
off at a point where we all have unique stories.
Those stories are important to each and every one of us,
but what do we do to find the intersectionality between
those stories and move it from story telling to story living?
And doing enough about storytelling now it's time for us
(15:51):
to use the stories that we have, bring that authenticity
that we bring to these discussions and do something about it.
And so, being involved in social justice for quite some
time myself, I feel that we need to move beyond that,
and the best way to do that is to start
off with an agreement that we are going to listen
to each other with empathy, which I believe gen Z
(16:14):
does really well and take that to the next level. Listen, understand,
and then listen to find ways that we can work
together to solve some of the problems we have in
our country and around the world.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
That's beautiful.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
First of all, let me just thank you for affirming
me in my quest. I appreciate that so much. I
agree we have to understand the past so that we
can form different futures, futures for all cultures, all communities.
So I really really appreciate that. I'm going to take
that into this week's classes and into the rest of
my studies. And also I absolutely agree with you, Bill.
(16:52):
I think sometimes we don't want to be uncomfortable. We
want to hold on to beliefs that we've been told
for a long times don't necessarily fit into the lives
that we want to create. And so being able to
have that community agreement that this conversation may be uncomfortable,
but it truly is the only way we can form
(17:12):
that future forward. And so I appreciate your guidance and
your expertise.
Speaker 6 (17:17):
Thank you, And I appreciate you as well, and thank
you for even bringing up Beyonce. I think about freedom,
you know, just as an example of something that just
moves me, right, because we need to move to that
level where we do have this feeling of freedom that
we don't have to watch what's behind us and watch
(17:39):
what's you know, potentially going to inhibit us or impede
us from moving forward as a country and as community,
specifically communities of color.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (17:50):
Freedom was on this morning as I prepared for this
conversation with both of y'all. So you are just you know,
manifesting what has already been done.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
That's your pump up kind of by the way, everyone
has one, right, I think mine is I've got a
Queen song. Anytime I need to look in the mirror
and pump myself up before a big event, Freedom was
yours today, Denisia.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Freedom was mine today.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
It's usually in the realm of Beyonce, you know, formation
break my soul.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
In.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
But freedom was what it was today.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
There you go, very cool.
Speaker 6 (18:29):
I do think there's an important point to you. Just
you mentioned Queen, So it just kind of struck a
little chord with me that you know, we're living in
a society now where five generations live at home, four
five generations are working in the workplace, particularly in advertising
and marketing and lots of different industries, and so there's
an opportunity here to take advantage of all these generations
(18:53):
working together and finding ways where we can move things forward,
finding the value that each generation brings to our industry,
and how do we take that to the next level.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
I love that instead of looking at a way to
divide us, like you said earlier, there's so many learnings
and so many cultural insights that we can glean just
from sitting down and thinking through how each generation is
working together and evolving what they've learned from the past. Also,
the Queen to Unicorn, Carter to Slay connection to behive
(19:25):
is also clutch.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Okay, So freedom I love. And I got to say
I have true confession. I've seen Beyonce three times, which,
as I say now, I realized, if you're in the
Beayhive is probably on the lower bound. But I have
seen her live three times. Denisha, I you know looking
at some of the work. You know, Bill and I
have spent the last few days kind of reviewing your
(19:51):
impressive body of work and in contributions to the industry.
I know I mentioned the Sephor Accelerate program, but also
just thinking about and hearing from your inspiration with Beyonce
and Freedom. I wanted to use that to maybe explore
something that Bill and I had talked about earlier, which
is your I believe you created a documentary, if I'm
(20:13):
not mistaken, The Beauty of Blackness. Can you just kind
of share a little bit with us and with Bill
what kind of compelled you to take that on your
inspiration for that. The only documentaries I've made myself are
the ones that I have with my daughter. They're a
little bit smaller in budget, I'll tell you, so, probably
a little bit less of a gauntlet than what you
went through, But would love to just hear a little
(20:34):
bit more about what that process was for you.
Speaker 5 (20:36):
Yeah, The Beauty of Blackness was a love letter to
the black community, specifically Eunice Johnson for the path that
she paved for women of color to see themselves in
beauty and fashion and elegance. And definitely have to give
credit to Sephorah for one signing the fifteen Percent Pledge,
(20:57):
being one of the first retaillers to do so and
say that they were not only going to make shelf
space for black owned brands and their stores, but they
were going to create this ecosystem where content, where stories
about black founders could be highlighted and shared. At the time,
then when we made the film, we might have to
double check the stet, but three percent of black founders
(21:20):
were featured in the makeup and beauty space, and so
that just opened up a huge opportunity for us to
one look at the past, like we talked about before,
and learn from it. And so that's what The Beauty
of Blackness was. It was a film that took nineteen
months to make. We did it in the height of COVID.
(21:40):
We had black women directors at the helm who were
dedicated and wanted to get the best stories that we
possibly could, not just about Eunice Johnson and fashion Fair,
but also about ebony and what black beauty just kind
of meant culturally. And so we took viewers and watchers
on the journey me again a fashion fair. And one
(22:02):
of the things that I loved so much coming out
of that documentary is there was a round table at
the end of it and Desiree Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissick,
who are the new founders and owners of the company,
they were actually able to sit down with people within
the gen Z community who quite frankly had never heard
of fashion Fair because the brand had gone away for
(22:24):
a period of time, so they were actually able to
share and showcase. We were able to share and showcase
what fashion Fair meant to so many people in our community,
but also the founders and new owners got to hear
what could make the brand sustainable and be long lasting
in our communities. And I thought, thinking of the cross
(22:45):
generational stories and insights that was so important for us
to be able to show and tell. For me, it
will always be one of my best and favorite moments
working in advertising, working in marketing, and I think it
just bridges the gap again the past, present and the future.
Speaker 6 (23:02):
I just think it's remarkable of what you've been able
to accomplish. One thing that I really love about what
you're doing is that you're showcasing black excellence, and I
think that we need to do more of that. But
also I believe that you're really working hard to do
things that we don't always get a chance to talk about.
Is how do we keep more black dollars in black communities?
(23:25):
How do we get more people to invest in these
small businesses that are supplying people like Sephora. So I
do have to commence Sophor as well for taking that
step to not only showcase black owned businesses, but also
to focus on black excellence in our community. But I
wanted to ask you, what else can we be doing
(23:47):
as allies to the black community and to black women
in particular, to elevate what you're doing.
Speaker 5 (23:53):
You don't, Bill, I appreciate the nod to black excellence
and black brilliance. I think black women, specifically black trans folks,
black queer folks who identify as fans are always trying
to reach that level of excellence. But one of the
things I think our allies could really do for us
(24:15):
and remind us that it's okay to be regular. It's
okay to have a moment where you are not always
having to stand out and having to save and having
to do the hard work. Rest take a moment, take
a moment to savor your accomplishments. And I think that's
also one of the things the Beauty of Blackness allowed
(24:36):
me to do.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
It took so long to make the film.
Speaker 5 (24:39):
There were so many stories being told, but you know
how advertising goes, It's like, Okay, on to the next
it was like whoa, we actually just did this thing,
and Max wanted to acquire the film. They had never
done that before, and so they did it. It's like
again another layer of amazingness. And so while I think
(25:00):
excellence is beautiful and brilliant, I think I would implore
us all in alongside my allies, you and Tim, to
encourage people to take the moment.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
I do think it starts with that influence.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
And again, Bill, like you said, it's incredible to see
someone like Sephora step up to the plate and support
some of this work as Denisha has put forward. I'll say, Bill,
you know, not to betray your excellent use of the
word riz, but you have been in the business I
would say, much longer than Denisha and myself in a
(25:35):
lot of ways. I think we both look at you
as we see ourselves rather as pupils of your work.
And so, you know, when you see Sephora partner with
the beauty of blackness, how does that compare if you
walk back to you know, twenty five years ago, right
when you first started working with Anheuser Busch, when you
started working with other top global companies like American Airlines
(25:58):
and Coca Cola and generals. How have you started to
see the advertising industry and brands really kind of shift
their perspective and their work over these last twenty five
years in the field of multicultural advertising.
Speaker 6 (26:13):
Well, I'm beginning to see the advertising industry recognize the
importance of having you know, Unicorn, Carter involved, having you involved,
Tim because We've been talking for a long long time
that we don't see enough people that look like us
in the advertising world. But I'm starting to see some
shifts where people recognize the impact that Black Americans have,
(26:34):
not just you know, women, but non binary individuals, people
from the LGBTQ plus community beginning to realize the impact
and influence that we have as a community, not just
in our own communities, but across all communities because we
are impacted by things that the black community does, the
Hispanic LATINX community what they do, what the LGBT two
(26:54):
community does, and communies with disabilities or non binary communities.
So I'm beginning to see some shifts in recognition that
we have a role to play and that role is
absolutely critical to our success. So, and the cool thing
about advertising is that advertising is the ability to do
things quickly. I know it took Denisha nineteen months to
(27:18):
create something during COVID, But advertising, we can create ads
that can change people's lives in literally a few minutes,
and so we need to recognize the power that we
do have and how we use that power is the
responsibility that we have to take seriously.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
You know, it's interesting the something that I say all
the time out in market, at least with respect to TikTok.
You know, seventy one percent of the time a user
actually buys from a brand or a service like Sephora
on TikTok, it's because of the qualities that a creator
represents and the values that a creator represents when introducing
(27:58):
that brand to the user. It just kind of speaks
to maybe it's not necessarily multicultural advertising today, but more
so just advertising in general, which is the idea that
consumers are a lot smarter than they used to be,
and people vote with their with their dollars and with
their their purchasing power, and a lot of times they'll
go with which brands and then in some cases which
(28:19):
creators actually look and feel a little bit.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
More like them.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
Right, So listen, I'll pivot just a slight bit here
into something that I think is pretty fun. Denisia, I'll
say I cheated a little bit and I reached out
over the last week to some of your colleagues and
I asked some question, very simple question, which is, if
if you could describe Denisha in one word or in
one phrase, what would it be. And I won't, you know,
(28:46):
give up my sources here on this podcast, but I
will share what some of them said. Uh one, one
person said powerful, which I thought was exciting to hear,
very very unicorn card ask. And then someone else shared this,
which was grace. And they expounded and said, you know,
she exudes grace by always assuming best intent. She is
(29:10):
grace under pressure and under fire. So I wanted to
ask you, you know, sometimes I am I am like
a duck in water. I'm sure Bill is as well,
calm and cool waste above water, and of course underneath
my my little legs are pedaling as fast as they can.
Can you kind of walk us through a moment where
you actually it could be from the Beauty of Blackness documentary,
(29:34):
it could be from the Sephor Accelerate and the TikTok
incubator program. But you know, over the last couple of years.
Has there been any any moments or any projects where
you have felt, you know what, this this big bet
here might not actually pay off. We could be in
the red by the time we're done, and we'll see
if this project actually ever sees the light of day.
Any anything there come to mind, because clearly your your
(29:56):
colleagues see that and recognize that you are under pressure
and you're you're day to day job.
Speaker 5 (30:01):
That that is, that's brilliant and that's beautiful. I appreciate
both of those statements. You know, let's take it to
the incubator program because it started off as a small dream,
right if we think about how it kind of came together,
and really it was taking a look at the impact
(30:22):
of a platform like TikTok and Tim you said it,
how much creators influence the people that choose to follow them,
And it was like, is there a moment that we
can create where we bring some of these creators who
are so smart, so creative, so brilliant to the top
and give them a moment in the sun to kind
(30:44):
of shine with a brand like Sephora, And not only
does it tie into their inclusivity efforts of being the
most inclusive beauty retailer.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
In the world.
Speaker 5 (30:53):
But also it gives again some shine, some magic to
the creators who may not be as big as the
ones we know today. And so that little statement to
our TikTok partners grew into this magnificent program and in
the middle of it, I was like, WHOA, is this
really happening? Or are we signing on three hundred creators
(31:16):
to be part of this? Like can we handle this?
Can I handle this? So yes, there was three hundred creators. Yes, yes, yes, yes,
that joins us. From start to finish. We ended up
bringing in some amazing mentor creators like Jackie Yayna and
others to join us. But taking that from a small
(31:37):
seed of how can we give rising creators more access
and opportunity? How can a brand be at the center
to over three hundred creators being part of it, there
was There were definitely moments where I did not think
it was going to pay off, but it did. And
I think it's just again a not to creators being
so skillful at what they do against the four being like, yes,
(32:00):
we love the underdog, let's give them more shine. And
the brands, the accelerate brands that were part of the program.
They were like, I need to step my game up.
I need to learn from these people. I want to
stay relevant. So that combination made it magical. But I
was there a few times.
Speaker 4 (32:16):
I was nervous.
Speaker 5 (32:17):
A couple of texts to a few folks, Hey is
this can we get Are we doing this? And they're like, Oh,
you're doing it, and we did it.
Speaker 6 (32:26):
You have no idea what great work you're doing for
these three hundred content creators because they're looking not only
for role models like you, but they're also looking on
how they elevate their own profiles and their platforms on
places like TikTok. So I'm excited that you are three
hundred people because you know those three hundred people are
going to pay it forward, and so you're setting the
(32:47):
pathway for them.
Speaker 5 (32:48):
Yes, that's right. It's so funny, Bill. There was during
one of the sessions. I will never forget this, there
was a creator there who was from the Bay and
she was like, I'm from the Bay, just like you
don't know what this means to me. I get to
meet my mentor my model, the person I look up
to Jackie Ana and learn from her in person, And
(33:08):
I was like.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
You came all the way here.
Speaker 5 (33:11):
It means so much And just your statement alone is yes,
it means so much to them and to me to
be able to help folks in our community be seen
and be heard and be visible. And I know it's
the work you advocate for and do constantly in this industry.
Speaker 4 (33:26):
So thank you.
Speaker 6 (33:28):
But you could see the feedback that you're getting, you know,
the posts that people are saying how much they appreciate
you and what you're doing. But even five minutes of
the time that you give to these folks, they'll remember
for the lifetime. But I want to know where do
you want to take these three hundred people, you know
some of them are you know, micro macro and micro influencers.
(33:49):
Where would you like to take them to the program?
What are some things that are on your wish list?
Speaker 4 (33:54):
Yeah, that's a great question. You know, we've really been thinking.
Speaker 5 (33:58):
I've really been thinking about what's the wave of music
and content creation? And you know, song is another thing
that is just a connector again my love back to Beyonce,
and so how do we get to help creators create
their own sounds that brands can then use in their
content And so they just get to evolve their portfolio
(34:19):
of content that that doesn't just look like one type
of content, but it includes sound, it includes that emotion
and includes their voice, it includes something else that they're creating.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
So we'll love to think about more ways to do that.
Speaker 5 (34:32):
And then they got to give back, right Like, that's
part of the social contract, that's part of the social responsibility.
When you bring folks in, you have to then go
find the next three hundred. So that's also something I'm
thinking about.
Speaker 6 (34:46):
That's why you're the perfect person for this, because you
are paying it forward and you're giving back, and you're
in the three hundred people that you're mentoring. I know
they're going to give a give back.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
You took the words right out of my mouth. They'll
pay it forward.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
But also I think remembering your grassroots and where you
came from, right And I got to be honest, Bill,
one of the things that I love. And I see
your name pretty much every time I open my LinkedIn feed,
and pretty much every time I go to an awards ceremony,
and every time I do, I always see you're giving
recognition to Anheuser Bush where it all started for you.
(35:19):
I believe that was your first multicultural contract. And so
what I wanted to talk through here, and you kind
of touched on this a little bit earlier, Bill, which
is the difference between storytelling and story living or story doing.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
And I think for.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Both of you, you know the roles that you all
play today and Denish, I think your role now is
head of client inclusivity. This is maybe an eighteen month
you've been in the job now, eighteen months there in
that particular capacity. Of course, your role at Digitas prior
leading social I think was for several years as well
before that, But it did become clear for both of you,
(35:53):
Bill and Denisha at some point you all chose to
make this personal endeavor a professional endeavor, right, So again,
to go from storytelling the story of identity and how
folks choose to self identify into now then becoming a
personal professional mission. I do think that's an intentful choice, right,
(36:15):
And I know that there are a lot of folks
who might be listening who are asking themselves that same question.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
Right.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
In fact, I was sitting down with a few folks,
a few students who are interns at UCLA and USC.
They've been interning at the company at TikTok. This was
a couple couple weeks ago over the summer, and a
lot of them had questions on, hey, what are the
companies out there who have the right investments in D
and I. And I was just amazed to hear the
question because back when I was an intern in college,
(36:41):
I don't even think those departments existed, right, And so
for someone who is early in their career, both Bill
and Denisha, you know, what advice would you give for
those who are actually looking to endeavor upon the same
mission and how should they go about that? And then
number two for both of you, what kind of compelled
you both to pivot hard into this particular space, which
(37:04):
is a I believe a very intentful decision on both
of your parts.
Speaker 6 (37:08):
I will say this, I am writing on the coat
tails of black American leaders and Hispanic LATINX leaders that
were ahead of me, Frankly, and the reason why I
am so engaged today is because the executive vice president
of Anheuser Busch, who was Latino and was the only
(37:30):
Hispanic at the senior most ranks of this company, Frankly,
who was the meanest person I've ever worked for one
day when he was retiring and talk to me a
little bit about some of the issues that he had
to go through working for a company like Anheuser Busch.
I realized that in order for us, sometimes back way
back when when we were working our ways up to
(37:52):
the corporate America, that we sometimes had to be something
other than ourselves, something other than our authentic selves. And
so because he got to that rank, and because he
was mean and he had that persona, people left him alone.
But when you peeled back all of that veneer, he said,
help one hundred people, and any debt that you feel
(38:12):
to me will be repaid. And I remember that, and
the same with the black community. Maya Angelou who says
nothing will work unless you do, And I remember that
that quote, and I keep that in my mind that
in order for anything to happen, I've got to keep
working and pushing. And that's what I see when I
(38:33):
hear from you know, Corn Carter, that she's one of
those people that keeps pushing and working hard and then
even thinking about social justice as as a place to study.
So my advice to young people today is do what
you're doing right now, ask a lot of questions, change
the way we look at structures today, challenge conventional wisdom
(38:57):
and be your authentic self in doing that, because because
you are making changes in the way we work, in
our lifestyle and the way we approach problems and solutions,
and keep it up.
Speaker 5 (39:09):
Well, you said there, there's a quote that comes to mind,
Bill that I remember often. It's from Octavia Butler. Change
is the only thing that's constant. And so I take that,
Sam tap of Ethos. It's why I, after doing The
Beauty of Blackness, went to my manager at the time
and said, I've got this idea for a new role,
(39:30):
because I believe that there needs to be someone in
our agency who was accountable to us and to our
clients to help them move them along this inclusive journey.
And so that is literally how I create the Do
you pitch the role? I pitched the role one thousand percent.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
That's amazing.
Speaker 4 (39:49):
Yes, I pitched the role.
Speaker 3 (39:50):
That is amazing.
Speaker 4 (39:51):
I said, these are the reasons why we must do it.
Speaker 5 (39:53):
You can't say no, We've got to find other sapphoras
out there within our kind of ecosystem. And they were
literally like, you're the only one we think can do it. Yes,
let's do it, and it's important. It's important to find
that drived. It's important to find your purpose and whatever
it is, Like Bill said, go after it, do the thing.
(40:15):
Do not be scared and do it. Maybe even if
you're scared, because there are probably other folks who are
thinking about the same thing you are, they just haven't
been able to say it. And when they see you
do say and fully act on that purpose, they will
be inspired to do the same. So I think it's
so important when you feel that little inkling of conviction
(40:36):
of intuition to go for it.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
I'm glad you shared that, you know, and I do
think it's very important to share some of these stories
for inspiration and also to show you the pitching yourself,
which I think is actually a lot harder for people
who come from the bipod community. I'll say that, no,
most people do not know this. I graduated with a
degree in race and Ethnicity ethnic studies. I do not
(41:00):
have a business degree. This is like professional suicide here.
I don't think I've taken a math class since high school.
And of course, you know my parents who came from
the Philippines, you know, they said.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
What the hell are you going to do with that?
Speaker 4 (41:15):
Right.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
And I had a very liberal arts education in college,
and you know, early in my career I had to
kind of hide some of that part of my own
personal interest so that I could get into the conference
room or get into the client meeting, or get into
the client pitch.
Speaker 6 (41:30):
Right.
Speaker 3 (41:30):
And then of course, now.
Speaker 2 (41:32):
Really, through both of your work, Bill and Denisia, you've
actually created almost a norm, right, or created spaces and
conversations for people to actually bring that at the front
of the conversation, at the front of their resume, at
the front of their job interview. Right even to the
extent that you can pitch the CEO of a.
Speaker 3 (41:52):
Holding company to actually open up a new role.
Speaker 1 (41:55):
Right.
Speaker 3 (41:55):
I think that's super inspiring.
Speaker 4 (41:56):
Indonisia, thanks jam Yeah, we need more of it.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (42:00):
And and Tim, thank you so much for not perpetuating
negative stereotypes about Asians being good in math.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
I never said, I never said I was bad at
in math.
Speaker 4 (42:09):
Let me.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
Just I have spent plenty of time in a Kumon
math center in the middle of nowhere, Texas. I was
so good I chose to opt out. Okay, Now now
I'm a full on sellar. Now you can see.
Speaker 6 (42:26):
Yeah, I think it's awesome, But but that kind of
leads me up. What you just said kind of leads
me to a question. I think that I want to
post to Denisia because young people today are telling me
that they're afraid to take risks. We make it sound
so easy, take a risk, fall, fail, you learn from
your failures. But how do we get young people to
(42:50):
embrace the fear and then convert that energy into something
that it's going to help them move forward?
Speaker 4 (42:57):
A little bit of alchemy, right?
Speaker 5 (42:59):
I think it is teaching them to first understand who
they are so that they can bet on themselves and
take the risk. And I know it's hard because when
you're younger, you're still growing, you have all these influences.
But Bill, I think you said it right. The gen
Z is the generation that is the most unfearful. They
(43:20):
have the most point of view around social stances and
causes and wanting to see representation not just for the
sake of seeing a representation, but representation for change. And
so using all of what they already have said, we
want to also bring that into themselves. Don't neglect yourself.
(43:42):
And so if we can start to teach folks to
recognize it in themselves and they can, through that alchemy
and change and shift that you're talking about, take the
risk to say, what else can I do to see
a shift? How can I be the catalyst for the change?
And so it probably what was that sat Tim gab
about the number of people you've mentored? Those a thousand people,
(44:05):
You've been able to do that, right, which is so amazing.
And so how can we get the next a thousand
and the next a thousand to realize the true nature
of what they have within themselves?
Speaker 3 (44:16):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (44:17):
That's beautiful, Denisha, and listen, you're here because you're in
the twenty twenty four class of Hall of Achievement. The
good news is, I think there's a little bit of
some gap there before we get to the Hall of
Fame award as well, which is later down the line,
and I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing what the
rest of your work and contributions both to your industry
(44:41):
as well as the team around you. I know that
the Digitas and the Pooblicist team are super happy and
excited about everything you've done. Listen, we started with riz,
we ended with alchemy, and also the idea here that
we can use representation not just for representation's sake, but
also representation for change. I don't think there's any two
(45:01):
people in the industry who represent that best or embody
that best as you two, Bill and Denisia. So if
you'll allow me, thank you for spending the time together.
Thank you for joining us today on the future legends
of advertising. I'm excited to celebrate both of you. Denisha,
congratulations this year on your Hall of Achievement and Bill,
congratulations this year to you as well in your Hall
(45:23):
of Fame award. I rare air and this is a
very special space that we're in. And thank you both
for spending the time today.
Speaker 6 (45:29):
Thank you, Hey, thank you Tim, and thank you you
and Corn Carter. I was very excited about this conversation.
And thanks for the shine everyone.
Speaker 2 (45:44):
I'm Tim Natividad. Thank you for listening. We'll be back
with another episode before you know it. And for more
information on the American Advertising Federation go to AAF dot org,
The
Speaker 6 (46:00):
Metical, attend the Batpol
Hello, Welcome to season three of the Future Legends of
Advertising podcast on iHeart featuring the hottest up and coming
stars and advertising as well as the biggest legends in
the game.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
In this series, we explore the future of the advertising
industry through never before heard conversations between those who created
it and those who are shaping its future.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I'm your host Tim Natividad.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
And I'm your host Christina Pile.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
And with that, let's meet the legends. Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Well, I'm so excited to be hosting this next episode
of the Future Legends of Advertising podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Thanks again to our friends at iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
You know, it's so rare in this industry that you
actually get a chance introduced not just a colleague, but
a friend.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
I'm excited to do that.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Today I have the opportunity of introducing one of our
recipients for the twenty twenty four American Advertising Federation Hall
of Achievement, and that is Denisha Lomax. Denisha is the
executive president and head of Inclusivity and Impact for Digitas Agency.
I believe she is the inaugural leader in that position.
Denisha or I believe Unicorn Carter as how some have
(01:23):
affectionately referred to her as a Bay Area native. Her
passion is in making change that sparked early in her life.
While she initially had dreams of becoming a social justice lawyer,
I'm sure we'll get into those early grassroots here. She
also found herself in the media industry, creating safe spaces
in digital advertising and marketing. She fights hard to erase
(01:45):
bias and racism, pushes for inclusivity and representation, and advocating
for those who identify as trans, non binary, or neurodivergent.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Unicorn.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Carter has been with Digitas since twenty eighteen and has
been working in the digital media space for the last
fifteen years, including prior since with eBay, Gap, Old Navy, Yahoo,
and not to date us too much, but also MySpace,
which I still remember. Denisha, you and I we've known
each other for the last few years.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Thank you for joining.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I'm so happy that you're being recognized for the incredible
work and impact. And welcome to the show for today.
Speaker 5 (02:23):
Tim, thank you so much. That introduction was amazing. I
appreciate you as a friend and as a colleague, and
just so honored to be part of the Hall of Achievement.
It's great to be acknowledged in this way, and you know,
have Corn Carter forever.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I imagine that walk me through the story of how Unicorn
Is that a self prescribed nickname or did that come
about somewhere else?
Speaker 5 (02:46):
Well, I have been the leader of the bay Hive
since I can remember. I also self gave that name
to myself, and so I own it. And Beyonce has
been a woman who has broken mini molds, decided to
embark on a path of her own and just create
music that connects in sparks emotion, brings together different communities,
(03:11):
and I've always saw that as my vision in marketing
and advertising. And so who better else to be dubbed
Unicorn Carter than myself? That is the one big, big brag,
not humble brag I'll give myself on.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
First of all.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
I love starting there, and I'll just ask you one
quick question because we have plenty of the show to
get to something that I've said before in my past, Denisha,
is you know I don't necessarily believe in work life balance.
I believe more so in work life integration, which is
this idea and concept of integrating my personal beliefs and
interests into some of my professional work, whether it's being
(03:51):
part of the behive as Unicorn Carter, or whether it's
you know, building out something like the first ever TikTok
Incubator program, which is actually how you and I met,
right with the birth of the TikTok Incubator program and
your work with the Sephar Accelerate program. One, I would
just love to hear you talk a little bit about
your experience there. But number two, more importantly, going back
to this early question here, is how did you make
(04:13):
the decision to and I do believe it's an intentful
decision to take some of your own personal values and
beliefs into some of your professional work. And where did
that bravery come from?
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Yeah? I love that question, Thank you, Tim.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
And I'm reflecting back not necessarily on my origin story,
but the moment that I became a mom. I got
into the advertising industry very early, right out of college.
Like you shared, I did have those dreams of being
a social justice lawyer, but quickly found digital advertising and media,
and the next year and a half I was pregnant, married,
(04:53):
working on having a family, all at the age of
twenty five, and so something in me really clicked around
the idea of motherhood. After having Kamaya, I was like,
I can do anything I want to do, but also
I have to navigate being a young mom in advertising,
which was really new for me. I hadn't seen anyone
(05:16):
do it at that young of an age, and so
I had to bring my personal life into the profession.
You know, there were times where I might have had
to leave work a bit early because schedules weren't necessarily
working out for me and my family, and so I
had to just be vocal. I had to share with
my team, my managers, everyone in the media team at
(05:37):
that time that this is what being a mom and
being a career driven woman meant to me. And so
from there, I had always knew that integrating my personal
life and my professional life was something that I was
going to have to navigate. So did that well. And
also I was able to showcase Kamaya to a new life.
She was young at the time, right, but it was
like getting her access to see people working and people
(06:01):
doing different things and people from different backgrounds kind of
doing it and collaborating together was important.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
So I've been doing it for a while. It's worked out. Good.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Good for you, Good for you.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Well, you know, I'd love to, if it's okay, bringing
on one of our core founders in our discipline and
marketing and in multicultural work, the legendary and esteem Bill Imada,
who will be your core interviewer for the rest of
this podcast. For those listening in, Bill Imada is the
co founder and chairman, also the chief Connectivity Officer of
(06:34):
IW Group. IW Group is a minority owned and operated
agency focused on growing multicultural markets. In fact, earlier this year,
Bill himself was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame.
I believe that was just about six months ago. His
extensive legacy seamlessly overlaps both the business world and the
social responsibility world. The list of accolades and awards for
(06:57):
Bill and iw's work in the community partnerships that he
has established as extensive. It could tick up this entire
episode if we want to. He's an ad Color recipient
as well. Bill has created a space for multicultural agencies
to flourish during a time when diverse audiences weren't always
valued right and he developed a unique culture first, digitally
(07:18):
led and youth driven business approach to build bridges between
corporations to reach those overlooked audiences and of course also
push themselves into new industry categories. Bill has been a
strong advocate for many communities from day one, establishing APIA
scholars Fund, the National ACEE, and the National Millennial and
gen Z Community, through which he's uplifted more than one
(07:39):
million youth via scholarships, mentorships, and entrepreneurship on opportunities. Like
I said, it's rare that I get to interview a
friend and a colleague, and in the case of today,
I actually get to do that times too. Bill, welcome
to the show and thank you for your time today,
and I'll let you to pick it up from here.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Bill, thanks for thanks for joining us.
Speaker 6 (07:59):
Hey, thank you for the introduction. If you want to
be my publicist, I will definitely create an opening for that.
That was like an incredible introduction. And I'm so excited
to be with you and Unicorn Carter. He's from the
Bay Area. I'm up in the Bay Area today as well,
so happy to be here.
Speaker 5 (08:17):
Yeah, I you know, Bill, Tim said it, You're an icon.
You have paid the way for so many folks in
this industry to be seen, be heard, but also to
change things. And I resonate that so much. But before
kind of getting into more of those questions, I actually
want to spend some time talking through how you got
(08:41):
to how you arrived at calling yourself the chief Connectivity Officer.
Where did that come from? I used to actually, fun
fact have that in my LinkedIn bio. It's no longer there.
I think you own that space, just like maybe I
own the Unicorn Carter space. But I would love folks
to hear how you came up with that and what
it means to you.
Speaker 6 (09:02):
So thanks for that question. Part of being involved in
advertising and marketing is trying to connect dots, and I
think this is really important in the advertising industry, is
that finding a way to bring in community, to bring
in media, to bring in all the assets that are
available to us in advertising. And so I picked up
this title because I really believe strongly that everyone is
(09:27):
linked in some way, and sometimes you need just a
little bit of help and a little bit of push
to make those connections. And that's part of my responsibility,
I feel in advertising, is to help people find those
connection points that we always talk about in advertising.
Speaker 5 (09:44):
I love the point of everyone linked, everyone is linked,
everyone's interconnected, and you've been able to do and bring
so much of that to your work and to the
advertising industry, bringing so many different voices in. But not
only are you re and respected in this industry, it
also goes into academia in so many communities. And I
(10:07):
was again I mentioned it earlier on your LinkedIn sleuthing
and following you, and I just love the fact that
you spend so much your spare time teaching courses in advertising, marketing,
public relations, fundraising, and crisis management. How has that teaching
and being in that space evolved you as a leader
(10:28):
and evolve the work that you've been able to do
in this industry.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
So being involved in the classroom is absolutely critical for me,
and I think critical for anyone in the advertising industry
is that we need to continue to remain relevant and
the best way to do that is to engage with students.
Gen zers and younger millennials are teaching me things each
and every day. And so when I'm in the classroom
(10:54):
University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Southern California, DePaul University,
wherever it might be, I pick up in glean details
about this generation and what makes them ticks. So when
you want to learn about gen Z and you want
to learn about younger millennials. The best place to do
it is often in the classroom. So it keeps me relevant.
Speaker 5 (11:17):
It keeps you relevant. Have you picked up any fun
gen Z phrases that you find yourself.
Speaker 6 (11:22):
Saying like riz, which is kind of old now, I think,
you know, they okay, things like I'm demrror.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
Oh, very mindful.
Speaker 6 (11:34):
So things like that. You pick up these things along
the way. But then they also teach you other things.
The best way to communicate with them, how they receive information,
what are their favorite social media platforms, what are their
fears aspirations in things that they're curious about. So, if
we're going to be good advertisers, it's important for us
to always be in touch with the consumer, and that's
(11:58):
the way to do it. But it's also important for
us to be in touch with the faculty and the
administrators that work with these young people each and every day.
So I've learned a few phrases. Some of them are
probably not appropriate for this particular podcast, but I've learned
some very good phrases.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
You know, I have to say, there's a newsletter I
get every Friday in the office and there are a
few folks at the company who I believe it's called
biz riz okay, So to riff off of the phrase
you've shared here, Bill, it is basically an education for
anyone who's not in gen Z. It's a brief newsletter
that reads us into what some things like sleigh, which
(12:40):
is another By the way, the amount of people who
are listening to this and cringing is probably at an
all time high.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
But anyway, there you go.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
Well, Unicornquatter absolutely loves to still say sleigh.
Speaker 6 (12:51):
No.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
One can never make me not say it. It's so appropriate.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
I love that you are picking up those times, and
I think it's also good for folks who are listening
to this podcast to catch up on those terms too,
because I think we both talk a lot about bringing
your authentic self to work and again that integration of
personal and professional. And I think the more folks get
to see us doing that and operating in those ways,
(13:15):
we can learn from them and we can grow. So
I appreciate you for dropping those gyms on this audience.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
One more question for you.
Speaker 5 (13:24):
I'm actually working on my first year finishing out my
grad studies. I'm working on a master's in social justice
and equity education. I read your article on civility, and
I wonder has that perspective changed as we have been
going throughout the year, And what advice do you have
(13:46):
for me as a person who is still trying to
navigate again that authentic self in my work in academia.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
How do you how do you do that? How do
you make that magic come true for you?
Speaker 6 (13:58):
I'm excited your person doing social justice because I think
that's something that many people have forgotten. And I think,
you know, we're looking forward, but sometimes we need to
step back and look back and see where we have
come from. So even in the advertising world, you know,
people say I'm an icon, but there were people before
(14:21):
me that pave the way, you know, the black community,
the Latino Hispanic community, women, even people in the LGBT community,
and people living with disabilities. Those people pave the way
so I could be successful. So I do think from
a social justice lens, we still have work to do,
but it requires us to look back, look forward, look sideways,
(14:44):
look up and down, and to look three sixty at
all the things that impact us as human beings and
impact us in the advertising industry. So my advice on
civility is that we don't always have to winners or losers.
And I think that you know, if you look at
our country today and you look around the world, we
(15:07):
have divisions that are getting deeper and deeper. And I
want to try to kind of resolve this by getting
people together, sitting down, listening to understand, and then finding
ways where we could work together to change some of
the things that are happening to us, not only in
society in America but around the world. And the only
(15:30):
way to do that, I believe, is if we start
off at a point where we all have unique stories.
Those stories are important to each and every one of us,
but what do we do to find the intersectionality between
those stories and move it from story telling to story living?
And doing enough about storytelling now it's time for us
(15:51):
to use the stories that we have, bring that authenticity
that we bring to these discussions and do something about it.
And so, being involved in social justice for quite some
time myself, I feel that we need to move beyond that,
and the best way to do that is to start
off with an agreement that we are going to listen
to each other with empathy, which I believe gen Z
(16:14):
does really well and take that to the next level. Listen, understand,
and then listen to find ways that we can work
together to solve some of the problems we have in
our country and around the world.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
That's beautiful.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
First of all, let me just thank you for affirming
me in my quest. I appreciate that so much. I
agree we have to understand the past so that we
can form different futures, futures for all cultures, all communities.
So I really really appreciate that. I'm going to take
that into this week's classes and into the rest of
my studies. And also I absolutely agree with you, Bill.
(16:52):
I think sometimes we don't want to be uncomfortable. We
want to hold on to beliefs that we've been told
for a long times don't necessarily fit into the lives
that we want to create. And so being able to
have that community agreement that this conversation may be uncomfortable,
but it truly is the only way we can form
(17:12):
that future forward. And so I appreciate your guidance and
your expertise.
Speaker 6 (17:17):
Thank you, And I appreciate you as well, and thank
you for even bringing up Beyonce. I think about freedom,
you know, just as an example of something that just
moves me, right, because we need to move to that
level where we do have this feeling of freedom that
we don't have to watch what's behind us and watch
(17:39):
what's you know, potentially going to inhibit us or impede
us from moving forward as a country and as community,
specifically communities of color.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (17:50):
Freedom was on this morning as I prepared for this
conversation with both of y'all. So you are just you know,
manifesting what has already been done.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
That's your pump up kind of by the way, everyone
has one, right, I think mine is I've got a
Queen song. Anytime I need to look in the mirror
and pump myself up before a big event, Freedom was
yours today, Denisia.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Freedom was mine today.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
It's usually in the realm of Beyonce, you know, formation
break my soul.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
In.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
But freedom was what it was today.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
There you go, very cool.
Speaker 6 (18:29):
I do think there's an important point to you. Just
you mentioned Queen, So it just kind of struck a
little chord with me that you know, we're living in
a society now where five generations live at home, four
five generations are working in the workplace, particularly in advertising
and marketing and lots of different industries, and so there's
an opportunity here to take advantage of all these generations
(18:53):
working together and finding ways where we can move things forward,
finding the value that each generation brings to our industry,
and how do we take that to the next level.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
I love that instead of looking at a way to
divide us, like you said earlier, there's so many learnings
and so many cultural insights that we can glean just
from sitting down and thinking through how each generation is
working together and evolving what they've learned from the past. Also,
the Queen to Unicorn, Carter to Slay connection to behive
(19:25):
is also clutch.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Okay, So freedom I love. And I got to say
I have true confession. I've seen Beyonce three times, which,
as I say now, I realized, if you're in the
Beayhive is probably on the lower bound. But I have
seen her live three times. Denisha, I you know looking
at some of the work. You know, Bill and I
have spent the last few days kind of reviewing your
(19:51):
impressive body of work and in contributions to the industry.
I know I mentioned the Sephor Accelerate program, but also
just thinking about and hearing from your inspiration with Beyonce
and Freedom. I wanted to use that to maybe explore
something that Bill and I had talked about earlier, which
is your I believe you created a documentary, if I'm
(20:13):
not mistaken, The Beauty of Blackness. Can you just kind
of share a little bit with us and with Bill
what kind of compelled you to take that on your
inspiration for that. The only documentaries I've made myself are
the ones that I have with my daughter. They're a
little bit smaller in budget, I'll tell you, so, probably
a little bit less of a gauntlet than what you
went through, But would love to just hear a little
(20:34):
bit more about what that process was for you.
Speaker 5 (20:36):
Yeah, The Beauty of Blackness was a love letter to
the black community, specifically Eunice Johnson for the path that
she paved for women of color to see themselves in
beauty and fashion and elegance. And definitely have to give
credit to Sephorah for one signing the fifteen Percent Pledge,
(20:57):
being one of the first retaillers to do so and
say that they were not only going to make shelf
space for black owned brands and their stores, but they
were going to create this ecosystem where content, where stories
about black founders could be highlighted and shared. At the time,
then when we made the film, we might have to
double check the stet, but three percent of black founders
(21:20):
were featured in the makeup and beauty space, and so
that just opened up a huge opportunity for us to
one look at the past, like we talked about before,
and learn from it. And so that's what The Beauty
of Blackness was. It was a film that took nineteen
months to make. We did it in the height of COVID.
(21:40):
We had black women directors at the helm who were
dedicated and wanted to get the best stories that we
possibly could, not just about Eunice Johnson and fashion Fair,
but also about ebony and what black beauty just kind
of meant culturally. And so we took viewers and watchers
on the journey me again a fashion fair. And one
(22:02):
of the things that I loved so much coming out
of that documentary is there was a round table at
the end of it and Desiree Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissick,
who are the new founders and owners of the company,
they were actually able to sit down with people within
the gen Z community who quite frankly had never heard
of fashion Fair because the brand had gone away for
(22:24):
a period of time, so they were actually able to
share and showcase. We were able to share and showcase
what fashion Fair meant to so many people in our community,
but also the founders and new owners got to hear
what could make the brand sustainable and be long lasting
in our communities. And I thought, thinking of the cross
(22:45):
generational stories and insights that was so important for us
to be able to show and tell. For me, it
will always be one of my best and favorite moments
working in advertising, working in marketing, and I think it
just bridges the gap again the past, present and the future.
Speaker 6 (23:02):
I just think it's remarkable of what you've been able
to accomplish. One thing that I really love about what
you're doing is that you're showcasing black excellence, and I
think that we need to do more of that. But
also I believe that you're really working hard to do
things that we don't always get a chance to talk about.
Is how do we keep more black dollars in black communities?
(23:25):
How do we get more people to invest in these
small businesses that are supplying people like Sephora. So I
do have to commence Sophor as well for taking that
step to not only showcase black owned businesses, but also
to focus on black excellence in our community. But I
wanted to ask you, what else can we be doing
(23:47):
as allies to the black community and to black women
in particular, to elevate what you're doing.
Speaker 5 (23:53):
You don't, Bill, I appreciate the nod to black excellence
and black brilliance. I think black women, specifically black trans folks,
black queer folks who identify as fans are always trying
to reach that level of excellence. But one of the
things I think our allies could really do for us
(24:15):
and remind us that it's okay to be regular. It's
okay to have a moment where you are not always
having to stand out and having to save and having
to do the hard work. Rest take a moment, take
a moment to savor your accomplishments. And I think that's
also one of the things the Beauty of Blackness allowed
(24:36):
me to do.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
It took so long to make the film.
Speaker 5 (24:39):
There were so many stories being told, but you know
how advertising goes, It's like, Okay, on to the next
it was like whoa, we actually just did this thing,
and Max wanted to acquire the film. They had never
done that before, and so they did it. It's like
again another layer of amazingness. And so while I think
(25:00):
excellence is beautiful and brilliant, I think I would implore
us all in alongside my allies, you and Tim, to
encourage people to take the moment.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
I do think it starts with that influence.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
And again, Bill, like you said, it's incredible to see
someone like Sephora step up to the plate and support
some of this work as Denisha has put forward. I'll say, Bill,
you know, not to betray your excellent use of the
word riz, but you have been in the business I
would say, much longer than Denisha and myself in a
(25:35):
lot of ways. I think we both look at you
as we see ourselves rather as pupils of your work.
And so, you know, when you see Sephora partner with
the beauty of blackness, how does that compare if you
walk back to you know, twenty five years ago, right
when you first started working with Anheuser Busch, when you
started working with other top global companies like American Airlines
(25:58):
and Coca Cola and generals. How have you started to
see the advertising industry and brands really kind of shift
their perspective and their work over these last twenty five
years in the field of multicultural advertising.
Speaker 6 (26:13):
Well, I'm beginning to see the advertising industry recognize the
importance of having you know, Unicorn, Carter involved, having you involved,
Tim because We've been talking for a long long time
that we don't see enough people that look like us
in the advertising world. But I'm starting to see some
shifts where people recognize the impact that Black Americans have,
(26:34):
not just you know, women, but non binary individuals, people
from the LGBTQ plus community beginning to realize the impact
and influence that we have as a community, not just
in our own communities, but across all communities because we
are impacted by things that the black community does, the
Hispanic LATINX community what they do, what the LGBT two
(26:54):
community does, and communies with disabilities or non binary communities.
So I'm beginning to see some shifts in recognition that
we have a role to play and that role is
absolutely critical to our success. So, and the cool thing
about advertising is that advertising is the ability to do
things quickly. I know it took Denisha nineteen months to
(27:18):
create something during COVID, But advertising, we can create ads
that can change people's lives in literally a few minutes,
and so we need to recognize the power that we
do have and how we use that power is the
responsibility that we have to take seriously.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
You know, it's interesting the something that I say all
the time out in market, at least with respect to TikTok.
You know, seventy one percent of the time a user
actually buys from a brand or a service like Sephora
on TikTok, it's because of the qualities that a creator
represents and the values that a creator represents when introducing
(27:58):
that brand to the user. It just kind of speaks
to maybe it's not necessarily multicultural advertising today, but more
so just advertising in general, which is the idea that
consumers are a lot smarter than they used to be,
and people vote with their with their dollars and with
their their purchasing power, and a lot of times they'll
go with which brands and then in some cases which
(28:19):
creators actually look and feel a little bit.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
More like them.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
Right, So listen, I'll pivot just a slight bit here
into something that I think is pretty fun. Denisia, I'll
say I cheated a little bit and I reached out
over the last week to some of your colleagues and
I asked some question, very simple question, which is, if
if you could describe Denisha in one word or in
one phrase, what would it be. And I won't, you know,
(28:46):
give up my sources here on this podcast, but I
will share what some of them said. Uh one, one
person said powerful, which I thought was exciting to hear,
very very unicorn card ask. And then someone else shared this,
which was grace. And they expounded and said, you know,
she exudes grace by always assuming best intent. She is
(29:10):
grace under pressure and under fire. So I wanted to
ask you, you know, sometimes I am I am like
a duck in water. I'm sure Bill is as well,
calm and cool waste above water, and of course underneath
my my little legs are pedaling as fast as they can.
Can you kind of walk us through a moment where
you actually it could be from the Beauty of Blackness documentary,
(29:34):
it could be from the Sephor Accelerate and the TikTok
incubator program. But you know, over the last couple of years.
Has there been any any moments or any projects where
you have felt, you know what, this this big bet
here might not actually pay off. We could be in
the red by the time we're done, and we'll see
if this project actually ever sees the light of day.
Any anything there come to mind, because clearly your your
(29:56):
colleagues see that and recognize that you are under pressure
and you're you're day to day job.
Speaker 5 (30:01):
That that is, that's brilliant and that's beautiful. I appreciate
both of those statements. You know, let's take it to
the incubator program because it started off as a small dream,
right if we think about how it kind of came together,
and really it was taking a look at the impact
(30:22):
of a platform like TikTok and Tim you said it,
how much creators influence the people that choose to follow them,
And it was like, is there a moment that we
can create where we bring some of these creators who
are so smart, so creative, so brilliant to the top
and give them a moment in the sun to kind
(30:44):
of shine with a brand like Sephora, And not only
does it tie into their inclusivity efforts of being the
most inclusive beauty retailer.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
In the world.
Speaker 5 (30:53):
But also it gives again some shine, some magic to
the creators who may not be as big as the
ones we know today. And so that little statement to
our TikTok partners grew into this magnificent program and in
the middle of it, I was like, WHOA, is this
really happening? Or are we signing on three hundred creators
(31:16):
to be part of this? Like can we handle this?
Can I handle this? So yes, there was three hundred creators. Yes, yes, yes, yes,
that joins us. From start to finish. We ended up
bringing in some amazing mentor creators like Jackie Yayna and
others to join us. But taking that from a small
(31:37):
seed of how can we give rising creators more access
and opportunity? How can a brand be at the center
to over three hundred creators being part of it, there
was There were definitely moments where I did not think
it was going to pay off, but it did. And
I think it's just again a not to creators being
so skillful at what they do against the four being like, yes,
(32:00):
we love the underdog, let's give them more shine. And
the brands, the accelerate brands that were part of the program.
They were like, I need to step my game up.
I need to learn from these people. I want to
stay relevant. So that combination made it magical. But I
was there a few times.
Speaker 4 (32:16):
I was nervous.
Speaker 5 (32:17):
A couple of texts to a few folks, Hey is
this can we get Are we doing this? And they're like, Oh,
you're doing it, and we did it.
Speaker 6 (32:26):
You have no idea what great work you're doing for
these three hundred content creators because they're looking not only
for role models like you, but they're also looking on
how they elevate their own profiles and their platforms on
places like TikTok. So I'm excited that you are three
hundred people because you know those three hundred people are
going to pay it forward, and so you're setting the
(32:47):
pathway for them.
Speaker 5 (32:48):
Yes, that's right. It's so funny, Bill. There was during
one of the sessions. I will never forget this, there
was a creator there who was from the Bay and
she was like, I'm from the Bay, just like you
don't know what this means to me. I get to
meet my mentor my model, the person I look up
to Jackie Ana and learn from her in person, And
(33:08):
I was like.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
You came all the way here.
Speaker 5 (33:11):
It means so much And just your statement alone is yes,
it means so much to them and to me to
be able to help folks in our community be seen
and be heard and be visible. And I know it's
the work you advocate for and do constantly in this industry.
Speaker 4 (33:26):
So thank you.
Speaker 6 (33:28):
But you could see the feedback that you're getting, you know,
the posts that people are saying how much they appreciate
you and what you're doing. But even five minutes of
the time that you give to these folks, they'll remember
for the lifetime. But I want to know where do
you want to take these three hundred people, you know
some of them are you know, micro macro and micro influencers.
(33:49):
Where would you like to take them to the program?
What are some things that are on your wish list?
Speaker 4 (33:54):
Yeah, that's a great question. You know, we've really been thinking.
Speaker 5 (33:58):
I've really been thinking about what's the wave of music
and content creation? And you know, song is another thing
that is just a connector again my love back to Beyonce,
and so how do we get to help creators create
their own sounds that brands can then use in their
content And so they just get to evolve their portfolio
(34:19):
of content that that doesn't just look like one type
of content, but it includes sound, it includes that emotion
and includes their voice, it includes something else that they're creating.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
So we'll love to think about more ways to do that.
Speaker 5 (34:32):
And then they got to give back, right Like, that's
part of the social contract, that's part of the social responsibility.
When you bring folks in, you have to then go
find the next three hundred. So that's also something I'm
thinking about.
Speaker 6 (34:46):
That's why you're the perfect person for this, because you
are paying it forward and you're giving back, and you're
in the three hundred people that you're mentoring. I know
they're going to give a give back.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
You took the words right out of my mouth. They'll
pay it forward.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
But also I think remembering your grassroots and where you
came from, right And I got to be honest, Bill,
one of the things that I love. And I see
your name pretty much every time I open my LinkedIn feed,
and pretty much every time I go to an awards ceremony,
and every time I do, I always see you're giving
recognition to Anheuser Bush where it all started for you.
(35:19):
I believe that was your first multicultural contract. And so
what I wanted to talk through here, and you kind
of touched on this a little bit earlier, Bill, which
is the difference between storytelling and story living or story doing.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
And I think for.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Both of you, you know the roles that you all
play today and Denish, I think your role now is
head of client inclusivity. This is maybe an eighteen month
you've been in the job now, eighteen months there in
that particular capacity. Of course, your role at Digitas prior
leading social I think was for several years as well
before that, But it did become clear for both of you,
(35:53):
Bill and Denisha at some point you all chose to
make this personal endeavor a professional endeavor, right, So again,
to go from storytelling the story of identity and how
folks choose to self identify into now then becoming a
personal professional mission. I do think that's an intentful choice, right,
(36:15):
And I know that there are a lot of folks
who might be listening who are asking themselves that same question.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
Right.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
In fact, I was sitting down with a few folks,
a few students who are interns at UCLA and USC.
They've been interning at the company at TikTok. This was
a couple couple weeks ago over the summer, and a
lot of them had questions on, hey, what are the
companies out there who have the right investments in D
and I. And I was just amazed to hear the
question because back when I was an intern in college,
(36:41):
I don't even think those departments existed, right, And so
for someone who is early in their career, both Bill
and Denisha, you know, what advice would you give for
those who are actually looking to endeavor upon the same
mission and how should they go about that? And then
number two for both of you, what kind of compelled
you both to pivot hard into this particular space, which
(37:04):
is a I believe a very intentful decision on both
of your parts.
Speaker 6 (37:08):
I will say this, I am writing on the coat
tails of black American leaders and Hispanic LATINX leaders that
were ahead of me, Frankly, and the reason why I
am so engaged today is because the executive vice president
of Anheuser Busch, who was Latino and was the only
(37:30):
Hispanic at the senior most ranks of this company, Frankly,
who was the meanest person I've ever worked for one
day when he was retiring and talk to me a
little bit about some of the issues that he had
to go through working for a company like Anheuser Busch.
I realized that in order for us, sometimes back way
back when when we were working our ways up to
(37:52):
the corporate America, that we sometimes had to be something
other than ourselves, something other than our authentic selves. And
so because he got to that rank, and because he
was mean and he had that persona, people left him alone.
But when you peeled back all of that veneer, he said,
help one hundred people, and any debt that you feel
(38:12):
to me will be repaid. And I remember that, and
the same with the black community. Maya Angelou who says
nothing will work unless you do, And I remember that
that quote, and I keep that in my mind that
in order for anything to happen, I've got to keep
working and pushing. And that's what I see when I
(38:33):
hear from you know, Corn Carter, that she's one of
those people that keeps pushing and working hard and then
even thinking about social justice as as a place to study.
So my advice to young people today is do what
you're doing right now, ask a lot of questions, change
the way we look at structures today, challenge conventional wisdom
(38:57):
and be your authentic self in doing that, because because
you are making changes in the way we work, in
our lifestyle and the way we approach problems and solutions,
and keep it up.
Speaker 5 (39:09):
Well, you said there, there's a quote that comes to mind,
Bill that I remember often. It's from Octavia Butler. Change
is the only thing that's constant. And so I take that,
Sam tap of Ethos. It's why I, after doing The
Beauty of Blackness, went to my manager at the time
and said, I've got this idea for a new role,
(39:30):
because I believe that there needs to be someone in
our agency who was accountable to us and to our
clients to help them move them along this inclusive journey.
And so that is literally how I create the Do
you pitch the role? I pitched the role one thousand percent.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
That's amazing.
Speaker 4 (39:49):
Yes, I pitched the role.
Speaker 3 (39:50):
That is amazing.
Speaker 4 (39:51):
I said, these are the reasons why we must do it.
Speaker 5 (39:53):
You can't say no, We've got to find other sapphoras
out there within our kind of ecosystem. And they were
literally like, you're the only one we think can do it. Yes,
let's do it, and it's important. It's important to find
that drived. It's important to find your purpose and whatever
it is, Like Bill said, go after it, do the thing.
(40:15):
Do not be scared and do it. Maybe even if
you're scared, because there are probably other folks who are
thinking about the same thing you are, they just haven't
been able to say it. And when they see you
do say and fully act on that purpose, they will
be inspired to do the same. So I think it's
so important when you feel that little inkling of conviction
(40:36):
of intuition to go for it.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
I'm glad you shared that, you know, and I do
think it's very important to share some of these stories
for inspiration and also to show you the pitching yourself,
which I think is actually a lot harder for people
who come from the bipod community. I'll say that, no,
most people do not know this. I graduated with a
degree in race and Ethnicity ethnic studies. I do not
(41:00):
have a business degree. This is like professional suicide here.
I don't think I've taken a math class since high school.
And of course, you know my parents who came from
the Philippines, you know, they said.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
What the hell are you going to do with that?
Speaker 4 (41:15):
Right.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
And I had a very liberal arts education in college,
and you know, early in my career I had to
kind of hide some of that part of my own
personal interest so that I could get into the conference
room or get into the client meeting, or get into
the client pitch.
Speaker 6 (41:30):
Right.
Speaker 3 (41:30):
And then of course, now.
Speaker 2 (41:32):
Really, through both of your work, Bill and Denisia, you've
actually created almost a norm, right, or created spaces and
conversations for people to actually bring that at the front
of the conversation, at the front of their resume, at
the front of their job interview. Right even to the
extent that you can pitch the CEO of a.
Speaker 3 (41:52):
Holding company to actually open up a new role.
Speaker 1 (41:55):
Right.
Speaker 3 (41:55):
I think that's super inspiring.
Speaker 4 (41:56):
Indonisia, thanks jam Yeah, we need more of it.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (42:00):
And and Tim, thank you so much for not perpetuating
negative stereotypes about Asians being good in math.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
I never said, I never said I was bad at
in math.
Speaker 4 (42:09):
Let me.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
Just I have spent plenty of time in a Kumon
math center in the middle of nowhere, Texas. I was
so good I chose to opt out. Okay, Now now
I'm a full on sellar. Now you can see.
Speaker 6 (42:26):
Yeah, I think it's awesome, But but that kind of
leads me up. What you just said kind of leads
me to a question. I think that I want to
post to Denisia because young people today are telling me
that they're afraid to take risks. We make it sound
so easy, take a risk, fall, fail, you learn from
your failures. But how do we get young people to
(42:50):
embrace the fear and then convert that energy into something
that it's going to help them move forward?
Speaker 4 (42:57):
A little bit of alchemy, right?
Speaker 5 (42:59):
I think it is teaching them to first understand who
they are so that they can bet on themselves and
take the risk. And I know it's hard because when
you're younger, you're still growing, you have all these influences.
But Bill, I think you said it right. The gen
Z is the generation that is the most unfearful. They
(43:20):
have the most point of view around social stances and
causes and wanting to see representation not just for the
sake of seeing a representation, but representation for change. And
so using all of what they already have said, we
want to also bring that into themselves. Don't neglect yourself.
(43:42):
And so if we can start to teach folks to
recognize it in themselves and they can, through that alchemy
and change and shift that you're talking about, take the
risk to say, what else can I do to see
a shift? How can I be the catalyst for the change?
And so it probably what was that sat Tim gab
about the number of people you've mentored? Those a thousand people,
(44:05):
You've been able to do that, right, which is so amazing.
And so how can we get the next a thousand
and the next a thousand to realize the true nature
of what they have within themselves?
Speaker 3 (44:16):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (44:17):
That's beautiful, Denisha, and listen, you're here because you're in
the twenty twenty four class of Hall of Achievement. The
good news is, I think there's a little bit of
some gap there before we get to the Hall of
Fame award as well, which is later down the line,
and I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing what the
rest of your work and contributions both to your industry
(44:41):
as well as the team around you. I know that
the Digitas and the Pooblicist team are super happy and
excited about everything you've done. Listen, we started with riz,
we ended with alchemy, and also the idea here that
we can use representation not just for representation's sake, but
also representation for change. I don't think there's any two
(45:01):
people in the industry who represent that best or embody
that best as you two, Bill and Denisia. So if
you'll allow me, thank you for spending the time together.
Thank you for joining us today on the future legends
of advertising. I'm excited to celebrate both of you. Denisha,
congratulations this year on your Hall of Achievement and Bill,
congratulations this year to you as well in your Hall
(45:23):
of Fame award. I rare air and this is a
very special space that we're in. And thank you both
for spending the time today.
Speaker 6 (45:29):
Thank you, Hey, thank you Tim, and thank you you
and Corn Carter. I was very excited about this conversation.
And thanks for the shine everyone.
Speaker 2 (45:44):
I'm Tim Natividad. Thank you for listening. We'll be back
with another episode before you know it. And for more
information on the American Advertising Federation go to AAF dot org,
The
Speaker 6 (46:00):
Metical, attend the Batpol
Hosts And Creators
Ross Martin
Hayley Romer
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