UnLtd's Ambassadors For Good embarked on a three-day immerse program at BackTrack, a community-based not-for-profit which helps disadvantaged youth get back on track.
The mission is to keep kids out of jail, keep them stay alive and then chase their hopes and dreams.
Some thoughts from Ambassadors For Good, reflecting on how the media and marketing industry can use its influence for good, on how the industry can help tackle social justice causes such as BackTrack:
Kimmie Neidhart, creative director and founder, Burd:
1. Is the industry doing enough to make a positive impact on society?
Nope.
2. How can the industry do more?
Every one of us should be using our skills for good. Leaders need to not just support their socially minded staff, but actually encourage every employee to find a cause that inspires them, get behind it and do whatever they can to champion it. This would not only help the cause, but also remind us all of the power of creativity and advertising – and maybe reignite our respective fires.
3. From your perspective, why is it important that the industry uses its influence for good?
Because it would be selfish not to. We have the brains, the resources, the connection and the platforms. And doing our bit for social causes gives us purpose beyond convincing people to buy shit that they probably don't need.
4. And why is the advertising industry best placed to do this?
The advertising industry is made up of an odd bunch of the most intelligent, creative and persuasive individuals in the universe. We can solve any business problem you throw at us. Helping to solve social problems is both humanitarian and logical – and all it costs us is time.
5. Can you explain why your experience at BackTrack (on behalf of UnLtd) was important, and relevant, to the media and marketing industry?
It reminded us all of our privilege, our prejudice and our power to make a difference.
6. From your experience at BackTrack, what business and marketing lessons did you take home?
- Don't feel forced to fit inside a box - solutions can come from anywhere.
- Teamwork/community is everything.
7. How can these be implemented in the day-to-day operations of the organisation you work within?
- You never know where your next idea, strategy or business solution could come from. So DO
- NOT hire people that look, think, act or dress like you. Then listen to them, learn from them and encourage teamwork at all costs.
8. After spending three days at not-for-profit organisation BackTrack, how do you think the industry can get involved more with social causes?
Every employer should encourage staff to find a cause they're passionate about – and empower them to support it.
Paul Kent, APAC commercial director, Amazon:
1. Is the industry doing enough to make a positive impact on society?
Standard answer here: we can always do more.
2. How can the industry do more?
Give more – time, money, resource - to UnLtd!
3. From your perspective, why is it important that the industry uses its influence for good?
I think if the last 12 months has shown us anything it is that we are all in this together – nearly 8 billion people floating on a big rock (apologies geologists!) in the middle of space. Whilst many governments procrastinated and a few village idiots had a bit of biff in the aisles over a toilet roll, most of us pulled together to help out friends, family and random strangers. We have a lot of very smart, creative people in this industry who can make a meaningful difference to the lives of those around us. Let’s use these skills for the power of good.
4. And why is the advertising industry best placed to do this?
We are expected to create and distribute high impact messaging on a daily basis on behalf of our clients. We are the experts in communication across any platform. Surely if there is one industry that is in the best position to influence for good it is the advertising and media industry.
5. Can you explain why your experience at BackTrack (on behalf of UnLtd) was important, and relevant, to the media and marketing industry?
The more people understand the work that Backtrack and other similar organisations undertake the more likelihood they will receive support from people who are in positions to influence, which those of us in the media and marketing industry certainly sit well within.
Being appointed as an UnLtd Ambassador is a great privilege and with that comes an expectation to drive change. What was fantastic to see in Armidale was the number of younger industry professionals making a commitment to be actively involved and that makes me very positive for the future. If those guys are anything to go by we are in good hands for the years to come.
6. From your experience at BackTrack, what business and marketing lessons did you take home?
Understand what you are actually trying to achieve and continually monitor your progress towards that goal. The Backtrack mission statement is simple: keeping kids alive, out of jail and chasing their hopes and dreams. They stay focused on this in everything they do including ongoing ‘circle work’ to dive deep into how the kids are feeling and responding to the program.
7. How can these be implemented in the day-to-day operations of the organisation you work within? Amazon are pretty good on this front. We have a daily internal Amazon Connections survey which gauges how the teams are feeling regarding their individual work, leadership and company direction. On an external level, we regularly engage with our existing and potential clients through interviews and surveys to obtain metrics that help us understand and – hopefully! – alleviate their pain points through collaboration.
8. After spending three days at not-for-profit organisation BackTrack, how do you think the industry can get involved more with social causes?
Different people and organisations have different priorities – reducing climate change or homelessness, helping disadvantaged youth or enhancing cancer treatments etc – there are so many social causes that require assistance. So take the time to research and share ideas amongst colleagues. Focus on one or two that are close to your heart and assist as much as you can. Without realising it we often have a skill set and experience that is missing in many of these social causes. Speaking with the Backtrack team you get the very real sense that they recognised they could not help everyone so they were laser focused on assisting the youth in Armidale and over time similar approaches are being adopted across other programs.
Gai Le Roy, CEO, IAB:
1. Is the industry doing enough to make a positive impact on society?
We can and always should do more. I think we are getting better and braver but have a long way to go. Fundraising and supporting charities is essential but the more we can focus on structural change the better.
2. How can the industry do more?
Individually and from a corporate level we should be giving money, donating skills, lead by example with your own processes, pay taxes and lobby. Changing processes within organisations is incredibly important –for example for International Women’s Day I don’t want to see a post “celebrating” the day I want to see an organisation announcing a significant change in policy. Also paying taxes may not be an exciting answer but seriously our taxation system underpins health, education, social services and so many accessibility issues.
3. From your perspective, why is it important that the industry uses its influence for good?
Plain and simple it is our responsibility to use our influence for good.
4. And why is the advertising industry best placed to do this?
Influencing change is at the heart of our industry and we need to implement those skills to help improve the neighbourhood, the country and the world for today and tomorrow. Our skills in collaboration, creativity and communication should be leveraged to support change.
5. Can you explain why your experience at BackTrack (on behalf of UnLtd) was important, and relevant, to the media and marketing industry?
Having a chance to be immersed in the amazing work that the BackTrack team is an important reminder on how the industry needs to support people in need.
6. From your experience at BackTrack, what business and marketing lessons did you take home?
Seeing the team at BackTrack having such a clear vision, be willing to do things differently and looking out for people who might fall through the gaps was incredibly impressive and a true sign of what leadership, empowerment and innovation looks like. For a creative industry we play it safe a lot and don’t speak up nearly enough.
7. How can these be implemented in the day-to-day operations of the organisation you work within?
The BackTrack team and kids have a lovely way of checking in on each other regularly to gauge their mood in a light, non-intrusive way. Getting the kids and staff to rate their mood regularly was a really practical way of understanding current problems and emerging problems. This device makes it easy for people to communicate a lot of things in one number, where an open ended question such as “are you ok?” can seem confronting and daunting for some people.
8. After spending three days at not-for-profit organisation BackTrack, how do you think the industry can get involved more with social causes?
Find a cause you are passionate about, give money, get angry, get involved and demand change.
Jade Harley, Brand, social & content director, Kaimera:
1. Is the industry doing enough to make a positive impact on society?
I think we can always do more, but I think UnLtd has done an amazing job of uniting the media industry by providing programs, events and platforms that make it easy for companies of all sizes to make an impact.
2. How can the industry do more?
From an agency perspective, understanding what our teams are passion about, and are driven by, will result in enthusiasm and buy in. Without that it’s just a mandate from management that goes nowhere.
3. From your perspective, why is it important that the industry uses its influence for good?-
Because it’s the right thing to do. We are in the incredible position of working in an industry bursting with creativity, data and insights. There are so many deserving organisations that have zero access to the tools and talent that we have collectively, why wouldn’t we want to share this?
4. And why is the advertising industry best placed to do this?
The diversity of skills in our industry can used for the benefit of amazing organisations that has chosen to dedicate their lives to helping those less fortunate then us all.
5. Can you explain why your experience at BackTrack (on behalf of UnLtd) was important, and relevant, to the media and marketing industry?
It’s important to step out of our bubble and get a shot of real life, get some perspective and bring back stories that will hopefully inspire our wider circles to get involved too.
6. From your experience at BackTrack, what business and marketing lessons did you take home?
The power of active listening and empathy
7. How can these be implemented in the day-to-day operations of the organisation you work within?
Tapping into the collective energy of the room to get the best out of people and actively listening to allow everyone to contribute
8. After spending three days at not-for-profit organisation BackTrack, how do you think the industry can get involved more with social causes?
It comes back to listening to your team, finding the right fit between their passions and their purpose (unite them behind the cause) and then taking action. Reach out to UnLtd and let them facilitate the perfect match. Watch the good vibes roll.
Abigail Dawson, brand director, Special Group Australia:
1. Is the industry doing enough to make a positive impact on society?
The simple answer is we can always do more. However, over the past few years both agencies and businesses have improved exponentially, with many companies incorporating pro-bono and charity work as part of their DNA.
2. How can the industry do more?
Find what motivates people, what makes them get out of bed in the morning, and what they’re passionate about and then rally your teams around it. Use the privileged resources and talent we have within the industry to work in scrums to solve key challenges, about problems people actually care about. Empower your teams to genuinely make a positive impact, pair their skills with their passions, motivate them with things that matter, and you’ll create work that’ll make a difference.
Whether it be getting involved with a charity to work with directly, using our incredible talents to give those without similar resources and skills a share of voice, or tapping into UnLtd’s framework to make things that matter for not-for-profits who represent youth at risk, we are an industry positioned perfectly to genuinely make a difference.
3. From your perspective, why is it important that the industry uses its influence for good?
It really should be as simple as because we can and because we should, because we should be in the business of making things that matter not just to consumers and commerce but to culture, careers and civilisation. The advertising industry has the inherent ability to be able to influence behaviours, move feet, ignite emotions and change perceptions and what’s better is we actually have the incredible resources and world-class talent to execute that. To be blunt, why would we not be generous with our time and skills and use it for good? We have the ability make a real difference, and to put it frankly, we should.
4. And why is the advertising industry best placed to do this?
The advertising industry is one of the most inspirational and creative disciplines I have ever come across with the privileged ability to help business not just become part of culture but to actually create it. We are able to influence behaviour and shape the way people view the world. Yes, the end goal is to sell things, but we have the ability to do much, much more than that.
As advertisers it’s our job to solve genuine business problems with creative solutions, which means we are well positioned to help not-for-profit organisations come up with effective business solutions to fundamental and very real challenges. Whether that be through raising awareness, getting a new organisation off the ground with the right branding and business proposition or rallying around a cause to raise funds and make a difference to those in need, our industry has the set of skills to be able to help.
5. Can you explain why your experience at BackTrack (on behalf of UnLtd) was important, and relevant, to the media and marketing industry?
If nothing else it was a reminder to do more, drive change and use our privilege to help others. It filled my cup and reminded me of what really matters in life and lessons like that are truly indispensable.
6. From your experience at BackTrack, what business and marketing lessons did you take home?
- Relentless patience
- Kindness and Openness
- Long-term and sometimes un-conventional solutions are the most effective
7. How can these be implemented in the day-to-day operations of the organisation you work within?
At Special Group we have three core values and guiding principles: open, brave and kind. My time at BackTrack really reinforced the gravity and importance of these values, cementing the knowledge that to achieve the best outcomes you should look to the un-conventional and the brave, through a lens of kindness and delivere it with open communication.
8. After spending three days at not-for-profit organisation BackTrack, how do you think the industry can get involved more with social causes?
Starting a partnership with a not-for-profit organisation can seem daunting and the intent for many businesses is there, but the big question is often “where do I start?”. Arthur Ashe put it best when he said: “Start with where you are, use what you have, do what you can”. Reach out to the team at UnLtd who will be able to facilitate this process or hit me up on LinkedIn and let’s make things that matter.
(EDS: With thanks to Abigail Dawson, brand director, Special Group Australia, for compiling this report)
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