Voice Over (00:00):

Welcome to the Taylor 10. A fast-paced, 10 minute deep dive into the minds of those shaking up the marketing world, bringing you the sharpest insights, boldest ideas and breakthrough trends driving the industry forward. So tune in, get inspired, and stay ahead.

Malin (00:18):

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Taylor Ten. I'm Malin and we're joined today by Sade Ayodele, the Senior Director of Communications at SoundCloud, a PRWeek 40 under 40 honoree, Founder of boutique handbag brand Clear Stadium Style, champion of diversity in agencies and a former Taylor alum to discuss how agencies can continue to champion diversity in their work and what tools are out there for them to do so. And we're going to cover all that in 10 minutes or less. So let's start with 2020. In 2020, you co-founded Hold the Press and you called on agencies to increase transparency about staff diversity. Can you talk a little bit about what inspired you to start that initiative?

Sade (00:57):

It almost feels like a blast from the past to travel back into 2020 to set the scene. I think we were three months into the pandemic. Everyone was stuck in the house or wearing masks to go get toiletries. And the unfortunate passing of George Floyd happened, and I think it was the perfect storm, if you will. The world was on shutdown. People were in their homes tuned into their TVs and their screens, and that event happened, it was captured on tape and it captivated the entire world, not just the us. And it started a lot of the conversation around police brutality, racial tension, and just racial equity and all of that. And I began to see a lot of agencies, brands, companies put up a black square in, I guess solidarity that Black Lives mattered and was talking to a couple friends in just our regular group chat about how it was funny to see such a passive show of solidarity.

(02:00):

And it came from places that some of us had worked in the past or we had friends that had worked there and we knew that the people that were sharing that they were in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, we're not in fact living or are walking the walk. And so it was really just an effort to ask the industry to do better and to uphold the solidarity they were expressing and actually do the work to cause the impact. It's easy to say that you are for diversity, equity, inclusion, but we now know five years later as we're seeing this rollback happen, that a lot of the folks that we thought were doing the willing to walk the walk weren't that willing at all and willing at all to do that, and it was performative.

Malin (02:47):

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we talk a lot about that from a minority ERG perspective about how a lot of these corporations, a lot of these organizations are rolling back their DEI because they never really walked the walk. And so it's really interesting to know that five years ago we were still kind of where we're at now, but I'm curious, after starting Hold the press, what sort of responses did you see at Taylor and then also beyond?

Sade (03:14):

Yeah, well starting at Taylor, because where I was at when I started it, I felt very supported in that they signed up immediately working with HR and leadership to share the racial breakdown and dynamics within the company, which was kind of at the time the call of what hol the press's mission was to have these agencies have these brands that were saying that they were going to do better. We're like, okay, cool, you're going to do better. We'll take a look at your house. What are your employee base made of? What are their experiences and measure how you're going to improve those over the next 2, 3, 4 or five years. And it really was just a call for data, but it had offended a lot of folks because what the data showed was that they weren't doing, like you said, walking the walk, but Taylor was walking the walk. So it wasn't a huge lift for them to kind of share that data with us and then put together an action plan of how they were going to continue to improve. I think when I first started the work, I didn't realize how important allies necessarily would be on that journey, but I think now more than ever in 2025, it's evident that the work is critical. And if there's not diverse people doing the work, not diverse people receiving the work, then what are we doing? We're talking to ourselves and that's not good for anyone.

Malin (04:27):

So you've been on both sides, you've been on the brand side, you've been on the agency side. So my question would be are you seeing that clients and brands are really demanding diversity within their marketing teams? And if so, how does this influence agency and their practices as it relates to approaching briefs and doing specific client work

Sade (04:48):

In 2020 and beyond? So I'll say 2020 to 20, 22, 23, I saw huge efforts and strides being made to diversify teams to diversify the work. It was very clear that we are now trying to reach a younger, smarter, politically engaged, socially engaged target in Gen Z and even millennials. I did see a lot of strides made, however, and that's a big however in the past year with the rollback on DE&I and something I've actually been trying to personally do is say the three words, diversity, equity, and inclusion. So I think it gets brands and people out of saying what they're really trying to do, which is not to be less diverse, to be less equitable, and to be less inclusive. We're almost PRing, DEI now, right? Even with Hold the Press before we could get brand partners Hold the Press, but now with federal rollbacks and the political climate, brands don't necessarily want to be seen or get called out or get in trouble or get fees or whatever for working DE&I or pushing those type of initiatives forward. And so I think now what we're seeing is people are still trying to walk the walk, but they're trying to change the talk.

(06:10):

From being pushed back. It's not front and center anymore.

Malin (06:15):

So shifting gears a little bit, I know you and I have talked about this, but Taylor recently rebranded its minority ERG, and we're really all about fostering radical visibility for the emerging majority and continuing to create safe and inclusive spaces for the people of Taylor. So given that, what advice would you give for tangible things we can do to ensure that we're walking the walk with this ERG?

Sade (06:40):

Psychological safety is so important. I think in this current environment where there's so much happening at a macro level, there's decisions out of our control being made based off of a presidency and election. No matter where you sit on the political spectrum, there's a lot of scary things happening in our world today from climate change to war to the economy and jobs and opportunities and housing and all the things. And so for me, and when I speak to my peers and mentees, psychological safety is this now new employee currency. In order for Taylor to continue to walk the walk, they need to make sure that there's psychological safety within the walls of Taylor before you even get to the client work. What's the point of having a diverse team if the dynamic you create doesn't make them feel safe enough to share their diverse experience?

(07:37):

It wasn't that radical five years ago and may be considered radical again now, but pay transparency. Are we being paid the same to do the same amount of work? Am I, is my career trajectory matching or similar to others? Everything's not exact, but if a company needs to look at the numbers and your men are getting promoted, far outpacing the women or your white employees are far outpacing Asian and Black, those are things and key indicators that it's the responsibility of HR and leadership to look at and ensure, because it all goes back to that psychological safety. That means there's something amiss.

Malin (08:14):

On the train of advice. What guidance would you offer to individuals from underrepresented groups aspiring to enter and thrive into the marketing industry?

Sade (08:23):

Yeah, the guidance I would give is to get you a mentor and get you actually two mentors. I think having a mentor that looks like you or has a similar shared experience is important because they can help you navigate the auntie advice. Actually, that's the auntie advice that's going to be like, okay, Malin, when you show up, do this. Don't do that. They're not going to say this. But it could be that that's going to be the inter-community advice. But in addition to that, I would also look or seek out an ally mentor because they can be the voice for you in the rooms until we have this big, bright, equitable, diverse future. What's been very evident for me in my own career is having both perspectives. I was able to kind of find and blend my own lane, taking learnings from both, observing both to navigate different situations in different ways, to show up authentically as myself, but also work within the realm of what the reality that we all still live in. And so I think both are important.

Malin (09:29):

Well, thanks again, Sade. Really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to speak with me. And then also, of course, it's always great to reconnect. That's all we have for today's Taylor Ten podcast. Thanks for listening and we'll catch you next week.

Sade (09:41):

Thank you. Bye.

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