Blackweek, the new industry conference devoted to the issue of diversity and inclusion in advertising, appeared to be a notable success, drawing a sold-out crowd of 1,400 attendees.

The agenda was packed with panels from high-level industry executives and diversity advocates passionately discussing topics such as the need for more inclusive leadership, lack of diversity on pitch teams, the obstacles founders face in raising capital, debates over commonly used terms such as multicultural marketing, and sessions on how diversity drives business results.

“I’m very proud and happy about what we’ve accomplished here,” said Walter Geer III, a conference organizer and chief creative officer of Innovation North America for VML, who said Blackweek outperformed most first-time conferences, which tend to draw about 500 attendees.

But when it comes to one of the event’s main goals, waking up the predominantly white ad industry to the untapped potential of culture and industry diversity, it may have a ways to go. Looking around the crowded rooms, including during panels held at Spring Studios in Manhattan, it was clear that most attendees were people of color.

“We have to all interact. It’s as important for us white people” to be at Blackweek, said Christine Moore, a managing partner at Raus Global, a firm that supports marketing procurement teams. “We need to do better.”

Monique Nelson, Blackweek co-founder and executive chair at UniWorld Group, said the conference wasn’t measuring its success on how many white executives attended. “This was a matter of, are you going to be comfortable coming into our house?” she said. “Those that are here will say this was a top-notch conference. You shouldn’t have missed it, and don’t miss the next one.”

Some people said they felt "safe" at the conference. “We need more spaces like these, where we’re safe, where people feel comfortable having these conversations and include everyone else into these conversations,” said Sonia Martinez, VP of sales and brand partnerships at Okayplayer, a hip-hop and alternative music website.

Broken promises

Blackweek opened with a sobering conversation between George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, and Tru Pettigrew, the former chief diversity officer of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who discussed how brands can advance equity for Black people. 

Floyd and Pettigrew spoke about how many brands are now reneging on their DEI promises, which they said will hurt consumer trust. While financial contributions are essential, Floyd urged brands to form a more direct and intimate connection with diverse communities.  

More: NAACP calls out racial justice supporters quiet after 2020

“Make change in this world, because the people I grew up with, some of them have never even been outside of Texas … If they don’t know the way, and you know the way, you gotta show them the way,” Floyd said. 

Diversity and account reviews

One of the more spirited sessions was about account reviews, with chief marketing officers decrying the lack of diversity on pitch teams. “Anytime we’re going to meet with an agency and they’re going to pitch to us, I’m like, ‘Okay, let’s see the team. Who’s there?’” said Sukiana Chancy, VP of brand management and global marketing at Fenty Beauty. “I’m literally counting to see how many people of color are there, and oftentimes there are none.” 

“I don’t care what work the agency has done, they’re already out of the pitch. They’re done,” she added. 

Jonathan Mildenhall, chief marketing officer at Rocket Cos., related a story about the company’s media review that concluded in August, saying he had the same issue with a Dallas agency that handles Nike’s account. (He later confirmed with Ad Age the agency he was referring to is PMG.)

Mildenhall said he found it “offensive” when the agency showed up with “eight white executives.”

“I was like, I’m a Black CMO, look at the diversity on my side of the table. There is no diversity on your side of the table,’” Mildenhall said during his panel discussion.

“I need to understand how you’re going to speak of the Black and Brown community and not to the Black and Brown community. And you know what the [agency’s] response was? One exec said, ‘Well, actually, Jonathan, we do know that Hispanics over-index on soccer and they like music.’ No fucking shit. So even just three months ago, a billion-dollar media review with a Black CMO, I’m faced with a bunch of white people telling me that the big breakthrough insight for the Hispanic community is soccer and music.”

Mildenhall told Ad Age he hopes other Black CMOs will also have the “conviction” to push for diverse teams.

“It takes the voices of leaders to be consistent and to be loud and, quite frankly, be angry when the industry keeps showing up in a way that hasn’t changed for the last three decades,” he said.

PMG said it was not able to reach its executives for comment at deadline.

Two other brands supporting diversity as a business building initiative were Kellanova and Shipt. Recalling conversations she had with leadership after joining the company amid the racial unrest of 2020, Charisse Hughes, chief growth officer at Kellanova, said “We learned that the multicultural population has $4 trillion in spending power. They’re real dollars, there’s real opportunity here, and being able to use that data and insights and understanding these populations to engage more deeply was our opportunity.”

As a result, Kellanova developed a program called the K Way of Inclusive Marketing to develop inclusive marketing and communications strategies. “It was probably one of the most important initiatives we’ve done in the last five to seven years,” Hughes said.

But it starts with pushing the diversity agenda, including with events like Blackweek, said Allison Stadd, senior VP of brand culture and media at Shipt. “If you aren’t uncomfortable, you’re not really listening,” she said, adding that Shipt has done numerous listening exercises for its customers.

Also: Why Reckitt is prioritizing multicultural marketing

Walking the walk  

In 2023, Black founders in the U.S. raised a mere 0.48% of all venture dollars—roughly $661 million out of $136 billion, according to TechCrunch. Les Brun, founder, chairman and CEO of Ariel Alternatives, said that following George Floyd’s murder there was a surge in interest to support Black businesses, but there hasn’t been much actual follow-through.

Jerri DeVard, founder and CEO of the Black Executive CMO Alliance, speaking on a panel with Nadja Bellan-White, CEO of SS+K, polled the audience and found consensus in the room—diversity has improved in marketing compared to 10 years ago but has been in decline for the past three years and is in a worse place than one year ago.

Bellan-White attributed this decline to a toxic political climate brought on by the U.S. presidential election and actors attacking corporate DEI programs. She called out Robby Starbuck for his anti-DEI crusade that pushed Toyota, Lowe’s, Ford, Harley-Davidson, Tractor Supply Co., Brown-Forman, John Deere, Molson Coors and Stanley Black & Decker to publically abandon DEI initiatives this year.

Read more: Brands pull out of the Corporate Accountability Index

“Let’s prepare for when Robby [Starbuck] knocks on our door,” Devard said. “We’re not hiding in the corner hoping he doesn’t find us. We’re going to open the door when he walks in and say, ‘So glad you’re here, what do you want?’”

Bellan-White said that results-driven conversations have the most swaying power. “You can deal with the most racist person, but you know what racist people like? They like money,” said Bellan-White. “They may not like the fact that DEI drives growth, but the facts do not lie.”

DeVard stated that the conversation, as tiring as it can be, is one of the best ways to draw the industry’s attention to diversity.

“It’s a privilege to be able to have conversations with people about why we matter,” she said. “Why we need to be at the table, behind the camera, why our voices need to be heard. So you’re just getting started and you have to build the stamina, muscles and ability to have the conversation over and over.”

What’s next for Blackweek?

Blackweek cost around $3 million to produce, according to Joe Anthony, founder of Hero Media and co-founder of Blackweek, who noted that the inaugural event lost 15% of the money it invested, which was expected. He said he has already gotten plenty of interest and is in conversations with potential sponsors and that Blackweek is expected to be profitable next year. 

The conference will also aim to be more inclusive in its next iteration. “For some, the word Black is still kind of polarizing on its face, so how do we develop derivatives or other content strategies that make others feel more welcome,” Anthony said. “Next year, we are going to capsule Latinoweek in a microcosm next to Blackweek to be more inviting to specific audiences that want to be called out and highlighted for their own contribution.”

Blackweek also plans to launch a social platform next year that will encourage diverse professionals and creatives to self-publish content such as podcasts, keynotes and whitepapers.

Contributing: Lindsay Rittenhouse, Brandon Doerrer, Jon Springer, Sabrina Sanchez