CMI’s Amy Litt on 3 ways to be an LGBTQ+ advocate in your everyday work

Ad Age is marking Pride Month 2024 with our Honoring Creative Excellence package, for which we asked members of the LGBTQ+ creative community to write about pivotal projects or turning points in their careers. (Read the introduction and all the essays here.) Today, guest editor Jenn Renoe turns the spotlight to Amy Litt, VP, communications planning at CMI Media Group, who writes about how the marketing world can change through small advancements. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs During Pride 2023, I found myself in a foreign country, staring into a 400-seat theater and explaining the CDC’s new guidelines on washing one’s fetish gear. Not the strangest turn in my career after 20+ years in advocacy; I have mobilized religious congregations for marriage equality, thrown parties for abortion funds, served as legislative aide to New York’s highest-ever-ranking LGBTQ+ elected official and was wrapped in cling film for a live safer sex demo. Speaking on the evolution of public health communication between AIDS and Mpox at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity alongside leaders from Grindr and the Atlanta Mayor’s Division of LGBTQ Affairs was a thrilling, if not shocking, culmination of my life’s work. More shocking is the organization that backed me. A year before, I’d joined the WPP health care agency CMI Media Group, providing communications planning to global pharmaceutical companies. Why would a conservative, highly regulated industry put an outspoken queer activist at the center of their communications strategies—and on a global platform? I believe we both saw the moment for radical change. During interviews, CMI pitched me the opportunity to help companies with life-changing treatments more respectfully and effectively reach people who have been historically mistreated by health care—LGBTQ+ folks among them. Health care arguably has the most work to do in advancing equity, the greatest power to do it and the boldest opportunity for people like us to change institutions from within. I believe that change is happening, not just through blockbuster campaigns. Enduring progress in this industry also comes from constant micro-advancements in my and my colleagues’ daily work. With these tools, anyone can shift any industry, from any position, at any time: Visibility: Being out at work helps establish the expectation to colleagues and clients that a normal team is an inclusive one. Sometimes it’s an opportunity to be a role model, but it’s equally powerful to occupy space as a team member and peer—and not “those people” who only exist in June to bedevil retailers. We’re here, we’re queer, and we can’t find the unmute button on Zoom either. Wisdom: As a marginalized group, we know a sweeping generalization when we hear one. Challenge uninterrogated assumptions with a simple “Can we gut check this?” and call in the wisdom of those who are part of the audience you’re trying to impact. Accountability: This is the gay job on top of your day job. Watch where your organization is meeting its stated DE&I standards, then push further. By earning opportunities to talk about trans health, gay sex and abortion, I’ve given my employer the opportunity to loudly, proudly substantiate its commitment to health equity for all. In the season of backlash, keeping promises is a radical act. You don’t have to have put 1,000 miles on your vegan Dr. Martens or launch a Super Bowl ad to be an effective advocate. Any industry can change through small, persistent advancement. It’s not what job you do, but the wisdom, accountability and visibility you do it with. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

CMI’s Amy Litt on 3 ways to be an LGBTQ+ advocate in your everyday work

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