Karina Martinez on why true inclusive marketing starts by embracing a ‘come as you are’ culture

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 Diego Andrade turns the spotlight to Karina Martinez, CEO and co-founder of Drafted, who writes about transforming company culture so team members don’t have to “shrink themselves to fit in.” Picture it: I’m 26 years old, and the PR agency I started just a few years before is hours away from presenting to a high-profile male CEO and his C-suite. I had made many sacrifices and was finally ready to close a deal that could dramatically change the company’s future. I had perfected my pitch, mastered the ins and outs of the proposal and thoroughly researched everyone in the room. I felt invincible. The feeling was fleeting. It all came crashing down as I stood in front of my closet, glancing back and forth between the clothes I wanted to wear and what society had taught me were appropriate for a female CEO. All I could think was how uncomfortable this room full of cisgender and heterosexual men would feel seeing me present in clothing similar to what they had hanging in their own closets. How do I make them feel comfortable around me while still being comfortable with myself? Suddenly, I was 16 again in my high school bedroom, uncomfortable in my own skin, faced with the decision whether to be who I was or who I knew would garner the acceptance of others. The reality is that every day for the previous 10 years, I chose the palatable version of myself—prioritizing outside opinion over my own comfort. Graduating high school, finding myself in college and starting my own company didn’t help dull this daily struggle. As a more masculine-presenting queer woman in a male-dominated industry, it was still an exhausting line to ride. This is not a unique problem to just me. Many of my fellow LGBTQIA+ siblings carry the burden of living a dual reality. We weigh out decisions daily, hoping to be palatable enough to our bosses to earn the promotion or be trusted to lead the project. This is what it feels like to be queer in America: facing the constant fear that, be it the school cafeteria or the boardroom, the rooms you enter now may be different, but the people in them may still view you as “other.” Time is up on allowing societal perception to dictate how we dress, how we live and who deserves opportunities and representation. With almost 25% of Gen Z self-identifying as LGBTQIA+, companies can no longer afford to ignore ideas coming from their LGBTQIA+ team members or make them shrink themselves to fit in. Sincere and reputation-changing inclusive marketing must start with an inclusive company culture. Many will read that and think, “Great, we already do that at our company” and proceed to cross it off their to-do list. This is exactly why every June we’re bombarded with rainbow-covered products adorning the shelves of retail stores with no real mission. It’s lazy marketing lacking the vision to truly achieve anything at all. The best strategies will never be achieved from one token DEI hire slotted onto the same stuffy desk with old policies and poor office culture. They will come only from the creative and liberated minds of professionals who are made to feel safe enough to bring their authentic and unique perspectives to the table. That is where true innovation begins. This is what I began to unpack for myself as I leaned in and reached for the slightly baggier dress pants I bought from the men’s section instead of the more form-fitting slacks and blouse I had been made to believe were more appropriate. It was the first time I had allowed what I perceived as the nonprofessional version of myself to bleed into the professional world—and I was terrified. We teach queer kids and young kids of color to shrink themselves and to make others feel more comfortable rather than teaching others how to appreciate each person’s uniqueness. This is the same issue that arises in the discussions among non-diverse marketing teams. “Let’s aim to be LGBTQIA+ friendly, but we don’t want to deviate too much from the norm and make other consumers uncomfortable.” What kind of message does this send to marginalized communities? That they are only worth representing once a year with a specific month’s budget? If you are a company that creates marketing content, then you automatically have a platform that drives culture—and you have the responsibility of making it better. This must start with embracing your team’s unique identities and cultural nuances and allowing new points of view not only to be heard but also to lead and innovate. It’s been just over four years since the day I truly began to embrace my own identity. There are still some days when it feels easier to assimilate, but I actively choose to make disruption the norm in every room I enter. By being myself, doing my best work and showing higher-ups the change I can effect by being there, I create a little bit of space for the generations rising up the ranks just behind me. They are the ones who will accomplish fully integrated year-round marketing and, more importantly, enjoy the results of what comes from teams that are allowed to show up as their whole selves in their workplace—who they are, where they come from and exactly who they want to be. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

Karina Martinez on why true inclusive marketing starts by embracing a ‘come as you are’ culture

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