Isom Global Strategies, a marketing, advertising, and public relations firm, is proud to announce national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). According to a PR Week article based on data from 98 firms, timing could not be better since George Floyd’s death has sparked the movement for equality, including a conversation on how U.S. agencies lag in diversity and inclusion. PR Week reports that only 13% of marketing agency leadership in the C-suite or Board, and just 24% of their overall workforce is non-white.
IGS Founder and CEO Towan Isom said, “WBENC Certification will help my company, and the community of women-owned businesses, strengthen the African American and women-owned business ecosystem that lags behind mainstream PR agencies.” Data compiled by PR Week backs up Isom’s critique. In 2019, more than half (55%) of U.S. agencies had no people of color on their Boards or in the C-suite. Ms. Isom says, “By their messaging I can always tell the brands that have representation in the boardroom and those that do not. We’re hoping that the Stop Hate for Profit campaign will highlight gaps in ownership, leadership, and mentorship in PR, marketing, and advertising agencies.”
IGS is a woman and minority-owned agency founded in 1998. Its clients include major global and federal brands like Comcast, Nike, Tanqueray, Black Entertainment Television, the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and many more. Through unique client-centric and creative planning and delivery of services, and its multi-cultural global staff, IGS distinguishes itself from large traditional agencies and run-of-the-mill production houses.
Isom notes her company is “highly qualified and represents the authentic voice of the real American experience, unlike the larger agencies making decisions and controlling messaging with no people of color in the boardroom. I’d love to see Fortune companies commit to have an African American Tier-One agency in their procurement process, not going through Tier-Two agencies that take 90% of the budget and say make the rest work.” Isom adds, “I think Richard Edelman has the right idea when he promised to double his company’s purchase spend with minority-owned small businesses. African American agencies aren’t saying we want to replace these agencies, we just want to be invited to pull up a chair.”
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