When identity is shifting but society is slow to make room it- An article by the founder of Insights in Color in partnership with Lucid & ThinkNow.
The state of identity in America and across the world is in flux and no one seems completely sure what to do about it, or how to handle it. This change should not come as a complete shock since, for many of us, our values shape the way we think about ourselves and others. …
We never get to choose how others see us
I was recently on a webinar about entrepreneurship for a fashion retail brand and was asked what my style was. Because of COVID and my inability to leave my desk, I haven’t really thought of my style or what it’s evolved into since turning 35 and now 36 in a global pandemic. After a while, as I tried to envision my my former pandemic self, I found myself landing on the same word, over and over again. “Princess”.
I remember mentally rejecting it at first because, why would a woman in…
What to do about the missing backbone of the research and insights industry
Working in the market research industry, I’ve come to understand a few things: researchers lack back bones.
Now, before anyone gets offended, let me explain.
To be a market researcher, someone who works in the background, is rarely ever seen or known to people outside of their field and is hardly ever granted awards, kudos or recognition for the work that they do, you have to be of a certain mindset- one that centers on humility, grace and acceptance of your role as an anonymous background player…
A new sense-check solution for market research & insights professionals seeking to ensure inclusive, non-biased approaches to their research methods
In a survey geared towards identifying the content market researchers & insights professionals wanted to see in a more equitable and diverse MRX industry, just under 80% requested best practice solutions for multicultural insights, research and strategy.
The desire for guidance around gathering and interpreting multicultural data & insights is not surprising with today’s increasingly diverse and culturally-layered mainstream audience. However, the amount of requests for guidelines clearly demonstrated that many market researchers are lost when it comes to how to think about research techniques and approaches that can also capture the varied cultural nuances of today’s new mainstream consumers.
Why the Unique Experiences of Minorities are Just What the Semiotics Field Needs
Within the market research industry, cultural strategy is still a nascent concept, and semiotics is the burgeoning cool kid on the block everyone is eager to understand and get to know. As a result, the network semioticians in this category is small, but strong.
As I’ve learned more about semiotics, and the impact is has on informing the direction of culturally relevant marketing and advertising outputs, I’ve also gained an appreciation for my ethnicity and cultural background after realizing how it has placed me in a distinctly…
Getting real about the market research industry and the complex tensions researchers of color silently endure
The marketing research industry is the small, unglamorized cousin of the advertising and tech fields. Unlike its cousins however, when it comes to diversity, researchers of color (ROCs) are often disconnected and without community. In a cultural moment that needs diverse voices in research, insights and strategy more than ever, there is not only a lack of diversity in our field, but also a lack of connectivity and awareness, especially in POC communities.
Why There is Always a Need for Sustained D&I Efforts
Five years ago, I found myself leading Added Value’s Multicultural Practice across North America. It was a position that had been vacated by my mentor, who, before he left, sat with me on a bench near Madison Square Park to talk about his next steps. It was in that conversation that he so easily, and matter-of-factly suggested that I fill the role in his absence. …
Originally published at http://www.tpof-thepsychologyoffashion.com on June 23, 2020.
Before starting my own business, when I sought new job opportunities, I had a habit of submitting colorful, nontraditional resumes to any company I applied to. Doing so was not only a way to sort out stuffy, restrictive office environments that wouldn’t fit who I was, but it was also my own quiet rebellion against a corporate system I knew I was never meant to fit in in the first place. If my resumé was my “feeler”, then my style and the way I’d show up in those spaces was my unapologetic…
We were never setup to be great at friendships in the first place
At the end of last year, I publicly addressed something that I had been holding to myself for quite a while — that I was had felt abandoned by the people I called my friends.
I was in the midst of what would become a huge life transition that consumed my mind and emotional state for more than half the year. …
As cities reopen, do brands have a responsibility to place minorities, the country’s most vulnerable population, at the heart of their COVID recovery plans or will their needs been forgotten in the flurry?
For many consumers of color in the corporate space, COVID hit the US just as the multicultural initiatives of many US companies were beginning to hit their stride. From ensuring diverse hiring practices and marketing strategies to providing updated resources for unconscious bias trainings, US brands were finally on the road to comprehending the many facets of the multicultural population and becoming more intentionally inclusive.
Then came…
Whitney Dunlap-Fowler
Whitney Dunlap-Fowler is a Cultural Strategist specializing in semiotics, culture & brand strategy. www.touchofwhit.com www.insightsincolor.com
