We work with brilliant and progressive clients on our audio channels. Which means we’re often asked to cover the topic of diversity.
As a straight white man that used to make me feel uncomfortable. Sure, we have talented teams putting together our content but were we covering the issues in the right way? I was pretty sure I wasn’t in a position to judge that.
Last year I made a decision. I was asked to put together a playlist of music that would celebrate Black History Month. I refused. Not because I’m difficult, but because I wasn’t the best person for the job. Instead, I asked our client’s diversity network to produce the playlist. The result was richer and more varied than I ever imagined it would be. Each song was accompanied by a story of what it meant to the person picking it. It was truly moving like music can be. One listener reported she was “crying happy tears” listening to it.
We’ve taken the same approach this month with clients wanting to celebrate Pride. One of our channel managers spent hours pulling together a playlist (checkout this great Pride playlist on Spotify!) for Headmasters. She connected with her LGBTQ+ network to put together a collection of songs that resonated with them and has had brilliant feedback.
On our channel for Nationwide Building Society this week we’re hearing from members of their LGBTQ+ teams about what Pride Month means to them. Every contributor has their own story to tell and has faced different challenges, but the positivity they have around Pride month and how it is embraced at Nationwide is uplifting to hear.
I’m not writing this to show off how “clever” we are or how politically correct we can be. I just wanted to share my own lesson learned: The more diversity we bring in, the richer our experiences are.
Written by Euan McMorrow, Content Director at AVC Immedia