Agencies are perpetually fretting they won’t be able to attract or retain the best talent.
They should be, according to Valerie Carlson, executive creative director at SapientNitro. But the wave of consolidation that’s swept the industry, with nearly every digital shop scooped up by a big holding company, has come at a cost: Agencies are stuck in a spiral of being unwelcome to the diverse talent they need to thrive.
Speaking at the Digiday Agency Summit on Friday in Palm Springs, Calif., Carlson partially attributed her rise within the industry to embracing digital advertising when it was in its infancy. The nascent days of digital offered more opportunities for women and for innovative thinking, she said. But as digital shops have been bought and integrated into holding companies, they’ve become more bottom-line focused, which will likely discourage young women from working in advertising, she said.
Watch Carlson discuss why agency consolidation is a threat to gender diversity in the industry and what agencies can do to ensure they keep talented young women interested in advertising.
More in Marketing
Future of Marketing Briefing: Media measurement is becoming an asset in boardroom theater
Major advertisers spent their quarterly earnings calls talking up media effectiveness efforts to analysts and shareholders this week. It suggests a shift in the way C-suites consider ad spend.
Nike, Lululemon hit with lawsuits alleging deceptive ‘phantom discounts’
In recent weeks, major global brands have been the subject of lawsuits alleging deceptive pricing strategies.
Inside Unilever’s 300,000 creator network: the logistics behind the headline number
Unilever says it works with 300,000 creators, but not all of them play the same role. Agency executives explain what that number means.