How Women From Advertising Week Are Taking the Lead
This past month, women had uplifted the stages at Advertising Week NYC. By showcasing their leadership experiences to forging their own paths in sports and music, these empowering women take charge in sharing their stories with the audiences. Follow along as EnVi recaps three panels that highlight the waves these women are making in their respective industries.
“Power Players”
“Did you feel powerful when you woke up this morning?” Ruth Mortimor, the panel moderator and Global President of Advertising Week, asked the rest of the speakers to kickstart the panel.
Out with the old ways and in with the new. These women spoke about approaching leadership in gentler ways rather than following the traditional “authoritarian style.” Empathy is highly taken into account among the panelists and in their methods of leadership.
“When I think about new models of leadership, it’s more of the empathetic leadership, the visionary leadership, the inclusive leadership that really allow us to understand in a different way what is in the ever evolving and diverse and dynamic workforce,” said Latraviette Smith-Wilson, EVP and Chief Marketing & Equity Officer at Horizon Media.
With a different approach in leading a team, the panelists spoke about seeing positive outcomes from team members — from more instilled confidence to bringing ideas to the table. Instead of being the sole head in the team, leaving room for attentiveness and open-feedback from their teams has helped their work environments flourish. Not only does this help the team, but it also aids those in a leadership position to learn from the rest.
VP of the Business Marketing Group at Meta, Andrea Gellert spoke on the power of collaborating with her team. “It used to be that you were a leader because you had a level of insight and knowledge that other people didn’t have access to,” Gellert said. “What we see on our teams is people at all different levels have access to so much more information and so much more knowledge that they have the ability to lead in situations that we would never have seen.”
Taking care of their teams and taking note of input and leading with an open heart is how these successful women continue to have effective work environments.
Don’t Forget Gen X Women
In the recent rise of the digital age, marketers and brands have been focusing on appealing to the younger generations — millennials, Gen Z, and even Gen Alpha. In recent years, there has been a surge of various types of self-care products hitting the shelves. With an increasing range of products, women have been able to find ones that suit their needs. Except one specific audience has not felt seen in the demographic — women between the ages of 44 and 59, all within what’s known as Generation X.
“From the beauty perspective, more than two-thirds of women in Generation X feel completely forgotten by the beauty industry,” said Cara Kamenev, the Global Brand President of Stripes Beauty, on Thursday during the “Gen X Women” panel.
With changes in hormones, outer appearance, and experiencing menopause, this audience of women focuses on their well-being and looks for products that cater to these changes.
“She’s extremely loyal […] She’s a pretty high-intent purchaser. She doesn’t waste her time,” Kamenev said, as she explained what Gen X women are willing to do in order to purchase the right products for them. “When she’s going to search for a product or service, she’s doing so with intent.”
Galina Espinoza, Amanda Smith, Cara Kamenev, and Ndidi Oteh (left to right). Photo courtesy of Cris Aguasvivas.
As Senior Managing Director and Head of Accenture Song Americas Ndidi Oteh said, “Understanding how to speak to her [the Gen X woman]” will make the most difference for brands marketing towards this consumer. “Get after them in diverse ways and communicate to more than one. It will drive the most difference,” Oteh mentioned later on.
It’s time to think about beauty in a new way and start shining a light on Gen X women alongside the younger generations.
Trailblazing In Music
Submerging into the waters of the music industry is a notable feat but not an easy one. In an already male-dominated industry — roughly 70% men and 30% women across the industry, according to statistics shown during the “Balance the Mix” panel — women have been preserving and finding ways to make their perspectives known. Women from both advertising and artistry backgrounds came together to speak on their experiences working in the music industry.
Lauren Nagel, Chief Creative Officer of Resound, shared her thoughts on the important role music plays in the listening experience — in not only a person’s day-to-day but also when engaging in advertising. Audio can make or break the experience. Songwriter and filmmaker TT the Artist emphasized diversifying perspectives in the industry, especially having more women present.
“We have so much world experience to bring,” TT the Artist said. She is an independent artist and creative who built her own “woman focused” record label as well as pioneered a path for herself in filmmaking and songwriting.
“I wanted to be the change that I wanted to see in the industry,” she said during her closing ment.
On a practical and production level, Alex Allen’s role — Senior Music Producer
VML North America — as a gatekeeper takes on a lot of responsibility in budget with clients and working toward finding diverse voices in music. By taking these into consideration, progress has been seen throughout the music industry.
“Trying to uphold the value of music and make sure that we’re being transparent about the expectations and who we can include,” Allen said. “How you do that is keep the door open.”
The three women-led discussions at Advertising Week have shed light on various roles women play across different industries. From beauty and wellness to the music industry, these panelists’ experiences and discussions appeal to different women consumers while forging new possibilities for women as career paths.
Interested in reading about more empowering women in marketing? Read our interview with the Chief Marketing Officer of eos, Soyoung Kang, here!
