On May 31st, 2019, my team at FIR Northwest hosted a panel called Double Back. It was held at Wieden+Kennedy's Portland Headquarters, and it explored some ways the advertising industry could bring more representation to their agencies.
Big Idea: Let's make it a podcast!
The panel was titled Double Back because we held a similar event in 2018. Thus, we were "doubling back" on the ideas of the previous year, while continuing the conversation in a productive way.
After we had a solid name, our next idea was to hire Natalie Kim as our moderator. She is the founder of We Are Next, an organization that helps advertising interns and graduates navigate their way through this crazy field. Natalie also holds a weekly podcast where she interviews professionals from all over the advertising industry.
Due to her extensive experience, we thought she would be the perfect candidate to moderate our panel. Lucky for us, she agreed! The entire panel was recorded as a podcast: Natalie Kim's 95th episode.
To listen to the full podcast, click on the play button below.
Posters
During the brainstorming process, we wanted to design two posters that properly illustrated the concept of Double Back.
The first poster displays a diver. There are technically three divers, but the use of color implies a change in movement, showing one diver backflipping in different positions. Double Back was all about looking at diversity from different angles and perspectives, and the diver was the simplest and most effective way for us to show this.
And since this event was organized by Portland State's very own advertising agency, we thought it would be fitting that the diver was sporting green and black to reflect our school colors.
Meanwhile, the second poster shows a wheel moving two different directions. First was to reflect on the problems associated with the lack of representation in advertising, while looking to the future on what we can do to improve diversity initiatives across the industry.
These posters were both displayed on Instagram, attached in every email and Eventbrite we sent to our guests, and distributed in print versions to several advertising agencies across the Portland area.
So, how'd it go?
Looking back on the event, it turned out to be very successful with over 200 people in attendance! The panelists also brought refreshing perspectives and useful tips for the industry moving forward.
I lastly wanted to give a special shoutout to our sponsors, this wouldn't have been possible without your support!
The Team
Account Managers
McKenna Dover
Kristina Ledwith
Strategists
Jon Pauly
Roark Nelson
Media
Caitie Sauer
Yan Hao Tan
Celeste Wechter
Art Direction
Danielle Emeka
Laura McCracken
Bao Phan
Copywriters
Tobin Carlberg
Jake Floeter