F.Y.I.

International Creative Services founder Anne Miles sets out to correct unconscious bias in marketing

International Creative Services founder Anne Miles has developed a specialist course for industry professionals which aims to correct unconscious bias in their marketing strategies.

The announcement:

In response to the growing need for the advertising and marketing industry to take hold of the concerning issues around diversity and inclusion International Creative Services founder Anne Miles has developed a specialist course for industry professionals titled ‘Correcting Unconscious Bias In Marketing’. As winner of the Westpac 200 Business of Tomorrow this commitment to the broader community and an innovative and sustainable business model recognizes Miles’ determination to make an impact where others have failed.

Currently the most reputable test to determine if unconscious bias is present is the Harvard Implicit Association Test, but once a bias is determined the missing link is the ability to know how to identify and correct issues in the moment, and how to apply this rewiring to the creative and brand work we produce every day.

There are resources and services in the industry that focus on HR and workplace issues, but Miles feels there is inadequate support for creatives and marketers who create and approve work every day. Miles is acutely aware that the creative work we produce is a reflection of our unconscious bias and needs addressing by the individuals taking full responsibility for the work they produce.

“We need to be highly pro-active right now, especially as we start to develop artificial intelligence technologies that are being built with inherent bias and our ability to target customers more precisely. Some early studies have shown that once in the AI environment we have amplification of the already problematic bias.

We also need to take charge of every word we write, and every strategic decision to be sure we’re doing the right thing by the people on this planet but also for the brands we serve” says Miles.

Miles created the short course in response to her own past experiences of discrimination, a family member within the transgender community, and a passion for the mental health sector.

Most of all she believes that diversity and inclusion is the missed opportunity for business growth and brand strength, through applying new ways of thinking to our industry. Miles also suggests that some brands are cashing-in on the ‘diversity bandwagon’ yet inauthentically delivering on the promise.

Miles continues, “It was becoming obvious that the industry knows what needs to be done, and many are pushing awareness as an important step in solving this issue, but it really isn’t enough.

We need to know what to do, how to do it and how to break our embedded patterns all within a creative context. I admit to growing up in an era where we did things differently and we didn’t know any better. Those behaviours have been engrained, and we need to know how to learn a new way. We need behavior change that is specifically sympathetic to the creative process. I’m sharing my own learning through my own re-education and re-wiring.

Separately, Miles is rallying together a collective of industry CEO’s to meet in a private and safe environment to review new ways of impacting diversity and inclusion for greater impact in our creative process and our operations. Whilst this is not a core offering of International Creative Services, Miles believes she is in a rare position to make an impact on the industry as a whole and for the consumers we impact; and calls for all industry leaders to put aside competitiveness for the greater good. Details of the CEO Only Forum will be announced shortly (expressions of interest to Anne Miles – hello@internationalcreativeservices.com.au)

The first public course is beginning in Melbourne with the first being held October 3rd 2018 at the Mantra Hotel, 568 St Kilda Road, Melbourne from 9am to 1pm.

Source: Media release

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