No chandeliers or hosts were harmed in the making of this video...
Plus join me 6/20 in Boston, thoughts on pride marketing, and what real humans think about AI in CX
NEW: Watch the latest promo video on LinkedIn
Join me for an unforgettable evening…
Mark your calendars and RSVP on LinkedIn… Wednesday, June 21st at 8:00pm ET
I’ll be broadcasting live from the iconic Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center.
Tune in as I host the 2023 Adobe Experience Maker Awards, celebrating the extraordinary achievements of Adobe Experience Cloud customers.
You’ll see our featured musical performer, a Broadway legend and the longest-running Phantom of the Opera, Franc D’Ambrosio! He played the leading role in this Tony Award-winning musical (my favorite) more than 2,100 times and is a masterful performer.
I can’t wait… hope you can join us live on LinkedIn.
NEW: Watch the latest promo video on LinkedIn
Thank you Queer Videography for your magic.
Boston LGBTQ+ Pride Panel & Networking
Join Pride in Our Workplace next week!
Tuesday, June 20 | 5:30 – 8:00 PM
121 Seaport Blvd, Boston, MA 02210
Register + Learn More: PIOWPride.eventbrite.com
Celebrate Pride with the PIOW team, LGBTQ+ and allied professionals, business leaders, and fellow ERG members.
In partnership with PTC, we will host an engaging panel centering Intentional Leadership, before moving to the roof deck to continue networking over food and drinks.
Featuring:
Kameelah Benjamin-Fuller, Chief DEI and Social Impact Officer at PTC
Javier Barrientos, Chief DEI Officer at Point32Health
Gavin Alexander, Wellness Director at Jackson Lewis P.C.
BONUS: Download our new executive brief on action items leaders can take to affect workplace equality. PIOW is a labor of love. Find out more about supporting the work of this LGBTQ workplace nonprofit.
Overheard at Adobe Summit - how AI is changing the game
There was one topic on everybody’s mind at Adobe Summit 2023 — artificial intelligence.
From my seat IN THE BOX… find out what Adobe customers from EY Global to Marriott feel about AI today.
Will brands actually use generative AI in their customers’ experiences? How will AI change the workflows behind digital journeys?
READ MORE: It’s all here in my post on the Adobe blog.
Some thoughts on Pride month marketing
I was glad to weigh in on trends related to Pride marketing this year in the Wall Street Journal.
Overall I recognize that a public stance of support brings with it more meaning than in years past...
This year, as the rhetoric and anti-LGBTQ+ narratives have been amplified against the upcoming election cycle, a brand saying NOTHING right now speaks volumes, in this climate.
Yet, there is so much more that should be done internally at organizations…
ERG groups with funding and leverage
policies to protect LGBTQ workers
visible representation in leadership
transparency in decisions to donate to politicians or PACs that fund anti-LGBTQ legislature
standing firm with support in the face of misinformed controversy
applying pressure within the many states currently weighing anti-LGBTQ bills
(Just to name a few 😇)
If marketing creates our ideas of normalcy (as my hero Jean Kilbourne says), the rainbow logos alone ostensibly normalize inclusion. There is no room to normalize bigotry.
But, with so many brands rainbow-washing, I fear we continue to create an "illusion of progress" that distracts from the core work at hand, the real present danger experienced by the LGBTQ community.
Other POV I appreciate:
Either you embrace us as whole people, or you don't. You can't "both sides" the idea of whether someone is worthy of being treated as a fully-fledged human being. - Judith Weader at Forrester
2023 New England LGBTQ+ Pride Events calendar, curated by my colleague Carly Davis at Pride in Our Workplace
See a snapshot of current LGBTQ equality by state
These 25 rainbow flag-waiving corporations donated $13.5 million to anti-gay politicians since 2022 - Popular Information
Target has an extraordinary opportunity to define what authentic allyship truly means in the face of adversity and serve as a powerful example for other brands. So do you. - Thomas Pardee in Campaign Live
Step right up for the windfall. Whether anyone wants to admit it, the queer closet door has been opened permanently. Younger generations self-identify as queer more than ever; self-expression and language are iterating nonstop. The human need to feel reflected in values by the products and services they choose means brands must start future proofing today.
Get your house in order. Know the difference between weathering a heavy storm and building a solid foundation. When brands kowtow to hate, they incentivize it. The “anti-woke” movement isn’t about finding solutions; its objective is to find outlets for the fear, insecurities and rage they feel, associated with perceived displacement from the changing world. Progress is the tidal wave and anti-woke groups are the beach tower with a megaphone. They’re currently loud, but progress is imminent. - Kate Wolff in PR Week
… my advice for corporations is: steer into the skid.
The acceptance of freedom of sexual expression is clear to me in the classroom every day, in fact it seems a particularly dramatic generational shift. Also, this is a human rights issue. There is no neutral middle ground, any more than there was during anti-apartheid or civil rights movements. Corporate support did a lot to help gay marriage. - Alison Taylor of NYU
Happy Pride
This year, like many years, I gave away hundreds of flowers at Boston Pride. For me, it’s the ultimate symbol of what Pride is about.
Joy without agenda.
Love without a transaction.
Just acceptance, connection, and a reminder of our shared humanity. Happy Pride.
Thanks for reading,
Katie