Eight media and advertising professionals have launched a collective, Join Our Table, to improve the equity and visibility of Black women in advertising and media.
Join Our Table was conceived at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Advertising where the founders “recognised a crucial gap in the representation of Black British women”, particularly on panels on stage and judging panels.
It is sponsored by brand and strategy consultancy Brand By Me and will launch with next month with an outdoor campaign with media donated by outdoor sales agencies C-Screens, IQOOOH, JCDecaux, and Clear Channel.
The campaign will call people to action with the strapline “It’s time to celebrate Black women”, coinciding with the UK’s 2023 Black History theme of “Saluting our sisters”.
There will also be a joint campaign with industry networks Bloom UK, Wacl and Media For All on social media to drive people to the website showcasing Black British women working in advertising, media and marketing.
Gerry Anyanwu, client director at Global Media and founding member of Join Our Table, said: “As a 40+ Black woman, I want to use my position to support my wider community. The Black female position in the workplace is too often a hard struggle. I want this campaign to say boldly “we see you; we see how hard you work, and we got you sis.”
The other founding members are: Collette Philip, founder of Brand By Me, Elizabeth Anyaegbuna, founder of SixteenbyNine Media, Samantha Lewis, account manager at Kinetic, Nadine Leighton, marketing consultant, Chloe Davies, founder of It Takes a Village, Annika Allen, head of diversity and inclusion at All3Media, and Maria McDowell, founder of Lollipop Mentoring.
