Why Jack Morton launched a practice focused on reaching women of color

Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Jack Morton has launched a diversity-focused practice called Vivi that will look to help brands connect with women, specifically women of color. The practice is being led by Bonnie Smith, senior VP, group account director, and head of Vivi. The name comes from the Latin term Vivus which means “living.”

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This is a reunion for Smith, who left Jack Morton eight years ago to start her own agency, Studio B Entertainment, which focused on diverse experience work. As a result, Smith will fold her Studio B business and brand equity into the agency.

“Women of color are one out of every five Americans and their median age is younger than that of white women,” Smith said. “They are the general market from a buying power and influence point of view.”

But while there is a need for brands to reach a diverse female audience, only one in 10 women of color believe that brands do a good or great job connecting with people like them, according to research conducted by Vivi.

 According to the report, almost one-third of women surveyed said they are more likely to buy products and services from a brand that authentically connects with unique aspects of their individuality, identity, or culture.

Exploring cultural nuances

Vivi’s goal is to foster that connection within its experiential practice. “It’s not about exclusion, it’s about being intentional when designing an experience for the majority of those who will be experiencing our clients’ brands and products,” said Smith.

That will play out by being mindful of  “the cultural nuances that impact women of color in a different way,” said Smith. “How that translates to events is through, for example, our ambassador staff—are we being representative from shape, to shade, to hair texture, are we representing different styles, multi-ethnicities, backgrounds?” 

Smith said that nuanced thinking has to show up when it comes to live events as well as content.

“When you think of venues, we think through venue ownership pending the scale of the experience, neighborhood, design—will she feel comfortable there, what design cues and music speak to her individuality and culture,” Smith said. 

“We think through what topics are top of mind for her based on the social and cultural dynamics of ethnicity, gender and identity, what influencers, speakers and talent we choose to help authentically connect the brand and the experience with her. Brands meeting their consumers where they are and knowing that cultural relevancy is a mandate.”

Vivi isn’t looking to replace what “traditional” multicultural agencies do, Smith said.

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“We focus solely on creating brand experiences, whereas traditional multicultural agencies offer more straightforward advertising and integrated marketing capabilities,” Smith said.  

“They also cover a broader audience subset. Vivi is focused on a particular market segment. We believe that representation has many layers and grouping people together by race or country of origin is not entirely representative of all the ways individuals express themselves or their identities. Many of the clients we have worked with also work with multicultural agencies for broader campaigns, so it isn’t a one-for-one. They also aren’t only looking through an experience lens.”

Creating cohesion

The new practice is launching with a new client for the agency, The Community Cohesion Project, a partnership among Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Crystal Bridges and other community organizations that focus on creating a more inclusive environment in Walmart’s home of Northwest Arkansas. The organization chose Vivi to create live and virtual experiences that focus on diversity within the community. 

CCP has already begun with some virtual events, including one with the chief of police of Fayetteville, Arkansas, regarding racial inequity. Another event featured April Legere, the first Black female city councilwoman in Rogers, Arkansas. 

The practice won’t be 100% women-owned and operated like Studio B, but Vivi will be “all-inclusive” and made up of a diverse team, said a Jack Morton spokeswoman.

Smith acknowledges that while Jack Morton has made efforts to improve its own diversity over the last few years, there is still work to be done. Currently, 64% of the agency population is female and 54% of women at the agency are in management positions. One-third of the agency’s executive leadership are women. 

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“We have made progress and our DE&I vision is guided by a north star to make our agency and our work more representative of the world around us,” Smith said. “Since 2017, our U.S. workforce composition increased from 13.5% BIPOC to 24% BIPOC and we have increased our BIPOC director level and above representation from 10% to 15%. And almost half of our new hires in the last year were BIPOC. 

She added: “But it doesn’t stop there, and we aren’t where we need to be yet.”