With millions of influencers in the UK contributing content to an industry worth in excess of $5bn in 2021 and growing, in depth analysis has highlighted the woeful under-representation of diverse content appearing in today’s media including TV advertising, YouTube videos and national and consumer medias, says the new agency.
And with more than one in two (51%) Gen Zers calling for brands to include more diverse casting and imagery in their advertising, there is a growing need for a change in approach and a call to action.
To help address this inequality and to champion individuality in the media, Reflect is a new generation talent management agency created to represent, and work with, talent from all ethnicities, sexualities, religions, genders, neurodiversities, ages, body sizes – and any other kind of difference that makes people unique.
Russell Amerasekera, Shadow Board Member at Reflect comments: “So much of what we see every day on our screens and through our media channels still speaks to a ‘one dimensional’ view based on traditional societal stereotypes. The reality is, this narrow lens no longer reflects either the diverse world we live in or the inclusive society we aspire to become. Our aim is to address this imbalance by championing truly diverse content creators and working with brands and media channels to eradicate boundaries. Only by doing that can there be a difference to what people are seeing, reading, hearing and sharing.”
Reflect, as a community interest company, says it will also help to create diverse content creators by sponsoring courses, apprenticeships, college degrees and all kinds of learning and development.
The aim is to encourage kids, young adults, returning mums and dads, and adults with life experience to become media-makers – whether that’s videographers, designers, editors, journalists, film-makers or anything in between.
Nicola Murphy, Group Chief Executive of The River Group comments, “I’ve been in media for thirty five years both client and agency side. But you don’t have to be a client media commissioner nor a creative agency to observe that what we see on TV, in social media, in outdoor, at the cinema, in magazines – isn’t truly representative of our wonderfully diverse society. Tokenism is rife, oftentimes because brands and agencies aren’t always sure how to best represent everyone without offending someone.
That’s why we want to spearhead change. Help us to get media made by the very communities and individuals not yet given a representative share of voice.
We have made Reflect a community interest company to put our money where our mouth is. All profits will go into sponsoring college courses, training, apprenticeships and opportunities for marginalised individuals to have a media career. In Reflect itself, and eventually we hope more generally in media.
I’m excited to be part of this movement to make media #opentoall.”
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