Pride in Practice with Microsoft Advertising
Communication, Education
Gender, Sexuality
Quick & easy
Overview
作为最近被微软收购的一家小公司的LGBTQ+员工和盟友, we wanted to ensure our grassroots mentality of learning and sharing stayed strong. Creating and fostering safe-spaces is a core value of ours so we held an in-person 'Small Group Discussion' focused on the current state of media representation as it applies to gender and sexuality; questioned the ethics in implementing data collected on gender and sexuality; and examined best practices for how to best represent and engage an LGBTQ+ audience. 我们随后推出了一款场外社交游戏，因为这些问题的解决空间可能很大, we like to punctuate these conversations with opportunities for celebratory fun.
What did you set out to achieve?
我们观察到，许多公司的骄傲活动通常对公司的使命和我们所做的工作没有实际的应用, as employees, do daily. 众所周知，当人们看到有机会直接贡献影响力时，他们更有可能参与其中, and we wanted to capture that energy. We knew that if we could understand and identify the issues within our own ecosystem, 我们可以在与客户的对话中，在为我们的平台构建工具时，开始朝着实际的解决方案努力. 我们想突出广泛的广告问题，比如彩虹洗涤，或者突出那些成功的LGBTQ+广告活动. 接下来，我们通过广告技术、DE的需求和创建将焦点拉到执行阶段&我的市场，以及策划多样化的供应，将吸引代理和品牌.
Describe how the initiative or campaign works?
每年，我们都在通过“全民普查”和“广告消费者报告”等活动获取更多数据. 我们社区的一名成员参加了今年outadvertising的消费者报告的发布，并受到启发分享了这些发现. Within DE&我们经常讨论的不是“重新创造轮子”，而是扩展我们的同行已经在做的令人难以置信的工作. We saw an opportunity to share this data with a broader audience, 特别是那些有能力和影响力来解决我们在广告和广告技术行业面临的挑战的人.
What was the first step you took to get it off the ground?
Like all grassroots DE&I initiatives we pulled together a core group of individuals and delegated tasks. 我们最终组成了一个四人小组，并开始通过Teams频道进行协作并共享文档. We divided up slide content creation, room booking, communication & calendar invites, and securing a reservation for our post-event social.
Who are the internal business partners you brought on board? Are there any external stakeholders you spoke to for advice?
Internally, we relied on support from an executive sponsor to promote our event. 历史数据表明，让高级利益相关者参与到标志事件中可以鼓励更高的员工出勤率. Leading by example is a key element of driving awareness around DE&I, and we find when leaders and managers are engaged and in attendance, their team members are more likely to follow. Additionally, 我们与outadvertisings进行了检查，以确保我们获得他们的许可，可以使用他们的消费者报告内容进行我们的讨论和演示.
What budget/resource did you need?
我们的主要物理资源是一个带有圆桌的大型现场会议室，可以进行讨论. As we kept this event in-person only, technical resources were limited to a USB cord and a large screen to project upon. 我们用公司的信用卡在附近的一家餐厅预订了座位, but all food and drink were self-funded, which we made clear ahead of time.
How do you keep it going?
因为我们的小组讨论只需要很少的技术和财政资源, personnel are key. 包容性的一个关键部分是为你的社区成员敞开大门，让他们提出启发他们的想法. Employees should not have to be on an official DE&I board or hold a specific ‘role’ to propose an event. When we create easy and accessible methods to intake ideas from all individuals, our programming will organically become more diverse and intersectional. When people do come forward, ensure you are supporting them in the most practical ways. These individuals already have a passion to create content, but it is your job as a DE&I leader to set up calendar time to prep, define the audience, secure a space, help get invites out, etc.
请记住，投入的人越多，您在DE中看到的倦怠就越少&I space. 关于谁为你的小组讨论提出想法和制作内容，继续传递接力棒，并确保一个特定的社区或ERG没有把关建议内容和执行的能力.
What positive impact has this initiative or campaign had?
It is incredible to see that even at the largest companies in the eco-system, like Microsoft, 我们仍然可以组织一些没有特定社区或ERG支持的草根活动. 这一倡议诞生于充满激情的个人就我们行业内每天发生的事情进行的对话. At times, 这些非正式的活动可以让人感觉最真实，最有影响力，因为它们不是被迫的. Much like good advertising, people do not want to be told what to think or feel, they just want to see it in action and as a result, be inspired.
What did you learn that could help others?
对于2023年及以后的任何小组讨论，我强烈推荐面对面的环境，幸运的是，现在我们又可以选择了. 这意味着让你的内容“随时可用”，以便其他办公场所可以即插即用. 我们亲眼目睹了视频和录音是如何篡改人们愿意分享的内容的. 当你在一个没有摄像头和录音设备的安全空间里，你更容易受到伤害，也更容易进行公开的对话. I also recommend choosing someone to capture takeaways, 然后带着一个可靠的计划离开，让人们负起责任，或者只是提醒他们他们感兴趣的是什么.
How will you make the benefit of this initiative or campaign endure?
As we had representation from multiple parts of the business, 我们集思广益，提出了一些实用的建议给我们的产品和商业团队. 我们希望专注于更多样化的供应，同时了解我们可能需要灵活的功能和控制，以确保这种供应可用并吸引我们的买家.
