Sean A. McCloud, MBA’s Post

👏🏿 Calling for Black representation in the beauty industry 👏🏿 Sephora has partnered with Fifteen Percent Pledge to make great strides in our stores from stocking inclusive products to increasing supplier diversity. But the real magic starts wayyyyy before with Black business owners. That’s why we’re back with the second annual Sephora Beauty Grant ($100,000 cash with no strings!) so that one lucky winner can unlock the next level of growth for their brand. If you’re a Black business owner in the beauty industry, apply so that you can build the brand you believe in: https://lnkd.in/d2pc6mSs

And we're off! Happy Black History Month to all! Kraft Heinz in the early front-running for cultural gaffe of the month. At least this is a clean cut example of why diverse hiring matters in supporting your commercial goals. What's wrong with this? There is a prevailing negative stereotype around the presence of Black fathers. Creating an ad in which the one parent missing is the Black father, is... less than welcome. The expectation is not that everyone creating a major marketing campaign will know this. The expectation is that everyone creating a major marketing campaign will know you need to understand the cultural nuances you want to dabble in before you dabble in them. The hope is that eventually you'll have enough/some people of Black heritage working on these ads that someone will be able to point this out to you before you go to print.

2024 is the fourth year of Black Leaders Awareness Day (BLAD). The awareness day takes place every year on the 18th July and was created to highlight the importance of black leaders and the impact they have made throughout history and the impact they have today and will have in the future. It is vital we ensure that we understand and acknowledge the impact these leaders have. https://lnkd.in/eCPc9DtY Black Leaders Awareness Day #blackleadersawarenessday #blackleadersawarenessday2024 #BLAD #beyondouryouth #generationalleadership #quotes #leadership #leaders #nextgeneration

Join our #freewebinar and virtual panel tomorrow as we partner with leading brands to share how to effectively engage and celebrate Black consumers for #BlackHistoryMonth and year-round! Black History Month, February 1-29, 2024, is a key opportunity for brands to celebrate Black achievements and contributions to American culture. Black cultural holidays are booming in the United States, and Black Americans don’t shy away from acknowledging the hard realities of Black history, even as they celebrate. The segment’s cultural traits explain their ability to embrace complexity across the many holidays and occasions celebrated throughout the year. We are excited to be joined by iconic brands for a celebration of this special month. Our esteemed speakers for this session are: • Nakia Tull, Vice President & Customer Inclusion Leader, Fidelity Investments; • Nicole Buchanan, Senior Director, Head of Cultural Strategy & Multicultural Sales, SiriusXM; and • Kim Adams House, Head of Licensing, Merchandising, and Multicultural Marketing, Stellantis. Register via the link below. See you tomorrow! #blackhistory #culturalintelligence #marketing #marketresearch #marketingandadvertising #multiculturalmarketing #consumerbehavior #diversity #diversityandinclusion #mrx

I was the first Black Head of Beauty Buying for a luxury retailer in the UK. Realistically, it will be a far bigger territory than just the UK. Being the “first” is something we’re encouraged to be proud of, and I am. But it’s also deeply disappointing that it took until 2022 for a Black person to have my position. In over 99% of my meetings with brand partners, I was the only person of colour in the room. With 170+ partners and an average of 4-5 brand representatives present in each meeting, I’ll let you do the maths. In several bi-annual strategy meetings with global brands I’d be shown products and campaigns that were “universally flattering” but categorically wouldn’t work on my hair texture or complexion, let alone someone with a deeper skin tone. As you can imagine, I would always challenge and push back. The noise around diversity, inclusion and allyship seems to have gone silent but the economic and social repercussions are growing deafeningly louder. Having an internal Black History Month party and a social media post means nothing if there are no tangible plans to foster or promote the existing Black workforce. In a talent pool that is already smaller, that talent can’t just be embraced, it has to be nurtured. So yes, here's to more "firsts" but true progress will look like Black leadership being the norm rather than a rarity.

In celebration of #BlackHistoryMonth, we are highlighting some of the voices of Black leaders who have joined in this work, offering insights into the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the healthy buildings movement. Their voices are essential in creating spaces that promote health, equity and well-being for all. https://ow.ly/zPcJ50QIrMe

August is National Black Business Month and I am sharing my "10 Ways to Celebrate National Black Business Month" tip sheet. Download for free. #nationalblackbusinessmonth #blackownedbusiness #blackownedbusinesses #shoplocal

We invited Joseph Cephas from Novità Communications to shared some thoughts and his own experience as a Black leader in the Design industry. ⚪ How do you see the influence of Black creatives in shaping the future of the built environment? The influence of Black creatives is omnipresent. There are so many direct lines from our ancestors to how spaces are created today. Whether it is through cultural influences or direct building, the impact of Black people on the built environment is going to continue to grow moving into the future. It is our responsibility to ensure that the Black leaders that are building our future are recognized for their contributions and not overlooked like they’ve been in the past. ⚪ What is an urgent change in the architecture and design professions that would benefit Black creatives? More opportunities. During Black History Month there is often a common theme of those we recognize - they are pioneers. This extends beyond getting more Black people into the architecture and design field, it includes Black people advancing to leadership positions within a firm. Black people often have to blaze their own trail through treacherous terrain. I’m looking forward to the day when Black creatives don’t have to carry the burden of being a pioneer and can just focus on perfecting their craft.

On Tuesday the power-house that is Flavilla Fongang launched what is shaping up to be a project profoundly useful for the Black community and professionals at large. I've seen first hand the work and time she has personally invested here, so it's only right I share this with my Network. In Flavilla's own words... "BLACK RISE is here to bridge the opportunity gap for black talent in business. Black talent in business faces significant barriers to growth due to the absence of a robust ecosystem that facilitates connections, the sharing of knowledge and opportunities. This economic loss is estimated at $1.6 trillion in the US and 300 billion in the UK each year. So we built an AI powered business platform to help them reach their full potential by harnessing the power of the Black talent network." The total addressable market is $25 billion based of 650k B2B users and 71 million Black professionals outside of Africa." To follow the journey, give BLACK RISE and Flavilla Fongang a follow! 😉

There's a way to get Black History Month very wrong - but there's also a way you can get it right. Let's focus on how to get it right... 📝 Take notes from brands like adidas, YouTube & Ben & Jerry's who have been doing an exemplary job engaging with Black communities through the 'stewardship' framework ⏰ Find out where the future of brand engagement is headed when it comes to engage diverse communities 💡 Take actionable notes on how you can avoid critical mistakes and make sure your Black History Month Campaigns don't suck in our re-recorded webinar which you can find here: https://lnkd.in/eu84W-Dv