Agency cutbacks and creatives’ desire for full-time work spark Rosie Recruits. It’s no secret that, especially with continued fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, agencies have had to make tough decisions about staffing, with layoffs an unfortunate and common occurrence. Additionally, the general move to more remote work, which could be a permanent change in some form, has brands and agencies determining the best way to approach talent.
We Are Rosie exists to create opportunities for marginalized and excluded talent through a new paradigm of work in marketing and advertising. We’ve spent the last 3 years offering brands and ad agencies a top notch, diverse, independent Talent and Teams for project based work and contingent workforce. When we started to see 1,000+ marketers join our community after COVID layoffs, we began to consider how we could serve this new crop of talent.
Stephanie Nadi Olson has reimagined the modern-day marketing workforce with We Are Rosie, a network of independent and freelance marketing experts available to work with brands and agencies on a project basis. At the time of its awards submission, the platform was home to 2,200 consultants, and more than 20 Fortune 500 companies and five agency holding companies had bought in, leading to more than $4.5 million in revenue. But there’s heart behind the business. A working mom and daughter of a refugee, Nadi Olson had felt marginalized in her advertising career and wanted to create an inclusive company that provided opportunities for others who felt like they “didn’t belong” in their careers. Her company wants to ensure that those in the network thrive, and provides medical, dental and vision coverage for all eligible freelance consultants put to work.
Brandon (his name has been changed for this story to protect his anonymity), has had enough. A Black strategist at a holding company agency, he is contemplating leaving the business altogether. While he says he loves being a strategist, the “monolith” culture at the agencies where Black agency employees are made to “assimilate to white culture to fit in” is getting to him, especially in this moment as protests against systemic racism and police brutality continue with historic intensity and scope.
Leaders of the agency world used to be seen as names on doors, authors of books and fonts of quippy, quotable wisdom. Today’s best leaders, however, can be found operating at the ground level each day, leading by listening so they can stay in tune with the needs of their teams, their clients and the ever-evolving culture around them. Here are 26 names you should know when it comes to excellence in modern agency leadership.
To our incredible Rosie community, I am writing, personally, to share that We Are Rosie stands firmly alongside the Black community in grief, rage, and pain around the recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and George Floyd. We grieve the thousands of senseless deaths that came before them, we grieve for the daily dehumanization of Black people in our culture and at work, and we grieve for the deaths of those who will come next. I recognize that these murders are a symptom of hundreds of years of oppression, gaslighting, and otherization that has plagued our Black friends and loved ones. I understand that I personally have benefited from white supremacy and that it is my duty to rage like hell against it on a systemic level. As Elie Wiesel said, “Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
Agency Brief: Fishbowl survey shows remote workers are anxious about layoffs – and drinking on the job. Plus, two creatives aim to ignite discussions on mental health, and a UN Woman PSA sheds light on a global spike in domestic violence.
A new report from remote specialists We Are Rosie outlines the pros of this great talent migration.