PHASE 3
PROTOTYPING
Experiment and develop new concepts and solutions.
Prototypes
Sifting through our research and backcasting exercises, we discovered three main insights we felt could lead to prototypes:
Despite alternative schools and schemes, such as Brixton Finishing School, there was a dearth of alternative routes, and those that did exist, primarily focused on young people. We found little value placed on ‘measurable’ skills, rather than cultural capital, to enable progression.
Lack of confidence experienced by working class advertisers.
There is little external pressure from industry bodies or even clients to make a change.
Prototype 1: new qualification framework
We experimented with a new qualification to address the insights:
Several ‘alternative’ schools and schemes exist, but many such as Brixton Finishing School mostly focus on young people, and others are agency specific.
There is little standardisation or external monitoring of alternative schemes’ entry criteria and where they recruit - unlike the Higher Education sector with nationally agreed criteria and standards.
Thanks to the inconsistent nature of the schemes, there is no central support for transition of scheme participants to smaller agencies.
The IPA framework and MIPA are much admired by those who have done the course, but they don’t seem to appear on hiring managers’ criteria for senior management roles.
Prototype 2: Confidence boosting app
The app directly addresses the insights:
Middle-class colleagues can often dominate meetings
Working class advertising professionals experience low confidence and lack someone to help build their confidence
Working-class advertisers often experience other colleagues appropriating their ideas and lack an ally in meetings
A non-standard south east England accent can hinder being hired or promoted
Prototype 3
A new league table
League tables wield much power in the Higher Education world, and inspired us to consider creating advertising industry rankings in response to the insight of little external pressure or accountability from industry bodies.
Birth of a new kitemark
Not convinced rankings could stimulate change, we searched for alternative models.
We knew we needed the following:
to unite agencies, placing resources, support and structure in one place
Buy-in at all seniority levels so agencies understood why they were making changes, and took pride in doing so.
Social and financial pressure from clients.
We found inspiration in B Corp - the kitemark and movement for ethical businesses globally.
And so we developed an advertising and media equivalent - E Corp - to drive effectiveness through class equity.
Criteria to become an ‘E Corp’
Use of the app
Participating in a scheme to get working class people interested, trained and employed in the advertising and media industry
Other points designed to make the workplace more inclusive and create an atmosphere where working class advertisers feel safe and creative.