The sociopolitical climate in 2017 called for brands and marketers to take a stance and increase efforts championing diversity. But there is still plenty of work to be done, and it continues to take shape daily, especially within the companies that are crafting the messaging to begin with.

AListDaily polled a group of executives to get a better understanding of how each is championing diversity within their own companies and marketing teams.

“Personally, I take diversity very seriously, if for no other reason than it means we’ll be a more effective marketing team, delivering inspired work to an even more diverse group of consumers we ultimately serve.

“Specifically, within the marketing enterprise, I’m very fortunate that we don’t need a specific diversity remit. Instead, we have an immensely talented group of men and women who represent a patchwork of different ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, belief systems, political views and tequila preferences that I believe make us so successful in our ability to serve such a broad range of consumers for our 70 percent market share.”
—Lee Applbaum, Patrón’s global chief marketing officer

“I’m not a conventional entrepreneur—I’ve struggled with dyslexia my whole life and started my first business at 13. My entire career is built on working outside the system and thinking differently than the next guy. Maintaining diversity of both perspective and experience within my company is therefore critically important to me, and I actively seek out people with a broad spectrum of backgrounds when hiring and building my network.”
—Michael Cammarata, co-founder & CEO of Schmidt’s Naturals

“We currently have gender equality in pay scales. I think that makes a difference. We’re very diverse when you look at our marketing organization, when you look at racial, gender and sexual orientation perspectives. Having diverse people working on a brand almost naturally is going to create more diverse output. We’re really well-positioned.

“One trend you’re going to see in the automotive industry is a focus on women. We’ve been talking about women in the industry as untapped potential for so long, but I think finally brands are at a point where they’re investing, reaching and speaking to women in a more substantive way—and not just the pink-washing of obviously targeted [campaigns] to women.”
—Nathan Tan, associate director of brand partnerships and experiences for Cadillac

“I’m all about women empowerment and at Alfa Romeo we have a strong female marketing team. Whenever you’re hiring an employee, diversity is important but you also have to make sure they’re right for the job. As far as our marketing approach and strategy, it is important that we tailor our marketing efforts on how to reach a specific audience or ethnicity group”
—Katie Inderelst, head of Alfa Romeo marketing and communications

“Puma is a global brand, and that automatically means we have an amazing and diverse group of talented people who work for the brand, create products and develop marketing messages. At the end of the day, the brand is always looking for the most talented people in the market—it doesn’t matter where they’re from [or] what their background is. We’re an entrepreneurial brand that enjoys finding people of different expertise. As an organization, we’re not only looking to champion the opportunities to reach people who can offer something unique, but also support and develop their careers.”
—Allison Giorgio, Puma’s vice president of marketing

“I feel that we’re working very hard on the diversity front. Twenty-six percent of our business is multicultural. We have three agencies—the first is general market, the second is Hispanic, Black and LGBT and the third that does Chinese, Korean and Indian. We’re working very hard to be diverse and inclusive in our outreach, recognizing what’s important and the cultural significance and norms that we have to be touching on. We’re trying our best to meet those expectations.”
—Brian Bolain, corporate manager for Lexus product marketing and marketing communications

“The way we champion diversity is embodied in one of our values—people and not robots—which stands for treating others like you’d want to be treated yourself and developing meaningful and lasting relationships inclusive of all backgrounds and cultures. This has manifested itself in attracting a team from a diverse set of cultures and ethnicities without any sort of intimidation.”
—Rip Pruisken, co-founder of Rip Van Wafels

“We’re committed to fostering an environment where all the dimensions of diversity are valued. One example that I’m very proud of is our #OneStride campaign which builds on our long history of being an ally within the LGBTQ community.”
—Anna Bell, senior marketing director at E&J Gallo Winery