Philippe Dauman,Viacom CEO, Accepts the Corporate Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award from CUP (Photo Credit: Maximilian Imaging)

This week the Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) hosted its 6th Annual Leadership Gala in New York City honoring Viacom with the Corporate Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award. Philippe Dauman, President and CEO of Viacom, accepted the award on behalf of the company. Viacom joined fellow honorees Kathryn and Kenneth Chenault, whose inspiring partnership was celebrated with the Philanthropic Leadership Award, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the charismatic creator of the Tony Award winning musical “In the Heights,” who received the Breakthrough Leadership Award.

To kick off this evening of recognition and celebration, Viacom board member, Charles Phillips, introduced Viacom. Phillips spoke to the power of the company’s media footprint, while underscoring how evolving global diversity and inclusion efforts are at the center of its success.

“This is a company that innovates not only on the screen, but also in the way it unites and celebrates people of different cultures and creeds behind the screen,” Philips noted.

Philippe Dauman proudly accepted the award thanking both CUP and the entire Viacom family. Dauman communicated how technology is transforming the media industry and with this rapid change it’s more important than ever to fully ‘commit to diversity and inclusion as our new normal’.

“I want Viacom to be a leader in this space. To reflect the diversity of our audiences – on and off our screens. To not just follow existing best practices, but to create new ones” Dauman said. “To continue to earn recognition as a place where people of diverse backgrounds lead from the c-suite; where women executives thrive; and where working mothers are empowered to succeed with balance.”

Viacom’s diversity champions that work every day to truly elevate diversity were in attendance, including: Marva Smalls, EVP of Global Inclusion Strategy, Scott Mills, EVP of Human Resources and Administration and Tom Dooley, Chief Operating Officer. Viacom also has an active presence in the CUP family – BET’s Martez Moore and Jocelyn Cooley were Gala Co-Chairs this year.

The CUP Gala surely didn’t disappoint with leaders like civil rights activist Vernon Jordan, Mayoral Candidate Bill Thompson and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in the audience. There wasn’t an empty seat in the entire venue, as some of the city’s best and the brightest mingled and networked all evening.

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As part of its celebration of Black History Month, The BEAT, Viacom’s Black employee affinity group, and the Office of Global Inclusion, hosted a powerhouse panel of industry insiders for “Multicultural vs. Cross-Cultural: A Discussion of Ad relevance.” The panel, featuring Daniel Cherry (Vice President, Consumer Planning & Research, Diageo North America), Phil Colon (Co-Founder, Project 2050), Bozoma Saint John (Director of Music and Entertainment Marketing, Pepsi-Cola North America) and Tiffany Warren (Senior VP, Chief Diversity Officer Omnicom Group) and Louis Carr (President of Media Sales, BET) as moderator, took a close look at how the advertising industry markets products and programming to diverse population.While multicultural marketing targets specific demographic groups (i.e. Hispanics, African-Americans, etc.), cross-cultural marketing takes a broader approach to appeal to similarities across all demographics.  Advertisers can continue to categorize using multicultural segmentation tactics, but with audiences becoming more diverse with varying interests and preferences, the consensus seemed to be that Madison Avenue might have to shift its thinking to stay relevant.

On the panel, Daniel Cherry from Diageo addresses how problematic the term ‘multicultural’ can be.

“When you have a term like ‘multicultural’ you can paint a very clear box and measure how many people you put in that box very easily, so it made it very easy for people who aren’t going to truly engage a culture to check a box,” Cherry said. “The cross cultural conversation is more in line with the way the world works. There are many variables around why someone buys something and it’s not always because of their race or their orientation. Cross-culture to me is recognizing the new America, the mixing of cultures, thoughts, beliefs, and it’s not always based on the way you look.”

Cherry and the other panelists agreed that the term ‘multicultural’ encompasses multiple races, but its broad application limits a marketer’s ability to deeply engage with viewers or consumers.

Of course, talking about race can be tricky. Louis Carr touched on this, posing to the panel: “Is ‘multicultural’ the new term for ‘urban’ to make people comfortable?”

The panelists all agreed that often agencies, media companies and creative shops struggle with discussing race or incorporating it into campaigns – for fear of repeating controversial and racially-sensitive bloopers from the recent past. Part of the sensitivity of discussing race in advertising is due in part to the shortage of diversity in the advertising ranks.

Many advertising agencies and media companies struggle to retain diverse talent at the top of their corporate ladders. Tiffany Warren is the founder and President of ADCOLOR, a cross-industry initiative dedicated to recognizing professionals of color in advertising, marketing, and media. “When I see mistakes in strategy – I look at that like a big talent mistake. Was there anybody in the room to say something regarding that strategy” Warren said. “Once we align what HR and Chief Diversity officers are doing with the strategy, with the media buying, with the media planning, I think you’ll have a lot less mistakes and that’s something we have to get right in our industry.”

This conversation went beyond which prefix should accompany the word cultural but the dialogue touched on the root of a deeper problem in the advertising industry and that’s the need for more diversity in advertising and in leadership positions. Through individual words of wisdom the panelists encouraged the audience to be courageous enough to voice their opinions, to keep it real even when the truth is hard to digest and always be equipped with solutions. Tiffany Warren emphasized the need to “keep the door propped open for new talent” as Louis Carr encouraged everyone in the audience to mentor at least two people this year.  As The Beat continues to celebrate Black History Month, let’s all challenge ourselves to mentor someone this year and keep the door open for the next wave of creative leaders in our industry.

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Holly Robinson Peete and Sakeena Irish, Leader of The ParentHood, Viacom’s Working Parents Affinity Group.

Viacom’s Office of Global Inclusion, The Parenthood, SOMOS, and The BEAT partnered to host an inspiring film screening and panel that successfully moved the silence around autism and encouraged the difficult dialogue about what it’s like to parent a special needs child. The audience was treated to a screening of the short film, Colored My Mind, which stars Blair Underwood and Nicole Ari Parker as parents coping with their son’s autism diagnosis. The screening was followed by a panel with the film’s director and BET Sunday Best producer Nia Hill and the film’s cast LaDonna Hughley, Donna Hunter, Tammy McCrary and Shannon Nash. The panel was moderated by actress, author and autism advocate Holly Robinson Peete.

The Colored My Mind title speaks to how children with autism see the world differently and often color the world to their way of seeing. The tear filled narratives of parents LaDonna Hughley, Donna Hunter, Tammy McCrary and Shannon Nash are weaved throughout the film and bring to the forefront the importance of talking about autism especially in communities of color.

Holly Robinson Peete discussed how delayed autism diagnoses are more prevalent in Black and Latino communities because talking about mental health is often discouraged. She spoke to the difficulty she had discussing her son’s diagnosis with her family. “My in-laws I think just three months ago said the word autism… my boy is 15. There is a generational stigma that made it very difficult to start to accept…that can impact the family the marriage and all those things but now that we have the diagnosis and we are moving on and in a proactive way.”

The panelists shared their personal struggles with grief, denial, coping, seeking understanding and finding help in the 1990’s when there were limited resources. Parents today have an advantage with the internet and access to information. The panelists encouraged parents to take advantage of the internet to build support communities and even credited organizations like Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization, for increasing awareness. Representatives from Autism Speaks were in the audience and fielded questions about autism’s definition, causes and early signs of developmental disorders.

The panel ended on an inspiring note as each panelist reflected on their favorite parenting moment. LaDonna Hughley recounted that her proudest moment was when her son Kyle graduated college and her husband (comedian D.L. Hughley) received an honorary degree from the school and they shared a stage on graduation day. The Hughley’s experience is unique as many children diagnosed with autism don’t make it to college and parents should know that each autism case is different.

One might be quick to infer that lack of discipline is the reason behind a child screaming in the mall, but it’s important to think about these strong mothers profiled in the film. Consider that screaming child could have sensitivity to lights, colors and crowds, making a trip to the mall physically painful for them. This film will help shift perceptions and remove stigma especially in communities of color. As the audience left carrying signed copies of Holly Robinson Peete’s book My Brother Charlie (a children’s book about a young boy living with autism) – I am optimistic that this important conversation will continue on thanks to the many efforts of those on the panel.

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‘Tis the season of giving, and Viacom’s Office of Global Inclusion kicked the season off right this year with its third annual Give Back & Get Down celebration, an organized company-wide collection drive culminating in a huge party. Leading up to the event, which was a collaborative effort of Viacom’s six Employee Affinity Groups, collection boxes to benefit Hurricane Sandy relief efforts were set up across all Viacom locations in NYC.

A week and a half later — the day of the party — there was plenty of reason to celebrate: the groups surpassed their goal of 22,000 pounds of items by then, and made plans to send out another truckload of items.

The event took over The Lodge (the cafeteria here at our NYC headquarters) and the entire floor for that matter — from the moment you stepped out of the elevator, neon lights were flashing, and the bass was thumping.  (I would like to dub what The Lodge had been transformed into as “Via-club” – Viacom’s club dedicated partying with a purpose, complete with cocktails, tablecloths in the perfect shade of Viacom blue, delicious hors d’oeuvres, a photo booth, and DJ Illah spinning everything from Beyonce to Justin Bieber.) The entire scene was set against the sparkling lights of Times Square, which made for the perfect backdrop.

Renee Jackson, production manager at BET News and one of the executive producers of Give Back & Get Down, said “the employees that have been affected most are the ones who want to give the most, and that has been very touching.”

But it wasn’t only those affected lending their support.

“It’s been amazing to see all of the employees getting involved, on top of their regular jobs,” Jackson said.

All donations from the event will be divided among City Harvest, Tunnels to Towers and Red Hook Initiative, three New York-based organizations working to help those most affected by Hurricane Sandy.

As part of the Viacom community – the Viacommunity – there was no possible better way to kick off the season of giving, and no possible way to feel more proud to be part of such a giving community and company.

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This month, a new Tr3s special, “Empuje” puts the issue of health at the forefront with a three part docu-series aimed at raising awareness of the most common, yet serious, health issues for today’s young Latinos. The series follows the mentoring exercise of three young Latinos: Mark aka “Tank,” Genny, and Juan, as they struggle to improve their health and wellness regimen. Their mentors are celebrated Latino athletes Gerard Piqué of FC Barcelona, black belt martial artist and celebrity trainer Ary Nuñez, and Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo.

America’s surge in obesity is nothing short of a public health crisis that threatens our children, our families, and our future. Moreover, Hispanics 18 years and older are 1.2 times more likely to be overweight in comparison to non-Hispanic whites. Latino adults are disproportionately obese and overweight compared to the general population. In fact, heart disease is the leading cause of death for Latinos. Sadly, many Latinos are unaware that being overweight puts them at a higher risk of heart disease. Overall life expectancy for Latinos is declining as a result of obesity and obesity-related health risks.

Simple measures, coupled with a commitment to change, can help reverse these facts. By increasing weekly physical activity and choosing healthier meal options, young Latinos can help reduce this imbalance and increase their life span. In each episode of “EMPUJE” renowned athletes share their secrets with young Latinos on thelasting and beneficial steps to making themselves healthier, happier and stronger. The half-hour special captures the grueling yet inspirational transformation of these young adults alongside their celebrity trainer and motivator. As their wellness guidance counselors, Piqué, Ary and Henry will push their students to successfully reach their fitness goals.

ThePROS will teach their mentorees how to eliminate excess fat and sugar from their daily diet and offer ways to add more colorful fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins to their diet. Most importantly, the athletes will reinforce the science and immediate health benefits of regular physical exercise.

“EMPUJE” offers the inspiring stories of Mark aka “Tank”, a high-school wrestler and football player, who struggles to become a better athlete by overhauling his poor eating habits; Genny, a go-getter who’s busy schedule doesn’t include exercise or eating right; and Juan, a father-to-be who recently emigrated from Mexico to Spain in search of a better life, on  Tr3s.

Sources: Tr3s.com, PAHEF.org

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A glimpse into the future shows that by 2050, Latino youth are expected to comprise 29% of the total U.S. youth population. With this insight, it is important to utilize many methods to mobilize Latino youth to go cast their ballot and make their voice count. This year, Voto Latino developed a smart phone Application available in the iTunes store that expedites voter registration at the touch of a button and provides local voting guides and information. Multi-faceted entertainer Wilmer Valderrama, along with a dozen other big-name celebrities, appear in a video campaign urging young people to vote with taglines including, “United We Win”, “It’s Your Country. Vote.” and “Register. Vote. Live Your Legacy.”

Since its inception in 2004, the organization estimates its civic engagement campaigns have reached an estimated 55 million Latino households nationwide. In the 2008 presidential election, Voto Latino leveraged social media and celebrity participation in five battleground states, all of which saw Latino voter participation increase 5% or more above the national average. Voto Latino’s benefit album produced with Apple iTunes during the 2008 election was the top selling album on iTunes Latino for weeks.

Using technology, music, and cultural figures, Voto Latino is a superb model for connecting with this diverse and growing community. Best practices include:

• Voto Latino’s ‘United We Win’ 2010 mid-term election campaign registered more than 10,500 new young voters in four weeks in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida and Texas.
• Voto Latino’s “Be Counted” 2010 Census campaign was iTunes’ #1 campaign in 2010 in terms of customer acquisition/conversion rate. More than 100,000 iTunes cards were distributed through their on-the-ground network.
• Voto Latino’s ‘Be Counted’ Census campaign trended top 8 globally on Twitter and became a top 4 non-profit channel on YouTube with more than 500,000 views, generating 15,000 pledges to fill out the Census and $150 million in federal funding for Latino communities.

Latino issues are American issues and American issues are Latino issues. Voto Latino’s creative multi-media campaigns combined with a coalition of more than 40 dedicated actors, musicians and celebrities are helping to unify and empower today’s large and diverse Latin youth population. Its dedication to bringing new and diverse voices into the political process is evident by its philosophy of “United We Win.”

Sources: HuffingtonPost.com, PBS.org, VotoLatino.org

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Today may be National Voter Registration Day, but BET has been gearing up its audience to vote for months now – not just on-air and online, but in person, too, with events like its “Vote Like Your Life Depends on It” town hall, which took place at the Apollo Theater last week.

Hundreds waited in line to snag a seat in the historic Harlem theater for the free forum which brought political newsmakers, including civil rights leader and radio personality Rev. Al Sharpton, face-to-face with the community for a discussion moderated by T.J. Holmes, host of BET’s upcoming late night show Don’t Sleep! In line with the goals of the forum, the show will offer social commentary on issues important to African-Americans, as well as election coverage.

The town hall boasted an impressive panel of political thinkers, academics and journalists, who led a critical dialogue around the issues impacting this year’s presidential election. The town hall panel included: author and Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson, The New York Amsterdam News publisher Elinor Tatum, Advancement Project Co-Director Judith Browne Dianis, political analyst Keli Goff, James Braxton Peterson, Associate Professor at Lehigh University, and noted journalist Jonathan Hicks. Panelists raised concerns about Supreme Court nominations, voter suppression through Voter ID Laws, education reform, the teacher’s strike in Chicago to the need for a Black political agenda.

But through the multitude of outspoken voices, one message resounded clearly: get out to the polls and vote.

“There are a lot of people at this point who are not excited about this election and may stay home, but the fact is we need to show them what the repercussions of staying home would mean,” Tatum said.

An engaged audience scribbled down notes on thought-provoking points and cheered in support of some of the humorous exchanges between Sharpton and Dyson in particular.

Tatum, along with Advancement Project Co-Director Judith Browne Dianis, who is on the front line fighting Voter ID laws and protecting the right to vote for all on Election Day, were at least encouraged by the turnout in the at-capacity venue.

“The turnout here is showing people are excited, they are ready to go, they know what’s at stake and it is dispelling this story about the enthusiasm gap,” Dianis said. “We know that African-Americans in particular know that there’s a lot at stake with regard to the Supreme Court with regard to healthcare all of the things that are starting to make our lives better are on the line.”

Or, as Sharpton put it, “’08 was historic, but ’12 is personal.”

While BET is working across platforms to communicate voter registration information, information on voter ID laws and voter suppression (from daily PSAs on-air, the debut of BET News election docu-series, The Second Coming, on Oct. 19 and 26, a dedicated election microsite and social media accounts, including its @BETVote Twitter handle), its town halls are an important in-person outreach tool for BET’s audience, according to Jonelle Procope, President and CEO of the Apollo Theater.

“I think it’s important to bring news to people in a way that they are comfortable with receiving it,” Procope said of how the Apollo’s collaboration with BET’s “Vote Like Your Life Depends on It” came about. “Some of us like looking at the news and listening to the pundits, others are totally involved in social media. We find that our community here likes live – they like to be up close and personal.”

BET will head to Ohio for its next town hall on Oct. 6.

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The U.S.-born segment is the source of higher educational attainment among Hispanics, and their high school dropout rate is just 10%. However, dropout rates have been high and college completion has been low among Hispanics overall, relative to other ethnic groups. This trend was driven by foreign-born Latinos, of whom a third did not finish high school. The main reasons cited by Hispanics who cut their educations short are financial pressure to support a family (either here or in their native country), poor English skills, a dislike of school, and a feeling that additional schooling isn’t necessary for the careers they want to pursue. With U.S.-born Hispanics representing an increasingly large share of the college-age population, we expect the dropout rate to decrease.

Based on an analysis of Simmons data, here are a few additional facts about Hispanic Millennials and secondary/post-secondary education:

• Mexican-born 18- to-29-year-olds over-index in having a high school diploma or less. 22% of Hispanics 18 to 29 are Mexican immigrants. Mexican immigrants also represent 25% of those whose highest level of education is a high school diploma and 31% of those who did not graduate high school.
• U.S.-born Hispanics ages 18-24 are as likely as non-Hispanics to be currently enrolled in college full-time. 29% of the native-born Latinos are full-time college students; 30% of non-Hispanics are. In contrast, just 21% of foreign-born 18-24 are.
• Hispanics 18-29 with at least some college are more optimistic than those with less education. 60% of the “some college” group consider themselves optimists, compared with 44% of Hispanics 18-29 with a high school diploma or less.
• Those with at least some college are more likely to be risk-takers. 54% of Hispanics 18-29 with some college say they enjoy taking risks, vs. 45% of high school grads and 50% of those with less than high school.
• Young Hispanics with some college have higher career ambitions. 59% of Latinos 18-29 with at least some college say they want to get to the very top in their careers, compared with 45% of high school grads and 40% of those with less than high school.

With U.S.-born Hispanics representing a growing share of the 18-24 demographic, it’s likely that college enrollment and graduation rates will rise. That, in turn, will lead to greater career accomplishments and financial stability in the years to come.

Source: Pew Hispanic Center, “Hispanic College Enrollment Spikes, Narrowing Gaps with Other Groups,” August 2011; Pew Hispanic Center, “Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America,” December 2009; Experian Simmons, Winter 2012 NCHS Adult Survey 12-month

Jose Tillan is General Manager for Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más.

For more research and insights from Tr3s, visit http://inside.tr3s.com/blog.php.

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"Victorious" castmembers lend a Big Help off-screen

Jezebel isn’t your typical mommy blog, but we very much appreciated the maternal perspective that contributor Angela Hunt, a university educator and mother of two, offers in her post yesterday, “An Oasis of Racially Diverse Television Is Right Under Our Noses.”

There’s ongoing debate about whether television and film accurately reflect the diversity of American life, and Hunt argues that critics overlook one area that’s getting it right:  kids’ programming.
She calls out Nickelodeon, in particular, and deservedly so, in both our biased and unbiased opinions.  At Nickelodeon, and across all our networks at Viacom, we work hard to reflect the diversity of the audiences we serve – in the programming on our screens, and in the talented people we employ.  She points to a number of Nick shows that are marketed broadly but feature diverse female lead roles “that could be written for any girl,” including How To Rock, Rags, Victorious and True Jackson, V.P.

Hunt believes positive depictions of diversity in kids’ programming could have a powerful impact in entertainment and beyond:

“If this generation of kids regularly watch and enjoy shows that feature multi-ethnic casts, that center around girls of color that are universally accepted in their worlds as intelligent, funny, talented and beautiful, then when they are adults who earn and spend their own money on films, they will happily pay to see these same and other actresses of color on the big screen.”

We agree.  Check out Hunt’s thoughtful column in its entirety here.

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In the midst of a whirlwind promotional tour of New York, Juanes, the 17-time Latin Grammy award winning artist and native Colombian, took time out of his busy global rock star schedule to treat Viacom employees to a performance at the company’s 1515 Broadway headquarters.

The event was hosted by Somos, Viacom’s Latino employee affinity group, and Tr3s to celebrate the premiere of Juanes MTV Unplugged.

Easygoing and humble, Juanes gave an intimate acoustic performance.  His multi-generational and cross-cultural appeal made the show an easy draw, and employees packed The Lodge cafeteria for the show to hear popular tunes including “A Dios Le Pido” and “La Camisa Negra.”  After an encore played at the behest of the adoring crowd, Juanes spoke backstage  about his passion for music and how he uses that form of art to communicate with his fans, and as a vehicle for change.

Ivette Urena, an executive assistant at Nickelodeon, called the show lively and inspiring and said she felt like she was at a family party — not a bad vibe for an afternoon during the work week.

“Everyone was happy, very upbeat and free in their own element, she said. “I felt at home, surrounded by others like myself, enjoying great music.”

Edgardo Perez, a co-chair of Somos, explained how the board was able to create such an amazing event: “It was a pleasure to work with Tr3s and Juanes on the event. Everything seamlessly fell into place thanks to the collaborative efforts of Tr3s’ Public Affairs team, Juanes’ management team, and Somos’ co-chairs Leslie Arredondo and Sheila Grullon, as well as executive champion Juan Herrera.”

Check out Juanes MTV Unplugged on Tr3s.

Eliana Munoz is an executive assistant at Nickelodeon and a member of Somos, Viacom’s Latino employee affinity group.

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