—Throughout Black History Month, The Message will be sharing short profiles of Black professionals from across the industry: marketing, advertising, PR, media and production. Written by POCAM members, the profiles are a way to “fight invisibility,” an exercise in representation for an industry where representation must get better—
Charmain Emerson is the managing director of Cultured Communications and co-founder of the Black Opportunity Fund, a national charitable organization created to dismantle anti-Black racism by establishing a sustainable pool of capital to fund Black-led businesses and Black-led not-for-profits and charities. Emerson’s 20-year career is a lesson in moving intentionally, and creating the space you want to thrive in the industry.
A journalist after graduating from university, Emerson worked with a few of the private radio operators (McLean-Hunter, then Rogers) before finishing off at CBC. She then made the natural segue from reporter/broadcaster to PR/corporate communications, although achieving the role of VP took time and came with its challenges. “I started at a small agency and only ended up at one of the largest agencies after a great deal of persistence and pursuit. Eventually, the CEO hired me in the position of VP,” she said. “That was a bold and disruptive change for that time. I’m pretty sure I was the only Black person working at one of the national agencies and in an executive position.”
And it remains one of the bigger challenges we still have today. Emerson found there were no mentors or role models that looked like her when she was coming up in the profession. “I certainly never saw nor heard of anyone else that looked like me at national industry events,” she said. So Emerson became the successful leader that she could not find when she was coming up and created two PR businesses: Building Blocks Communications, was a small and mighty agency with incredible teams and national brands at various times in its iteration. Cultured Communications, is the consultancy she currently manages, while also mentoring diverse talents wherever she can.
For this industry to become more inclusive, Emerson’s advice is clear. “It’s quite simple, [open] up the doors to diverse leadership. I see evidence of this taking flight but the change is small and slow. C-Suite leaders should take a close look at their workplace and ask, ‘Are we genuinely instigating meaningful transformations within our workforce?’” she said. “If there is an absence of senior leaders representing the BIPOC community, or if there's only one Black individual in a senior leadership role without others from that community or the broader BIPOC category emerging in leadership pipelines, then the answer is clear—the efforts toward fostering positive change are far from sufficient.”
Emerson’s advice to young Black talent who want to get into advertising? “More representation from our community is needed. Get in there, work hard and get noticed; and if you find that it’s taking too long to be recognized, don't be afraid to ask your boss, why?
You can follow Charmain Emerson on Instagram.
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This POCAM BHM 2024 profile was written by Natalie Bomberry, VP, Operations at Pilot PMR and Steering Committee member of POCAM.
Chelsea Charles is full-time graphic designer by day and freelance illustrator by night; a specialist in illustrations that evoke an emotional response. I was introduced to her work by Akil Worrell when I was searching for an illustrator who would do justice to a series of illustrations of Black folx from every walk of life. Charles was the perfect match. She’s been a freelance illustrator for eight years and a graphic designer for five.
Being creative has been a part of Charles’ life since childhood. She enjoys the challenge of solving problems and bringing light to issues through visual messaging. Coming out of college with no experience or connections, Charles found it hard to get her foot in the door because there is so much competition.
When I asked Charles what she loves about being in this field, she said, “As simple as it may sound, anytime I get great feedback at work about a project I've worked on or been a part of and how well it's doing in helping drive more traffic to the store, is truly amazing.”
Charles thinks our industry could become more inclusive by having more BIPOC representation in leadership. She believes that just being visible is helpful to the younger generation or anyone who may find the industry intimidating because they don't see creatives who look like them. She frequently takes calls with students seeking advice on how to get their foot in the door.
To young Black talent, she said, “Don't feel discouraged or that there isn't space for you. Keep perfecting your craft and just be yourself because your perspective and creative outlook will help change the industry. Transparency is super important.”
Charles is hoping to publish a children's book, and is planning to work towards that this year. She has adopted Amelia Earhart's exhortation as a personal motto: “The most effective way to do it is to do it.”
For work, Charles has chosen to share one of her favourite illustrations. “I love the warm colours in contrast to the cold, lonely feeling that the figure displays. Creating work that evokes emotion is important to me,” she said, “I think I succeeded…”
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This POCAM BHM 2024 profile was written by Gavin Barrett, CEO/CCO/Founder of Barrett and Welsh and a co-founder of POCAM and the Multicultural Marketing Alliance of Canada.
