Dive Brief:
- Adobe has revealed a handful of new initiatives to help celebrate the creativity of a diverse community of voices, according to details shared in a press release and blog post.
- As part of the program, Adobe will sponsor The New York Times' special digital issue of T Magazine, "T Presents: The 15 Creative Women for Our Time," a content series about creative women, as well as the Women at Sundance | Adobe Fellowship, the first-ever fellowship for female filmmakers with the Sundance Institute. The fellowship includes a year-round mentorship from the Sundance Institute and Adobe executives, participation in Sundance Institute labs and programs and a $5,000 cash grant.
- Additionally, Adobe has created a Creative Cloud landing page called Diverse Voices, where consumers can connect around creative projects to share their ideas and execution ideas. The site will highlight a diverse array of creators and will publicize scholarships and fellowships as they become available.
Dive Insight:
Adobe has a long history of creating branding platforms to promote how its Creative Cloud tools can be used, from its profiling of CMOs on CMO.com to humorous influencer campaigns.
This latest effort is a way to promote its creative tools through a number of different content marketing initiatives that help promote creative people from a diverse background of voices. Through this program, Adobe is staking its flag to support women and people of color who work in creative fields by showcasing those who have succeeded and by creating tools to help foster emerging creative talent with the support they need to pursue their ventures.
The partnership with The New York Times highlights creative women who have already found success, while the Sundance Institute collaboration could pave the way for those getting started. Notably, the New York Times series will include people from Adobe's creative community that use the company's tools in its process, including illustrator Octavia Bromell, data storyteller Jessica Bellamy and Georgina James, Nike vice president and creative director for women's footwear.
"Creativity has the power to create change in the world in big and small ways," said Ann Lewnes, executive vice president and CMO, in a blog post about the initiatives. "It has the power to unite us, help us cope, inspire us and drive positive change in the world. But, creativity needs to be more accessible to, and celebrated by, every one of us— regardless of race, ethnicity, ability, gender or sexual orientation. At Adobe, we believe it is our responsibility to give diverse voices a greater platform to share their stories, especially in this unprecedented moment."
The focus on diversity corresponds with research that shows the value of diverse advertising. Brands that show a broad variety of cultural and demographic groups in their advertising see improved perception among consumers and stock market gains, per a study by Deloitte-owned agency Heat.
