Clicks and the Importance of Diversity in the Creative Industry

Founder and Executive Creative Director of SoulProviders Collective, Sarah-Jane ‘SJ’ Boden talks about some of the strides that the creative industry has made in South Africa. She also talks about the need for transformation, representation and diversity across brands and the agencies they work with.

Partly citing the Clicks issue, SJ says some of the issues stem from the fact the people brands want to speak to are not represented in the spaces where ideas are generated. Talking about representation and its significance, she points out that in some instances brands have men thinking around and writing copy for women’s products. The same diversity and inclusivity issues apply across race and many other factors.

As a former judge at the PRISM Awards and a judge at the Loeries Awards, SJ notes that there have been strides made towards diversity and transformation within the Loeries in 2020. According to SJ, under the leadership of new CEO, Preetesh Sewraj, the Loeries brand has been taken on a fresh course in line with greater inclusion and representation. This is a positive and encouraging sign as more local agencies grow and change takes effect.

In this episode Sarah-Jane SJ Boden talks about what drives transformation, diversity and representation from brands to agencies, which leads to future-thinking work that reaches out to the majority of South Africans. She shares insights that will help to grow inclusive creative teams and enable brands to have meaningful connections with people.

Listen to the episode with Sarah-Jane ‘SJ’ Boden.