BLM — Continuing the Conversation w/ Reni Adebayo, BBC Three
At Social Misfits Media, we have been choosing to continue the Black Lives Matter conversation.
We are continuing the journey of educating ourselves and others, by highlighting and hearing from black people working within the social media marketing industry, and getting their take on what has happened this year. The final edition in this series is with Reni Adebayo, Social Media Executive at BBC Three.
What is your name and what do you do for a living?
I’m Reni, I’m a Social Media Executive for BBC Three. I design and launch bespoke social campaigns for BBC Three’s portfolio of factual documentaries, and entertainment and comedy shows.
How has your role changed since the Black Lives Matter movement during the lockdown?
Social media for TV is a visual, online platform that showcases a well-established visual medium. My approach to my role has definitely changed with this year’s re-emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement. There’s a responsibility to be truly reflective of the audience, both in entertaining content, such as memes and GIFs, and in the hard-hitting informative output too. I’m more empowered with renewed resolve to highlight the blind spots on diverse and inclusive representation within a campaign or a show because relevant stakeholders are now more receptive to the information.
How has the Black Lives Matter conversation affected you?
The conversation is a movement against all forms of racism. What I’ve seen more from this recent surge to the headlines is an ongoing action to support and boost awareness of black-owned charities, such as Black Minds Matter UK, and black-owned businesses through regular events like Black Pound Day. This amplification of such resources has made me want to be a more conscious consumer in what spaces I give my attention to and where I spend my money.
What Black Lives Matter campaign has impressed you the most?
I’ve been impressed by Adobe’s efforts to boost underrepresented creators, something that is much needed in digital art spaces. By recognising that as a large renowned company, it has a responsibility, Adobe has given its platform to diverse voices to share their experiences as creators. The difference between a company talking for a community and a company moving aside to allow a community to share their own stories from a large stage speaks volumes.
What Black Lives Matter related initiative do you admire at the moment?
There’s a US laser tattoo removal company called Removery that is running an initiative to remove racist and hate speech tattoos for free. People go into having a tattoo with the knowledge of its permanency, especially when it is a tattoo of what they believe to be true. It’s fully within a person’s capacity to learn, to grow and to change their belief. What Removery is actually offering is the space and opportunity to continue along that path of change, and I think that is powerful.
What’s the main thing you think companies should consider when posting about Black Lives Matter?
Jumping on a trending topic is deeply embedded within advertising. However, brands are being held to account by their employees and consumers once they announce their alliance with the Black Lives Matter movement because it’s more than being just a trending topic — and it is not simply about being diverse. It is about how to achieve greater inclusivity within diverse groups, for people within their organisation. The history, the culture and the make-up of every company is easily accessible information to an online audience. People will immediately know if a brand is being insincere and disingenuous. A company should contemplate whether their message actually has tangible worth as real, structural change with lasting impact. Is this a long-term strategy or is it merely a marketing exercise?
How do you feel the conversation can be continued?
Everyone, absolutely everyone, needs to be brought along on this journey. Unlearning, undoing and re-educating is a continual, ongoing process for everyone. Being able to hold each other accountable, share resources, and to discuss openly is ultimately what will make real change, within people, within communities, and within companies.
We want to give a huge thank you to Reni Adebayo and all the other speakers for taking part in BLM — Continuing the Conversation! In our last edition, we had the pleasure of hearing from Ryan Walker from WorldRemit. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to the Social Misfits Media team at james@socialmisfitsmedia.com.
