Alex Ebanks, Vice President of Communications for ESSENCE Ventures, shares some exciting milestones for the brands she works with. Alex describes how organizations can effectively lead the next generation in their internship and mentorship programs. Alex explains the important factors she considers before choosing to partner with an agency. Alex also shares valuable advice to students about how to make a lasting impression while networking.

Click here to watch the “Time of Essence” documentary series.

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TRANSCRIPT:

DOUG: Alex, could you get us started with just a brief history of the iconic ESSENCE brand, in case some of the viewers just aren’t aware of how powerful it was in its heyday?

ALEX: Yes. So, the ESSENCE brand is nearing 55 years as we gear up for 2024. It’s a legacy brand that started with a magazine that has been generational. It’s something that I remember on my grandmother’s coffee table growing up, and it was really the first time that I saw a representation of me, in a physical way, outside of just family members and friends. From there, it’s been just a part of my personal, you know, life, from every angle. I always know that there’s that trusted resource of the ESSENCE magazine that I could go to. It’s like that from many, many people today, probably many people watching this as well. Since then, it’s evolved into a festival that attracts thousands and thousands of people every year. The ESSENCE Festival of Culture, which also reaches its 30th year in 2024 as well. So, a lot of big milestones coming up and just a legacy brand that people know is something where they can you know, go. It’s a trusted, it’s where 31 million black people call home. And it’s something we will continue into the next decades and then a great history for anyone that’s not as familiar with ESSENCE as a brand is, “Time of Essence”, which is a five-part docu series that aired on OWN in August of this year. It’s now streaming on Max. It gives actually every decade an overview of ESSENCE as a brand and how it’s evolved over the years from commentary from Miss Oprah Winfrey to Vanessa Williams, Taraji P. Henson, Whoopi Goldberg and many, many more as well.

DOUG: Thanks for starting us off with that descriptor. And obviously, your role on the team now is to help bring the brand into the future. What are some of the things that you’re working on and where do you see it going?

ALEX: I have the pleasure of being the Vice President of Communications for ESSENCE Ventures. ESSENCE Ventures includes ESSENCE Communications, Inc., which is the brand that I was just discussing, legacy brand, going on 50 plus years, 55 next year in particular, as well as Afropunk, which is a global festival. We just celebrated Afropunk, in August in Brooklyn. There’s also Beautycon, which is a brand that we had the pleasure under the ESSENCE Ventures ownership to revive this year in September in LA, and then also ESSENCE Studios, which is more of our production arm, that has been able to produce a ton of great content across all of the brands under the ESSENCE Ventures portfolio.

DOUG: And you recently spoke at the PRSA National Conference. It was very interesting panel. Can you share some of the top takeaways from what that panel was about and what you discussed?

ALEX: I had the pleasure of being invited to speak on a panel with, some dynamic black leaders in the communications space where we actually discussed the topic of the lack of diversity in the communications field. So, one of the stats that we highlighted during that panel discussion was that 10% of people in the communications field today are multicultural, and only 5% of people in the PR space today are black women. And so, the panel, which was led by a black male, it was a panel filled with four black women discussing our journeys and then what we’re doing today to increase those numbers and percentages in our respective jobs and fields.

DOUG: And how can brands and agencies increase diversity in their internship and mentorship programs? Because obviously that’s so important as a feeder system into the industry.

ALEX: Yes. There’s two ways. One is to pull someone else up. So I think, you know, I always one of the most fondest memories when I was asked to lead the Coca-Cola companies internship program across the Public Affairs and Communications department, and I really looked at it as a perfect way to bring in that next generation. And so being that the Coca-Cola company is based in Atlanta, not only did we look at interns for prospective interns from schools all across the country, but also in particular at HBCUs, historically black colleges and universities in Atlanta, as Atlanta has the largest consortium of HBCUs in the country. And so making sure to give those students an opportunity as well, in addition to students across the country, was an option that I felt was able to help me bring in the next generation. And. The same way they operate in open jobs that I have even to date. The other way is, as we, you know, look around at how to pull together the best work. Just my personal experience has been the best work comes when you have the most diverse voices in the room. So as I look at, you know, agency partners, prospective agency partners, prospective, you know, partners in general that I want to work on a project with, I really look to see how diverse their team is before going into that partnership, because I always want to ensure that the best work is produced with the most diverse minds, most diverse backgrounds, and that really entails ethnicity as well as diversity of thought as well.

DOUG: Do you have advice that you would give to perhaps diverse candidates, or even others who are searching for entry level employment to get into the industry?

ALEX: Yes, I would say network is the biggest thing. I think every job that I’ve gotten to this day has been based on a connection that I’ve made, not even a connection. I’ve been I made asking me about a job, but more of just connecting with people, connecting on commonalities and being memorable that, you know, continue to follow up, check in not just when you need something, but just saying hello when you know, Merry Christmas when it’s Christmas time. Just to stay in top of people’s mindset. When something pops up, they may consider you and say, hey, this would be a great opportunity. And I think the other one that I always tell people is make sure that wherever you meet someone, it could be at a networking event, it could be walking down the street is that they have the best, they leave that experience with the best, experience they could possibly have had with you, because you never know how that opportunity may lead to your next, whether it’s a job or just making a new friend. It is always something that just think about as you’re looking at your next opportunity as students and intern. Interning is the biggest one. You can’t, you know, get to, you know, a full-time position if you don’t have experience outside of the classroom. And so, so many companies offer tons of internships, great internships, a lot of agencies offer internships that then turn into full time roles immediately after college as well.

DOUG: One of the things that might be challenging, obviously, you’ve talked about the current lack of diversity within the communication space within it 10%. If the industry isn’t growing rapidly, and we saw little slow slowing down of the growth this year compared to the last few years, are there still ways that agencies and crimes communications teams can still increase diversity when they don’t have a lot of jobs available?

ALEX: Yes. I mean, I think going back to the internship piece, you know, these students are so eager, I know I was eager. I did a total of seven internships when I was a student at Spelman College. I was like a super intern. I used to say many of them got paid, but it was about the experience and being able to gain that insight. So that’s a great opportunity that if there’s not necessarily a role that’s full time for hiring opportunity, there could be that person that you may want to bring in that’s an intern. And what I loved about being an intern when I was growing up in college is I was able to bring insights to the people that I was working with, many of them being PR agencies, some of the, you know, largest global PR firms in the country or in the world. And that opportunity was able to make me remember that I was actually called back to one of those agencies when I graduated college for a full-time position that wasn’t available when I first graduated from college.

DOUG: That’s really great. Now, is there a role for brand communicators to keep in mind when they’re interviewing an agency’s team for a project partnership that might help increase diversity across the board?

ALEX: So, one of the things that I personally do, it’s a commitment that I’ve had, but I’ve seen it work across many large global companies that I’ve worked for is if the room is not diverse, that’s actually a factor of if I’ll consider bringing them on as a partner and not in a negative way, but more so just around. Again, those the most diverse rooms allow for the best creative thinking because it’s backgrounds. It’s all sorts of things that like, I may not have the same background as someone else, and that oftentimes that happens and someone else may not have the same background and experiences as someone else. So when I really look at narrowing down a partner that I want to bring in as a part of, you know, whatever company that I’m that I’m with from a communication standpoint, I really do look at not only just ethnicity, but also their backgrounds to see how that will then pull through in the work.

DOUG: That’s really important. And I think within your last answer, you’re starting a state with a lot of really called the business case for increased diversity, and it’s a pretty strong case.

ALEX: 100% I mean, that was what the PRSA panel was about. It was how these communicators that were sitting on that panel, what they’ve seen work. And it really is when you have that diversity of people and, and thinking and how that’s been able to help not only in just their personal careers, but also in the work that they. Dos every day at their respective companies and organizations.

DOUG: This has really been a great conversation. As I ask you for a final thought you might want to add, I will mention that we’re going to include the link to the information about the documentary series you spoke of. So, more people can check it out. Any final thoughts?

ALEX: Yes. I always just tell people, you know, one of my favorite quotes is an anonymous person that said it, but it’s always, don’t tell people your dreams, show them. And really, like if you have something that you’re really passionate about, show it. That could be, you know, whether you’re volunteering. I’m a big, you know, proponent of volunteer and community service. That’s like a personal passion of mine. It’s just all those different things and interactions is really what helps to show people what you love, what you’re interested in, versus just telling them. It really gives them an opportunity, a sneak peek behind what you’re interested in outside of just more of a talking conversation.

DOUG: That’s really great advice, and thanks so much for sharing your great information. I know you’re so busy with your role at ESSENCE, we really appreciate you slicing at the time. Help the people who watch this be better at what they do.

ALEX: Thank you so much for the opportunity. I love talking to you guys and I’m always happy to connect with people. I tell everyone, reach out to me on LinkedIn, always happy to respond and connect.

DOUG: Great, and my relationship with ESSENCE goes all the way back to 1993 when we covered the ESSENCE Awards from Radio City. So that was really exciting. Thanks again for joining us.

ALEX: Yes, thank you so much.