Some bias is overt. But other bias … creeps.
Without a solid foundation of accurate data on which to base their ideas, marketers often rely on a combination of assumptions and incorrect, faulty data that perpetuates stereotypes.
Former WarnerMedia executive Larry Adams, now CEO and founder of multicultural data-focused agency LVA, saw this dynamic firsthand. As a volunteer for former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign, Adams and his fellow volunteers realized the campaign wasn’t hitting Black voters. Favorability scores weren’t good.
The data necessary to reach multicultural audiences where they are, combined with messaging that would resonate, just wasn’t available, Adams says on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
And so Adams left his job as SVP of digital strategy, product experience and head of design for WarnerMedia’s DTC products in January 2020 and founded LVA to develop technology that could train data – and the marketers who use it – to be more inclusive.
The result is a proprietary solution that uses a combination of AI, machine learning and psychometrics – the measurement of attitudes and personality traits – to quantify the level of inclusion in content.
Today, Adams says, it’s not enough to recognize racism.
Rather, it’s time to take proactive steps to “get rid of it, to eradicate it, to break down this artificial construct of race,” he says, “and start conversations with people regarding these stereotypes and tropes that have been passed on through storytelling, media and through some misinformation.”
Also in this episode: How contextual targeting can sometimes bolster stereotypes; Adams’s first job (which involved meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger); and the truly heartwarming backstory behind what “LVA” stands for.
