How Agencies Can Be Equitable Inside and Out With RanaVerse

When June rolls around, brands try their hardest to get LGBTQ+ consumers’ attention with a predictable release of rainbow-themed products. This tactic is referred to as “rainbow washing,” and LGBTQ+ communities are calling out brands that only seem to care about them during Pride month. Many companies are listening and putting that feedback into action, truly incorporating LGBTQ+ inclusion within their brand mission and forging ongoing partnerships with various LGBTQ+ organizations like Adweek Brand Save honoree The Trevor Project. Brands are also making sure representation extends to their marketing and creative as well. To do so, many turn to agencies like RanaVerse for help. “I wanted to open doors, or the places and spaces that were closed to me and that I had to push open,” founder Rana Reeves said about starting the company. Reeves, a 2021 Adweek Pride Stars honoree, is on a mission to help brands implement diversity and inclusion in their creative that truly represents what the world looks like: people of different colors, orientations, shapes and sizes. Proud Voices: How the LGBTQ+ Community Is Choosing Resilience Putting his name on the door Reeves started his career in 1996, before the industry at large was paying attention to DEI. “Everything that I used to do used to be lumped into this catch-all phrase, particularly in Britain, called ‘youth culture,’” Reeves said. Social media eventually gained traction, which changed everything. It made advertising less of an “ivory tower,” he said, and gave a platform to historically marginalized groups. Sensing a societal shift was underway, about four years ago Reeves decided to found an eponymous agency. Naming the business after himself was a way of making a statement. It harkened back to the era of old-school advertising, when it was common for the leaders of the ad world—then mostly white men—to name agencies after themselves. “I wanted to go back to those days where there was a name above the door, because we have a point of view,” he said. And he found that brands were ready for change. Industry conversations began to shift, he noticed, away from Valentine's Day, the Oscars, Coachella and the Hamptons toward topics like Black History Month and International Women’s Day. “We changed over to a human rights calendar,” he said. These Pride Campaigns Are Rooted in Brand Purpose Ending the performative Now that advertisers are more on board with his worldview, Reeves is ready to push them to take the next step. As a means to end performative action, he asks new clients what they’re doing—not what they’re saying. For example, Reeves would need to know if a brand were supporting The Trevor Project but not taking a public stand against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, which contributes to high suicide rates among queer youth. Some are further along on that journey than others, and the brands with executive buy-in are typically the ones that want to partner with RanaVerse, he observed. Agencies are also beginning to use their influence as brand advisers to steer their clients in the right direction. To ensure RanaVerse is not performative, Reeves sets certain standards that his clients must adhere to. The agency manages Unilever’s Queer Leader Network, and in an environment where Black drag queens have fewer followers than white drag queens, Reeves makes sure that everyone is paid equitably. “We pay across the board the same fee, and we use that as part of the conversation with the community,” he said. It’s one example of how agencies can set a standard in the industry—and make their clients stick to it. Infographic: If Your Pride Marketing Plan Is a Rainbow Flag, Think Again