#002 We've got news!

Welcome to another fortnightly edition of The Spectacle, where I share with you what's happening at TGRG as an agency and also thoughts on what's happening in and around industry. Besides announcing exciting new addition to our roster, I help you plan for Black History Month 2024 and highlight The Studio, our service to help individuals and businesses create assets for their businesses.

If you're working on a project that needs communications support and don't know where to start feel free to get in touch with me to see how our team can help.

See you soon

Juanita

I'm excited that TGRG has signed Victor Adebowale to our talent roster.

Victor is a respected entrepreneur, coach, thought leader and writer. With a passion for enhancing community access to vital services, he has significantly impacted various sectors through his visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to social justice.

His exceptional service to the unemployed and homeless earned him a CBE, and in 2001, he was appointed a crossbench peer.

A recipient of multiple honorary doctorates and often appears on radio and television featuring on popular programmes including BBC’s Question Time and Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.

VIEW FULL ANNOUNCEMENT | ACCESS VICTOR'S MEDIA KIT

Black History Month is just five months away. Launched in the UK in 1987, the celebration is an opportunity to learn about the contributions of the Black communities to British history. However, in the current climate - with growing anti-right sentiment and an unsettled political system - there could be resistance to the festivities. So what’s a possible solution?

Sometimes the focus of Black History Month is misunderstood and steeped in the very thing a lot of Black people don’t want: to be othered. The important thing is to find the commonality between all cultures with the evolutionary point being Black history. You can do this in a variety of ways. Like any engagement campaign, it should always be driven by the company mission, values and agenda and stay relevant to the organisational priorities. It should also be driven by your people. Ask people what they'd like to see from the organisation and whilst honestly people can be reluctant to share that is typically down to the fact that they aren't given the opportunity to share generally.

That's why an alternative - and possibly more favourable approach -? is to adopt the concept that Black History is every day and create more equitable environments for all people in the workplace or campaigns. This goes further and deeper than adding a variety of different faces to your artwork but also embedding consideration of the experiences of the global majority into policies, procedures and business practices both internally and externally.

It's also important to accept in advance that there may be some instances that it is uncomfortable for others. Ideally, it's worth providing safe spaces for people to feedback why but that shouldn't negate having the acknowledgement in your organisation. At the route of everything is the fact that people want to be heard and that is also what BHM is about. Making sure that everyone is seen in a way that's reflective of them and who they are.

Resources and organisations that can help you get ahead of the game and enrich BHM 2024.

For a general insight into Black British history try…

Black Cultural Archives (BCA) is the home of Black British History in the UK. An archive covering hundreds of years of Black History in this country, BCA should be the number one starting point for your planning and they have various digital and physical resources to help you deliver both on location or at their home in the heart of Brixton.?

If you work in education, try…

The Black Curriculum or the World Afro Day team can curate a range of resources for young people.?

To offer a different perspective to a common experience try…

TGRG’s expert speakers are specialists in everything from burnout to menopause. By bringing them into your workplace they can offer perspectives relative to all audiences but also be able to bring a nuanced perspective.

We're also here to help you plan any activations inline with your current business plan. Drop me a line at [email protected] and we can talk it through.

Did you know about The Studio, TGRG's service agency? It's a one-stop shop for anyone looking to make themselves more attractive to employers and customers through photography, web and graphic design. We build a 360 suite of strategies and assets to help individuals and organisations present a complete identity on and offline.

Our most recent projects include working with Pathway Fund, the UK's first social investment wholesaler dedicated to supporting organisations from the global majority.

We:

• built their brand identity not just for the organisation but key senior leaders,
• built the communications infrastructure (including policies),
• developed assets such as their website and image libraries plus
• conceptualised and delivered industry engagement events proudly laying the foundations of its future communications.

We also created and implemented the marketing strategy for the launch of the UK's first Racial Equity Scorecard which launched earlier this year.

Of our involvement, Project Director Dilys Winterkorn said "Juanita was instrumental in building communications at Pathway Fund."

And we don't just work with organisations, we've worked with individuals to create the assets needed for them to confidently present themselves in the world, both professionally and personally. Michelle De Leon, the founder of the global movement World Afro Day said "Trust in people that want to elevate you. I'm really glad that Juanita convinced me to do these professional shots."

Our motto is "If they're going to watch, give them something to look at"

GET IN TOUCH TO SEE IF WE CAN SUPPORT YOU WITH YOUR NEXT PROJECT