Blurring the Lines with Lindsay Harris at Tombras

This week I spoke with Lindsay Harris, Chief Purpose Officer at Tombras. Lindsay brought a decade of journalism experience — at Ad Age, Campaign US, PRWeek — to the agency world, joining David&Goliath's Today, I'm Brave, Havas and now Tombras.

How did you get where you are today? Was your path more linear, or less so?

I went to the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and, at the time, thought I was going to cover the sports industry. I even started at a small publication in New Jersey called Youth1 Media where I wrote about local middle school and high school sports.?

After a year in that role I went to an event in New York City where I met Jonah Bloom who at the time was an executive at an advertising agency, but had previously been the Editor of Ad Age , and he told me about a reporter position that was open at PRWeek , where he also previously served as Editor. He explained why he thought I would love covering marketing and public relations, which led me to apply for the job, and later get the position where I covered consumer marketing and the CMO section. From there I went to Ad Age and covered creative and media agencies before joining Campaign US as Editor.?

Throughout my time as a journalist I realized that the pieces I loved to write about were stories that were shining a light on underrepresented voices or campaigns that were making an impact by doing something good for different communities.?

Part of my role at Campaign was helping to grow the business, and I wanted to do that in a way that aligned with my own values while making a difference in the industry. We launched the Power of Purpose Awards and the Female Frontier Awards, now called Inspiring Women. We also launched an agency and industry wide parental leave report where agencies would tell us what their maternity and paternity policies were. That was a really impactful initiative where we watched agencies improve their own policies after seeing the benefits competitors offered.?

Then the pandemic came, and it was such a dark time for everyone, including the journalism industry. It was also a moment where I wanted to bring more light into the world. I wound up speaking with David Angelo, who’s the founder of advertising agency David&Goliath, and he mentioned needing someone to run Today, I’m Brave, the global non-profit arm of David&Goliath. I spent a little over one year there and it was such a great experience.?

After that, I joined Havas in New York as their Chief of Social Impact and Public Relations to work with Laura Maness who at the time was the Chief Executive Officer, and now is the Global CEO of 葛瑞集团 . She helped Havas New York become a certified B Corp, which meant that the agency put people, the planet and profits in balance — and I was so inspired by that.?

In the summer of 2022, I joined Tombras , and they had just partnered with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville to rebrand and relaunch the ad and PR program to the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations, with the goal of building a strong pipeline of diverse talent for the advertising and marketing industry. I was blown away by how invested leadership was in diversifying the next generation of ad and PR talent. And now that is a big part of my role here, as well as working with our clients and our nonprofit partners on purpose-driven initiatives.?

So I would definitely say my career has not been linear, but it's been a really exciting journey.?

You spent over a decade in journalism, at Ad Age, Campaign, PRWeek and other publications. What would get you to open a pitch and take the sender’s intended action (i.e. schedule an interview, attend the event)?

I definitely responded way more to emails from people who I already had met for a coffee or had a phone conversation with. That personal connection and relationship building is priceless. So, I would definitely suggest taking the time to meet journalists and build that foundation of a relationship. If you can't do that, I would also say an exclusive doesn't hurt as long as the story is big enough and as long as the pitch is newsworthy enough. And most importantly, that the pitch is relevant to the journalist. Your story might be cool or interesting, but if it’s not what I covered, it wasn’t a fit. What got me to open the pitch and take an action was by the person building that personal relationship, offering an exclusive, and making sure the pitch was relevant.?

You covered DE&I and female empowerment in advertising at the height of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, but also before these issues were trending. What story are you most proud to have covered? And how did it come to fruition??

It was titled Advertising Is Still a Boys’ Club for Ad Age , which was published about 15 months after former JWT Chief Communications Officer Erin Johnson filed a discrimination lawsuit alleging racist comments and sexual harassment against Gustavo Martinez who was the CEO of JWT, and who wound up stepping down. We set up a blind email address and worked with diversity advocate Cindy Gallop to encourage women to share personal stories about gender discrimination, sexual harassment, or any bais they were facing in the industry, all in an anonymous way. And hundreds of responses came in within a few weeks. The feature story wound up showing that there was little improvement over the past 15 months since Gustavo had stepped down, even though a lot of these agencies and holding companies were saying they were going to make changes, and put more female leaders in power positions, and advocate for equality across the board.?

This story meant a lot, and I was so proud of how we told it. I got to talk to so many women of all different ages in the industry — interns to mid-level creatives to senior executives — and they all had similar stories of gender discrimination and sexual harassment. It made me want to push for more and more change in the industry. And while I don’t think things are perfect right now, there have been improvements and I’m optimistic improvements will continue to be made.?

Since 2021 you have been even more focused on impact and purpose-driven work. How do you at the team at Tombras ensure purpose is at the core of client campaigns and strategy??

It truly depends on the brief and client, but one way we talk about purpose at Tombras is that purpose is an honest intention to lead positive change. It starts with a brand belief, which is what the brand believes in at its core. Then it's a brand intention, which is what the brand intends to do with that belief, and then it is the brand action. That is what the brand is doing, big or small, either externally via a campaign or internally in the brand’s day-to-day. So that combination of brand belief, brand intention and brand action is key in leading to positive change.?

Where do you find inspiration?

I recently took a nine-month course at the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care that focused on contemplative care where I learned a lot about the Zen practice. That course changed my life in a lot of ways. Now, I meditate more and I became a hospice volunteer. It shined a light on impermanence in a beautiful way. The fact that everything changes and nothing stays the same. Everything is fleeting, and there's no promise of tomorrow. It might sound depressing, but it really is beautiful. Today I find that meditation helps keep me more grounded and more present, and it opens me up to finding inspiration in little things that I may have missed before.?

Part of your role at Tombras involves the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Can you share more about this program?

A couple years ago, Tombras made a major endowment to the University of Tennessee and founded the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations, which is the largest DEI initiative from an agency in our industry.?

The mission is to transform the next generation of advertising professionals by increasing the opportunities for underrepresented youth, enriching student experiences and growing involvement. Our professors travel to 37 flagship inner-city schools across Tennessee to create awareness for advertising as a career path and to promote the Tombras School, as well as to offer scholarships and to give informational tours.?

Last year was the end of the first full academic year since establishing the school, and we've already seen incredible success.?

We've already seen an 88% increase in Asian Students, 27% increase in Black students and a 6% increase in multiracial students. Our advertising majors overall have grown 30%, and our minors increased 2811%. And more than half of the faculty at the Tombras School are diverse. We have faculty and professors from China, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, South Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Vietnam and elsewhere.?

What advice do you have for someone looking for a purpose-driven role?

I would say to follow your heart and passion over money. The money can come later, but doing what you love and making a meaningful difference in an area that you're passionate about is invaluable.?

I'd also suggest networking with purpose-driven leaders in the industry or the area that you're interested in making a difference in, whether that's advertising or nonprofits or sustainability. Get out there and talk to people, consume relevant content, whether that's reading books, listening to podcasts, or attending purpose-focused events and panels, and just keep pushing forward with your passion because life is too short, so focus on the things that make you happy.?

Rapid Fire Questions:?

What’s your favorite song right now? Santa by Ayra Starr, Rauw Alejandro, and Rvssian

What’s the last book you read? How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

Who’s one person in this industry that inspires you, that everyone should go follow? My husband, Jason Harris * at Mekanism . I find him to be a really inspirational leader, and I love what he shares on Instagram.?

If you could meet one person for coffee, who would it be? Taylor Swift

What brand do you love following on social media? Free People on Instagram

What is one word you would use to describe 2024? Transformational

*Listen to Jason Harris ' podcast Soul & Science on Apple Podcasts or Spotify