The Blueprint Names Latest Agencies To Secure Diversity Mark
LONDON – Following the latest round of applications for The Blueprint diversity mark, Hope&Glory has retained full Blueprint status, CCgroup and Harvard have been promoted to full Blueprint status, Cowshed remains a Blueprint Ally and Talker Tailor Trouble Maker has achieved Ally status .
Launched in 2020, The Blueprint aims to promote racial diversity in PR and communications. The award-winning agencies make a series of commitments aimed at promoting diversity from work experience to the boardroom.
The applications were evaluated by an independent jury: Henry Rowling (founder, innovation agency Flying Cars); Sasha Daly (Advocacy and Influence Consultant) and Nyree Connell (Education Policy Manager and Blueprint Strategy Consultant).
Consumer brand and lifestyle agency Hope&Glory is the third agency to secure and retain full Blueprint status, following Manifest and Stronger Stories. The judges commended the agency’s robust approach to inclusive recruitment and work culture, its creative campaigns that focus on diversity, and its senior management accountability and employee engagement.
CCgroup and Harvard join Blurred and Cirkle to become the latest agencies promoted to full Blueprint status by ally.
Since CCgroup was Blueprinted in February 2021, B2B tech PR and marketing consultancy CCgroup has not only retained talent but also seen an increase in BME representation. The B2B tech PR and marketing consultancy impressed the judges with its commitment to DEI, including progressive policies around maternity leave and menopause, and improvements in everything from recruitment to supply chain.
Similarly, technology marketing and PR agency Harvard has spent the past two years building a data analytics-based DEI framework with six pillars: disability; Gender; race & ethnicity; socioeconomic; LGBTQ+; and neurodiversity. The agency’s work has resulted in increased Black, Asian, multiracial and minority ethnic staffing at all levels, including senior management.
Cardiff-based Cowshed remain the only Welsh organization to secure an award and retain Blueprint Ally status. The integrated communications agency has maintained its commitment to DE&I with significant revenue growth. Aside from working to create a diverse and inclusive workforce, the agency scored highly for its work promoting DE&I in the industry and in the country.
Talker Tailor Trouble Maker is the youngest agency to receive Blueprinted status for the first time after applying in December 2022. The creative communications shop was recognized by the jury for its commitment to DEI with a diverse workforce, an inclusive culture and a progressive approach to positive change.
Elizabeth Bananuka, the Founder and CEO of the organizations behind the initiative, Blueprinted and BME PR Pros, said: “When we launched the diversity badge almost three years ago, we didn’t expect to see the results that we saw when we applied again still have the engagement that we see in new applications.
“From recruiting to suppliers, from client work to culture, from leadership to onboarding, from change in the leading industry to changing clients – Blueprinted agencies prove that positive change exists alongside successful business leadership even in the challenging environment can, in which many were engaged in the past a few years.”
The Blueprint Diversity Mark has four application rounds per year and applications are judged by an independent panel that attended a Blueprint Diversity Workshop. The deadline for the next application round is March 2, 2023. The Blueprint for Inhouse and The Blueprint for Comms Organizations were launched in May 2022.