The AdLab hosted guest speaker Marcus Collins at their weekly AdLab “all-agency” training meeting on 10/8/2020. Marcus is the newest member of the AAF Hall of Achievement, inducted this Fall. He is an African-American superstar in the advertising community, having been the Head of Strategy at Translation in NYC and Chief Consumer Connections Officer at Doner in Detroit, and most recently a Professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
He spoke to us about his work at the intersection of evolving media technologies, behavioral sciences, and cultural proximity, and most importantly left us with a powerful message about how to deconstruct the influence and understanding of cultural codes so we can fully assess meaning. We explored how developing meaning from the communities we are a part of can lead to having true empathy for others from different backgrounds. Everyone came away inspired and full of optimism for the diversity of perspective, with the call to “get close and stay curious” while we “live to die empty,” giving all we can to the causes we believe in with the tie we have on earth to give. It was a remarkable day of learning and inspiration for the advertising students.