Kinetic has this week announced the launch of Balance, a cross-sector initiative to drive greater diversity across the Out-of-Home media sector.
The aims of Balance are to share best practice across the sector, work collaboratively on projects that promote diversity and create events that educate, inspire and provide support.
Led by Kinetic, Balance’s membership also comprises OOH specialists Talon Outdoor, Posterscope and Rapport, as well as leading media owners JCDecaux, Exterion Media, Clear Channel, Primesight, Ocean Outdoor, Outdoor Plus and 8Outdoor.
Nicole Lonsdale, Chief Planning Officer at Kinetic, has been installed as the network’s first chairperson, with the role subsequently being rotated between Balance stakeholders on an annual basis. Lonsdale will be supported by the Balance board, which will meet on a quarterly basis to drive forward the initiative’s programme.
Nicole Lonsdale told us “I’m really excited that we have been able to bring the industry together to address diversity under the banner of Balance. This is a really important topic that the sector needs to focus on collaboratively if we are to ensure that the OOH talent pool includes and supports the right mix of people and skills for continued growth.”
“While the first steps have been made in the right direction when it comes to diversity across advertising and media, there is still a lot to do to ensure we are truly inclusive as an industry. Balance provides the necessary focal point to provide inspiration and help break down barriers for those working in OOH.”
Balance launched Wednesday at a stakeholder event held at Kinetic, featuring keynote speeches on diversity and inclusion approaches from Joshua Graff, UK Country Manager & VP EMEA of LinkedIn, and Sarah Jenkins, CMO of Grey, who established a diversity taskforce similar to Balance for creative agencies.
Stuart Taylor, Chief Executive of Kinetic, said: “At Kinetic, we’ve made a concerted effort in recent years to equip our employees with the tools they need to foster an inclusive working environment, through projects and training programmes which tackle a variety of diversity issues. Nonetheless, the time has come to really drive a coherent, co-ordinated approach across the sector in order to affect real change and create the future we want for the medium, and ourselves. As a sector, we need to play our part in moving the diversity conversation forward and through Balance we now have a platform to achieve that”.
You can find out more information on the Balance website here [1].