“It’s been tough.” This was the fitting take on the past 12 months from Nicky Bullard, Chairwoman, MRM Europe & Chief Creative Officer, MRM UK. Speaking today at the Creative Equals RISE conference, Bullard joined the panel in acknowledging the year we’ve just collectively come out of.

She went on to discuss how part of the way MRM rose to the challenge was to not just “share our intel, but to share our pain.”

This empathy was a key factor in unlocking a year when most of us were in uncharted waters. Something emphasised by the panel’s collective tribute to HR personnel worldwide. 

“We’ve all been on such a journey,” said Sufia Parkar, Global Associate Director, D&I, McCann. She reiterated how crucial it was that her organisation supported the physical and mental wellbeing of their employees; fostered a culture even. Something she said was “paramount.”

Thrown into the midst of a pandemic that was largely unmapped and always evolving for better or worse, it makes sense that our response matched it step for step. Sufia Parkar said how it was about continuing to stay connected to people, reiterating that they belong. And how it came down to building “a culture of support and empathy.”

This has been something that extends to those beyond organisations as well. Karen Crum, Global Brand Strategy Director, McCann discussed the agency’s recently lauded work with gaming giant Xbox. 

The ‘Beyond Generations’ campaign took a less expected step when it cast older people playing the Xbox console alongside younger generations. The campaign came from an original idea McCann had generational divisions. A topic that, like many things, became magnified beneath the lens of covid. 

Of the campaign aimed at combating elderly loneliness and disconnection, Crum explained: “The creatives spotted an opportunity where they thought people were being left out and left behind.” She said how despite gaming being frequently derided, it also has an enormous ability to bring people together.

This appetite to address topics and demographics previously omitted is something key to Crum, and why she has looked to build “a culture which enables [less expected perspectives] to be listened to.”

Bullard championed this attitude, saying how “we have to have a diverse community in our creativity, because we’ll only get better work.” 

So much of what Sufia Parkar does is about “ensuring that everyone feels included in the conversation.” The global pandemic has for once brought the world onto the same page. If there is still a discrepancy in the solutions, then the problem is one that is for the most part shared. 

Empathy is key, and listening to what is happening around us is more important than ever. Karen Crum referred to the desire to leave no one out in the work of McCann as King Kong. Because whilst “content is king, context is King Kong.” 

When asked to impart her one takeaway for the RISE audience, Crum implored people to “look for the grey.” She described growing up during the Troubles in Northern Ireland; one of the few children to have one Catholic parent, and one Protestant. Yet rather than feel the need to focus on what divided her, Crum said she looked for the grey; that area in between where we might be united. 

“Stop being so binary,” she urged. A mantra she said sets the conditions for a campaign such as ‘Beyond Generations’. 

Having gone through a ‘tough’ 12 months, what’s arguably of equal importance to getting out of it is holding on to what it’s done to us. Or more specifically, our perspectives. In closing, Sufia Parkar said how we should “use the last 12 months as an opportunity of learning and self-discovery.” Pointing to the momentum which has been built in the diversity and inclusion space over the past year, she added: “I don’t want to lose this energy or momentum.”