Native-born Hawaiian. State champion for her girls鈥 wrestling team. Journalism and media studies student in Las Vegas. It wasn鈥檛 until Nikki Davis attended the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Conference in New York City in February that she grasped that sharing these and other experiences in her life could enhance her creative work.
A Hank Greenspun School of Journalism & Media Studies student, Davis focuses on integrated marketing and communication. Last fall, she was selected as one of . Those students come from 35 different schools and have an average GPA of 3.6. The conference focused on the importance of having employees from diverse cultures and backgrounds work at ad agencies.
鈥淚t helped me understand that just simply being me is what being diverse is all about,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淚 always shied away from expressing who I am, but didn't realize that by doing so I was actually hiding the unique and rich culture that I grew up with and I wasn鈥檛 sharing valuable insights about where I come from to help people understand.鈥
Davis attended the AAF conference to accept her award and to network with top ad agency executives and copywriters. (She met the brains behind Superbowl ads.)
We asked her to tell us more about the experience.
On the importance of diversity in advertising
Having people from different racial, cultural, or social backgrounds in the industry gives advertisers the ability to reach a wider audience. It is important to connect with people across cultures to understand certain norms. Diverse perspectives in an advertising agency help to ensure that the message you are trying to convey is not misinterpreted or offensive to the audience.
Being a native Hawaiian informs her creative work
Diversity isn鈥檛 about your skin color; it鈥檚 about bringing your ideas on life, how you were raised, and sharing those experiences with others.
Advertising doesn鈥檛 represent the way the world is today. The media struggles with an accurate representation of Hawaiians. When Hawaiians are portrayed, they are depicted as laid back or savages. They are a very strong culture and hardworking people. I hope to share my stories and make an impact 鈥 even if it鈥檚 a small one.
Lessons from the AAF conference
Advertising is about working under pressure and having a lot of eyes on you. I met recruiters and found out what inspired them. Advertising is 100 percent passion.
What drew her to advertising
I love producing something that could impact someone else鈥檚 life. You can always learn skills and programs, but loving what you do isn鈥檛 something people can teach.
How advertising is evolving to attract her generation
This generation is less persuaded to give into something quickly. Now, advertising campaigns are more genuine and have real-life stories to reach people. It鈥檚 creative storytelling or creative problem solving, which I love. Brands and companies use real-life issues to connect consumers to their brand. The companies aren鈥檛 outright saying, 鈥渂uy our product鈥 but they are becoming closer to consumers鈥 lives. There鈥檚 of course a bad side, and that鈥檚 capitalizing on things negatively to get someone鈥檚 attention.
Why the ad campaign Always Like A Girl resonates with her
I have always competed with boys (in wrestling when I was in high school, judo when I was in elementary and in high school, and when I used to train MMA at Wand Fight Team in Las Vegas during college) so I never saw myself as being less capable of doing something just because I was a girl. It just never crossed my mind.
But the fact that I grew up hearing phrases like the ones repeated in the commercial like "you throw like a girl" or "you run like a girl" surprised me since I never took offense to those statements or even noticed them as being derogatory to women even though that pretty much goes against everything that I represent. That campaign made me realize that people say stuff sometimes without even understanding the meaning behind it.
I was inspired by that campaign because it made me have a deep moment of self-realization and impacted others to do the same, no matter what age or gender they were, and that is rare.
Why she focused on the integrated marketing communication track in journalism
I found that it鈥檚 like a combination of psychology, business marketing, and journalism. I think it matches perfectly in the journalism department because as a journalist it is your job to be the 鈥渨atchdog鈥 for the people and integrated marketing communication kind of has the same effect. I think this form of 鈥渁dvertising鈥 or messaging allows companies to be more intimate and genuine with their consumers.
Companies are not only trying sell product, but they are also bringing up issues people care about or using the advertising platform to deliver those messages. It鈥檚 about driving social change. That鈥檚 something really new and IMC is not focused solely on being money driven. Some companies are making a difference in the world and using their brand to reach the consumer.
