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By The Drum Team, Editorial

January 27, 2016 | 2 min read

Alex Mecklenburg, client services director at Friday, has challenged the next generation of young creatives to pick up the ‘diversity’ baton and ensure than real change is driven in the industry in the latest instalment of The Drum and Contented Brands’ In Her Shoes Series.

Challenging perceived industry norms and tackling the diversity issue head on is a talking point for many agencies, but In Her Shoes challenges them to walk the walk. The challenge is part of a video series, produced asks successful women to share their experiences before nominating a man from the industry to (literally) take a walk in their shoes.

In this episode Mecklenburg discusses her inspirations, such as Herta Ogilvy (not just the wife of ad legend David Ogilvy but the “gardener and legacy keeper” of France’s Touffou castle) who she describes as an incredibly intelligent and skilful lady.

While Mecklenburg said she has never felt being a woman has held her back in her career, she said she has experienced “quirky attitudes and prejudices,” such as an industry dinner when the male host introduced her to the room (comprised mainly men) as the representative of “emotional intelligence at the table”.

“The bad thing was I think the thought it was a compliment,” she said.

Rather than looking to a man in her past who has supported and provided inspiration, Mecklenburg nominated Jeremy Foneneau, a student at the School of Communication Arts.

“[He will be part of that next generation and disrupt what we’re doing at the moment and give back the answers to questions and [show] better ways forward. He’ll be able to do my job really well,” she said.

In ther previous episode in the series, the recently appointed Guardian chief revenue officer accepted the challenge proposed by Helen Weisinger, managing partner of Hey Human and Brave, to walk in her shoes.

Communications Friday In Her Shoes

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