The heart of my work is rooted in "radical honesty." As a cultural and social scientist, former ad industry professional, wordsmith, and inclusive branding consultant I have successfully helped clients create inclusive brand eco-systems. And, I love my work.
Read on to learn about me, my process and offering, my amazing Truths Tellers, and how GROW inclusion can help you build sustainable, inclusive brand strategies and creative messaging.
About Jean
Way back when, I graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. From there I launched my own design firm, ended up in advertising and then did a short stint in corporate marketing. I spent most of my time, in those years, in Chicago.
In the 2001 I earned my PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Thus, began my life as an “accidental academic” at Marquette University. Twenty-five years later I’ve published more than 40 articles, whitepapers, and/or book chapters. My work addresses the inequities that hamper inclusivity within advertising agencies and thus negatively impacts authentic inclusivity within brand messaging. Along the way I’ve traveled to over 30 countries and interviewed practitioners in nearly half of them. I’m also the co-author of the award-winning: Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy & Design (Sage, 6e), now sold in 25 countries. I’ve published or been interviewed by more than 20 national publications including the Chicago Tribune, Fortune, NPR, and Newsweek.
In 2021 I pivoted away from academia and founded GROW inclusion. You’ll find details about my offering and Truths Tellers below, which is undoubtedly why you’ve read this far.
However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my latest adventure. Given my deep understanding of the power of inclusion and my penchant for “radical honesty,” I’ve begun creating provocative visual Word Puzzles paired with pithy essays, and have begun writing longer provocative essays. These Written Words and Word Puzzles are now part of my repertoire and, admittedly, they have a rather unambiguous POV. Take a tiny sneak peek on this site under Wordsmith. If you’re intrigued, take a deeper dive where many more live, at WordsmithPHD.
As you see, I’m still writing and love it. Words matter.
Branded Inclusion
When I founded GROW inclusion in 2021, I structured my Branded Inclusion Offerings to help organizations, and the brands they serve, build sustainable branded inclusion. My process helps unlock empathetic brand truths and build strategies and creative messaging that amplify inclusivity. I also provide offerings to help build internal, environmental inclusion. My work is enhanced by working with my Truths Tellers, each is an invaluable asset to building successful and sustainable inclusivity.
At GROW inclusion, I offer five options for building inclusivity: Creative Audits, Belonging Briefs, Truths Coaching, Cultural Engagement and Reimagining Recruitment. Each briefly described below. To see how they work together checkout the GROW inclusion matrix, which provides more detail and demonstrates how the five options work together to build sustainable branded inclusion.
Creative Audits
Creative Audits are deep dives into creative work. We access the work to ensure there’s cultural sensitivity and that it matches strategic branding goals—always with a focus on inclusivity. Often creative audits begin with the strategy team, helping embed inclusivity into the backbone of the work. We can help craft strategy, write briefs, assess the inclusivity of creative, attend shoots, and are often pulled in to review new business pitches. We provide whatever is needed.
Belonging Briefs
Belonging Briefs are usually paired with creative audits, when we are doing branded inclusion work. Think of them as the summary documents or insight-driven strategy documents, crafted to help create measurable goals that sustain inclusion. When we are doing internal organizational inclusion work, belonging briefs are shared with the executive team to help support inclusion agency-wide.
Cultural Engagement
Cultural Engagement experiences are designed to expand internal inclusion. Together with my team of Truths Tellers we help an internal inclusion team to craft engagements that brings people together. We offer diverse and fresh perspectives on how to facilitate sustainable inclusion across organizations.
Reimaging Recruitment
Reimagine Recruitment is a resource for accessing an organization’s current recruitment practices. From there we provide ideas, tailored to your agency or organization, that will challenge the all too common, and inclusivity-killing, “cultural fit” model.
Truths Tellers
When building sustainable inclusion strategies, we always work as a team. I’m the team lead, and I carefully select one of my Truths Tellers, or more if necessary, focusing on whose background and experience fit the client’s needs. We typically work hand-in-hand with your internal team, as we help you build sustainable branded inclusion.
Every member of GROW inclusion is unfailingly Transparent, empathetically Respectful and Understanding. We are Trustworthy to the core and always Honest. We are Seekers of TRUTHS. We are Truths Teller.
I love my Truths Tellers. They are amazing people who bring a wide range of knowledge and experience to the process of building sustainable inclusion. Between us all we’ve worked with brands, small and large, and agencies, local and globe.
You’ll find us quoted in Admap, Advertising Age, The Drum, The Huffington Post, Fortune, NPR’s Marketplace, The New European, WARC and others. Among us, we are authors and editors: Selling Truth: How Nike’s Advertising to Women Claimed a Contested Reality (Jean Grow), Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, and Design (Jean Grow & Joanna Jenkins), The Convergence Crisis (Joanna Jenkins), Advertising & Society Quarterly (Ed Timke) and Race in the Marketplace: Crossing Critical Boundaries (Kevin Thomas).
Others have won national design awards (Ellen Wagner) or are former Forbes 30 under 30 recipients (Jeff Lopez). A number live abroad and/or have traveled the globe, including a fellow from the London School of Economics (Marta Mensa), a globe-trotting negotiator with criminal justice experience (Scott Tillema), and a British brand semiotician (Chris Arning). No matter which Truths Teller you work with, from first-generation college graduates to seasoned professionals, we all will strive to help your team unlock empathetic truths, build strategies, and create resonant messaging that amplify sustainable inclusion. Let us join your team and help you build sustainable branded inclusion.