The LAGRANT Foundation | Kamattie Singh

Receiving my scholarship to the LAGrant Foundation was a huge milestone for me considering it kicked off my career. I was able to participate in career building activities with The LGF in Cincinnati, Ohio which was a great experience. As a grad student, pursuing a career in the communications field, I felt overjoyed to be surrounded with likeminded and dedicated peers. This was a great occasion to meet industry professionals, network and gain exposure Marketing/Advertising and the Public Relations field. Most importantly, many of these people were first generation minority students in the workforce, like myself.

All participants were able to visit the P&G headquarters where a series of workshops were held. These various workshops gave me great insight on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the communications field overall. As a minority, we are needed in the communications field because our wide ranged backgrounds. Our world view is essential for campaigns to be relatable to the general public. As I recently began working for a well-known Ad Agency, this was a great reminder for me to never limit myself to the endless opportunities climbing up the corporate ladder. It is important that we never settle in our positions but challenge ourselves to thrive beyond our comfort zones. Listening to leaders within P&G and Citizen Relations opened my eyes to how many roles we can achieve as communications professionals. Many of the speakers started their career in completely foreign fields but their passions let them to the path they are in now.

One of my favorite speakers was the Keynote Speaker, Anitra Marsh who is the Global Associate Director of Brand Communications and Sustainability for P&G Skin and Personal Care. Her words resonated with me and brought me back to by first Public Relations class at BIC. It was interesting to see how much value is placed on corporate sustainability for this specific brand considering they are worldwide. There is a responsibility that the brand should upkeep and continue to stress in order in improve performance in increase profits. Transparency and Stakeholder engagement are important factors to keep in mind while implementing CSR initiatives.


These workshops helped to remind me that major campaigns cannot be successful if specific elements are not considered such as the Heart of the Cause. This is emotional connect is essential for brands to connect to their consumers. It is stated that 75% of consumers are more likely to purchase brands that push for change on issues they care about. Secondly, partnerships can help drive attention and awareness to the product. Influencer partnerships have been increasingly popular and successful for consumers to recognize promotions. Brands go through an intense process with top influencers including briefing them and shooting content. Influencers have become a major key to the marketing/advertising world because they are third party advocates. Influencers work best with a product that has a following or brand awareness. There is a vast research process that goes into selecting these influencers to ensure they are a good fit for the brand. Lastly, Measurement must take place before during and after the campaign. It is important to keep track of metrics to test if the communication methods are effective.

An interesting point I learned from one workshop is Keyword Expertise which I never knew existed. Many brands use the Google tool called “Keywords Everywhere” which is a Chrome extension that can be added to your browser and track related searches from users. All content and outreach should be tied back to the search theme. Professionals should ground themselves to search behaviors or brand and product in order to leverage all words, platforms and keywords related to what they are trying to promote.

Personally, I was able to gain a mentor who spoke on the panel for Citizen Relations and is a minority himself. This individual was a self taught graphic designer that works for some of the most well known brands today and this is just the first step of his career. It makes me excited to think about the future and what an essential part I can play now and later down the line. The LGF was able to connect me with various people across the U.S who I know will be leading communications for the biggest companies in years to come. I am honored to be a part of an organization that contributes to the careers of many. I hope one day I can speak to the next group of The LGF and influence them during the beginning of their career path. One quote that stuck with me from this event was
It’s not about how good you are, but how well you can become.
 -Christopher Burns, US V.P Finance, Century.

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