Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Adnan Arnautlija
The gender gap issue has plagued almost all industries for years, and the discussions on it have recently picked up steam in the creative industries. Various initiatives were launched in various countries to address the issue, and one of them that truly stands out is the Ladies First project from Romania, which goes beyond simply showcasing women creatives, and promises to become a country ambassador in the world.
We wanted to learn more about the project, its methods, goals and ambitions, so we had a little chat with its creator Teodora Teo Migdalovici, founder of the Love and Lobby platform that stands behind the project. Teo, a “PhD in pioneering”, is a long-time advocate for many issues in the industry, a Cannes Lions representative in Romania, founder of The Alternative School for Creative Thinking, an alchemist in brand building and one of the main ingredients in Romania’s stellar success in the international advertising festivals.
Media Marketing: Ladies First is a project that presents and empowers women in creativity in Romania. How did the project come to be?
Teodora Migdalovici: It was my silent, implicit statement on the hot topic of “women in creativity”.
In my 20s, I used to be an outspoken writer on the industry’s problematic topics: ideas theft, scam ads, low quality education and excessive politics done by people that should focus on creativity instead. And by doing that, I acquired a consistent number of friends and foes. I wrote vividly, hoping for the change to come, until I realised that commenting and being both funny and critical isn’t helping, especially within an industry that possessed a gigantic ego and where people used to take it very personal. Therefore, I decided to pick a theme that needed improvement and silently act on it. Zero words, 110 % action. My new mantra became “stop talking and do it better, yourself, until you see the change taking place”. I disliked the level of education for the youngsters, so I launched a creative MBA, called The Alternative School for Creative Thinking. I’ve trained the students until they became the best in the world and brought home gold medal after gold medal.
When I started my 18 years-long career as a festival hunter, I saw that Romania’s reputation abroad was a disaster. I started to wear Romanian designers’ outfits or create myself memorable pieces of fashion statements that would be both an ice breaker for relaxed small talk during parties and galas, but most importantly, a very efficient excuse to say that I come from this country, a “design-aware” contemporary Romania, not the one you see in the western tabloids.
Following the same pattern, when the gender gap topic became a subject within the international advertising community, I had to act on the behalf of the Romanian creative females, efficiently, memorably and for an international audience, especially because “Romanian women” is a category associated with a bunch of clichés in the international press.
And that was the context behind Ladies First.
The Ladies First magazine, by concept and also by execution, has an even greater role than promoting smart Romanian women or remarkable designers from the creative industry. This role is to present the world with a contemporary, well curated chart of Romanian talent. It is yet another instrument to efficiently lobby for Romania in the most influential communities: the global creatives. Actually, the platform behind Ladies First is called Love and Lobby and serves as a private diplomacy generator for positive change. I have a habit of joking about it, saying that “Love and Lobby” is my private Foreign Affairs Ministry, aimed at improving Romania’s reputation abroad.
Media Marketing: You say the Ladies First came in the wake of gender gap discussions. How well are women recognized and represented in the Romanian advertising industry?
Teodora Migdalovici: The local reality is reflecting the international one. The difference lies within the way women decide to act or react. They might not be in top hierarchic positions, but they are smart enough to be the idea generators behind award winning work or just work that makes a major difference. And that‘s remarkable. They end up gaining recognition and leadership regardless of the hierarchy. Some of them are ambitious enough to prove their merits and evolve up to the status of creative partner, creative entrepreneur or Creative Director abroad.
In the magazine, I also proved that there are enough forward thinkers amongst men that can acknowledge, admire and promote female talent. (Note: the entire magazine is conceived as a recommendation chain: influential men are recommending women acting in the creative industries for a potential juror position or as a candidate for “See it, Be it”, the Cannes Lions women’s empowerment programme.)
When I conceived the magazine, my goal was to make a plea for the beauty of diversity. Without creative women, the industry would certainly be poorer. We need as many voices and as many perspectives as possible, because this industry is not about functions, positions and politics, but first and foremost about ideas that can change the world for the better, while doing good business in the process. This kind of ideas can come from everywhere, regardless of gender. We need to give chances and a voice to as diverse categories as possible, if we want to see fresh perspectives coming to life.
Media Marketing: How was the project received in Romania? Did the advertising industry readily accept and support the project?
Teodora Migdalovici: When the topic of “women on top” (hierarchically speaking) came out, the reactions varied – a CD asked me if he needs to wear a skirt, so that he will eventually qualify for a Jury position. Another posted on Facebook a picture of his female dog in front of the computer, saying: “in our company, we take gender gap issues very seriously”. But that was the humorous nature of Romanians. In reality, when I decided to launch the social experiment and directly ask memorable men from the creative industry to recommend a female colleague for a jury position or for “See it, Be it”, the answers started to pour. Most of the interviewed men recommended more than one woman.
Ladies First became a phenomenon on social media even before the launch of the magazine, due to the me.alchemy shootings’ behind the scenes posts. I deliberately choose to go for the feminine, glam, authentic and vibrant perspective, respecting the identity of every subject involved. If the world is speaking about Romanian beauty, who am I to challenge this? I wanted to use the expressivity cliché, in order to make people pay attention to who those women really are and their professional achievements.
The concept seduced people. By the end of the project, I had a long list of women and men interested to be part of it and after Cannes, many asked if there is a next edition coming soon.
Media Marketing: Wide recognition of the great contribution that women are bringing to this industry also calls for the support of brands. What kind of response are you getting from them? Is it difficult to get them to understand the importance of this project?
Teodora Migdalovici: To be honest, I was so focused to get things done before Cannes – the magazine was launched during the Lions – that I’ve decided to finance the project via MEALCHEMY.COM, the personal branding company that I launched over 16 years ago.
We were a small team. Each shooting, including the make-up, the set-up, the styling – took several hours. We need 7 to 10 days to prepare, shoot, select the right portrait for each woman. The design, format and overall look of the magazine, we decided upon a trial-and-error basis, until we felt this is the right shape and the right vibe.
This was a project dear to my soul and I put all of my energy into making a piece of typographic jewellery out of it.
The plan was to offer a full experience of what this project might be, so the brand managers could properly see the potential. We can always have a second edition. The money will follow, I am pretty sure of it. It is always the same with the pioneer work – it is so new, people don’t know how to take it. As my experience in the pioneering is probably up to the PhD level, I listened to my intuition and I decided to deliver the project without thinking too much of the finances. As soon as the Ladies First will become part of the public consciousness, the money will follow.
Also, to be honest, I think the right investors in the development of this project are not necessarily brands, but the plethora of ministries, cabinets, cultural institutes and embassies that have a mission to properly promote Romania abroad.
The magazine is doing justice to the Romanian reputation abroad and I see it as a very efficient, up to date, contemporary business card for Romania’s identity nowadays.
Media Marketing: The project’s goal is to promote Romanian talent abroad. This is done through international cooperation and advocacy, and part of this is the platform’s role in selection of exceptional women for the “See it, Be it” program in Cannes. What kind of results have you had in this sense?
Teodora Migdalovici: “See it, Be it” is a competency and network accelerator dedicated to young women in the creative industries, launched by Cannes Lions 3 years ago.
I recommended talented women for the program in the first two years, yet they didn’t make it in the final selection. So the magazine has also had this goal, to be a more efficient, complex and consistent instrument to prove the Romanian potential.
What a glorious day when we found out that one of the ladies we recommended at the beginning of the year for the 2016 edition was selected for “See it, Be it”!
Media Marketing: What are the challenges still facing the project and what are the plans for the future?
Teodora Migdalovici: When I presented the magazine in Cannes, the first reaction coming from many of my peers was “Can we have a similar edition for our country?”
As a result, one of the objectives is to launch several editions, focusing on emerging markets, where creative women are making a career, but few people know about it.
I would like to travel to places that the media has already placed under some cliché attributes – as it happened with Romania – and discover what the truth actually is, related to both the creative map of the country and the status of creative females.
Also, trainings, personal branding coaching and a career boost accelerator for young, talented women are in the plan.
Regarding the current edition of #LadiesFirst, my goal is to promote it among Romanian Embassies and Cultural Institutes abroad, in the countries where Romania’s reputation has suffered a lot. I would just love to meet those journalists that summarize Romania under sick, poor and badly educated people and show them another perspective, starting with our talent.
Media Marketing: What would be your advice for industries in other markets in the sense of empowering women, and are you open to collaborations with similar projects, ie. the AdWoman project in the Adriatic region?
Teodora Migdalovici: My pieces of advice would be: “Don’t let clichés define who you are as an industry or as a nation”. “Be active and pro-active, not necessarily reactive.” “It’s up to every individual to generate change, if the reality is not in harmony with their wishes. All they need is time and focus. Everything else will fall into place, eventually”.
I am definitely interested in collaborations with organisations and companies from abroad. I am sure my retina can bring a fresh perspective on the status of an industry and the one of the female creativity.