IAM196- Founder and CEO Passionate About Inclusiveness of Minority Audiences in Brand’s Marketing Strategy

Some people know marketing and some people are marketing. Founder and CEO, Roy Broderick, Jr., is marketing. From starting strong early in his career with posts at MTV Networks, VH1 Networks, and Turner Entertainment Networks, to leading strategic campaign development and execution on the agency side of the business for Columbia Pictures, Marvel Entertainment, Screen Gems, and Tyler Perry Studios, Roy’s industry savvy, astute business acumen and powerful Rolodex are the fruition of a five-star foundation in the game.

In 2016, Roy launched The Intuition Consulting Firm – a marketing agency designed to blend two of his passions: positioning LGBTQ and multicultural audiences as an integral component of the brand’s marketing strategy and curating go-to-market plans that create authentic connections to both audiences.

Since launching Intuition, Roy travels the country sharing thought leadership on avoiding tone-deaf multicultural marketing and the business impact awaiting brands that choose to align with the spending power of this emerging audience.

• CEO Hack: Book- Exponential living
• CEO Nugget: (1) See yourself in the work you do (2) Slow down (3) Perfection exists but is not required
• CEO Defined: Official brand ambassador of the company both internally and externally.

Website: https://intuitionatl.com/

Social Media for Company

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/intuitionatl?_rdc=1&_rdr
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/intuitionatl/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/intuitionatl

Personal Social Media-

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/royalitea/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/royalitea?lang=en

Check out one of our favorite CEO Hack’s Audible. Get your free audiobook and check out more of our favorite CEO Hacks HERE.

Transcription:

The full transcription is only available to CBNation Library Members. Sign up today!

Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:27

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresham from the I AM CEO Podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Roy Broderick, Jr of The Intuition Consulting Firm. Roy, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Roy Broderick, Jr 0:36

Thank you glad to be here.

Gresham Harkless 0:38

No problem super excited to have you on and what I wanted to do is read a little bit more about Roy so you can hear about all the awesome things that he's doing. And some people know marketing and some people are marketing. Founder and CEO Roy Broderick Jr. is marketing. From starting strong early in his career with posts at MTV Networks, VH1 Networks, and Turner Entertainment Networks to leading strategic campaign development and execution on the agency side of the business for Columbia Pictures, Marvel Entertainment, Screen Gems, and Tyler Perry Studios, Roy’s industry savvy, astute business acumen Rolodex is the fruition of a five-star foundation in the game.

In 2016, Roy launched The Intuition Consulting Firm, a marketing agency designed to blend his two passions, positioning LGBTQ and multicultural audiences as an integral component of the brand's marketing strategy, and curating go-to marketing plans that create authentic connections to both audiences. Since launching Intuition, Roy travels the country sharing thought leadership on avoiding tone-deaf multicultural marketing and the business impact awaiting brands that choose to align with the spending power of this emerging audience. Roy, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO Community?

[restrict paid=”true”]

Roy Broderick, Jr. 1:52

Yeah, I'm ready.

Gresham Harkless 1:54

Awesome. Let's do it. So the first question I had was to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story. And what led you to start your business?

Roy Broderick, Jr. 2:00

Sure. So you know, kudos, my publicist, and now the bio, because when people have to read it, I'm always like, laughing because I have so many tongue twisters in there. But you know, my story is really, entrepreneurship was not in my path. I went to the University of Florida and got my undergrad degree there and marketing communications, and really started out on a voyage and entertainment marketing. After several years working at various studios and various things. I started to work in a marketing agency when really grew their business and had a great team and one day got in a conversation with the founder of the organization. And he really just admitted to me that he just, you know, he was like, I see we're making money, but I'm not really understanding what we're really doing.

And, I started to really realize that I was helping someone else to build their dream, and, you know, kind of adding a piece to the pie that he didn't necessarily see as a requirement. And so I was like, okay, I'm out of here, I'm gonna go just go back to the corporate side and took a job at Allstate Insurance as a marketing director, and was miserable. Something just kept pulling at me, I was like, I'm not doing what my passion is, and about 90 days later turned around and founded Intuition. And, you know, really, a lot of what we focus on is telling the stories of underrepresented individuals and community segments, and really trying to make sure that brands understand the pure genius of multicultural individuals.

Gresham Harkless 3:31

And I know you touched on it a little bit about what you've been doing for Intuition. And I love the fact that you're, you know, bringing light to the underrepresented communities. You're showing, you know, brands also how to connect and communicate with these communities. So I guess could you touch a little bit more upon like, how you do that? And what exactly do you do?

Roy Broderick, Jr. 3:47

Sure. So we're an agency that's built-in founded in strategy. So for us strategies are requirements, no matter what the project is. So we have two sides of the company. One side works with corporations like AT&T Coca-Cola, the United Way, and the National Museum of African American Music, and on how they continue to have an authentic connection with African Americans or LGBTQ consumers. We also do some diversity and inclusion coaching with that. Diversity and multicultural is the new buzzword right now.

And so folks are really trying to figure it out. But they also are a little nervous, because they're like, hey, if we make a wrong mistake, it can turn into a PR nightmare. And so we are their partners in that movement, and not only show them from insights and analytics, what they should be doing, but really making sure that they stay authentic to their brand values when having those conversations with those consumer groups and really just meeting them where they are. The other side of the business works with small to midsize businesses and so startups that have funding or existing businesses that have been in business 5, 10, 20 years that are now like look I've been doing I guess we've been doing pretty well. But I'm not scaling or I'm continuing to grow. But I haven't touched this logo since I founded the company or the organization.

And so we help them kind of refresh and relaunch their brand to make sure that it is visually appealing that they are having the right messaging, and that they really are still putting those dollars that are so important when you're starting a business into the marketing communications line out of a budget because that's how you grow. And that's how you always can point folks back to the amazing work or service or product that your company is providing.

Gresham Harkless 5:33

Absolutely. And that makes perfect sense. Especially, from you know, those brands and those organizations that want to figure out how to communicate how to connect, and do it in an authentic way. Because you know, authenticity is another one of these, you know, big buzzwords, that's going around and a lot of is just because there's so much transparency online and being able to find out generally everything about what somebody thinks about X, Y, and Z, and their paths and all of those things. So being able to be authentic to your brand and who you are, as an organization, but also be able to make that connection to communities that are underserved is definitely insanely important.

Roy Broderick, Jr. 6:06

Yes, I definitely agree. And what we even see too, is that sometimes folks think, you know, Diversity and inclusion just live in HR, right? It's an HR function, you know, they look at it from a recruiting standpoint. But really, it's something that should be cross-functionally done. You know, we work with CMOs, and CTOs, and even CEOs and CTOs on how their messaging and their even employee experience being laid throughout this lens, how are they speaking to the intersections of their employees, whether that's moms or veteran, or even it being a black LGBT man, right? How are you really speaking to both of these identities?

Are you making him comfortable to really show up and be authentic at work? Right? And secondly, are they able to see their selves matriculating through the organization? You know, what is your board look like? What are your Chairman look like, if multicultural individuals don't see themselves in leadership roles, then they will not stay. Because he starts to feel like it's unattainable. And so really, you know, we always say, you know, we believe that we're the difference makers, and we require that diversity of thought always be brought into conversations. But we also really do a lot of education on our end, because we really, really believe that it is a mandate that they speak to these audiences, because the world is forever changing, and it is no longer just black and white.

And so it's time to make sure that we really meeting each other where we are, and really make sure that everything is really inclusive, versus just, you know, oh, we think we might have this or we have this ERG group. That's not enough, you know, how are you speaking to it? Because the one thing is, if you do get the purchasing dollar, you know, especially African Americans, we over the index, we're the ones that spend the money, but we also check receipts.

So if you all of a sudden, they're just jumping out here with an African American woman that's a spokesperson, like Naomi Campbell, and you're like, that's what we're gonna use? You know, we'll say, no, you haven't done anything like that. What are you doing in the community? Well, how are you really tying this in, these are all the things that we think about when we're making our purchasing decisions, and really building brand equity.

Gresham Harkless 8:12

That's awesome. And now I wanted to ask for what I call your secret sauce. And that's what you feel kind of distinguishes you or your organization kind of sets you guys apart? Do you already touch on that? Or do you have another secret sauce you can share with us?

Roy Broderick, Jr. 8:23

I mean, I will say like we, you know, the agency was built on doing agency differently, right? So we're very agile, we do not believe that the client always has more money. But we are really driven by strategy and inspired by culture. So I say that to everyone. Because when we really think about our clients, we don't really refer to them as clients, we refer to them as partners, because we really care about them as the individual, but then also their business, because we really want to make sure that they feel the movement and they aren't in the actual work is not about us just completing the service for you, or getting this done or doing the work for you. It's about partnering with you to make sure that, you know, authenticity is really happening. And so, you know, our company values are culture, community, and purpose.

And we look through that lens. Anytime we're trying to decide who's a great client who we should work with. But then also, you know, if folks will work with us, and so we really look at that as an exchange of power and making those decisions. And so I would say that's our secret sauce. The only other thing I'll say, is transparency, because I mean, we are 100% all the time transparent with clients, and sometimes even more than a normal agency would because we actually put our client's needs before our agency games. And I think that's what makes us different because we really like to have that connectedness to our work.

Gresham Harkless 9:44

And now I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call your CEO hack. And this might be an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Roy Broderick, Jr. 9:54

So a book that has helped me along the way that I'm always peeking into it is called Exponential Living. And it is by Sheri Riley. And really the book talks about how you spend your time, but also really your mission drive, and purpose in the things you do every day. And there's this idea about protecting your peace. And so this is something that we've read as an agency. Anytime we get a new employee, we give them a copy of this book. But it really, you know, has these great things that you do and makes you think about why you do what you do every day and keeping that at the forefront of your mind.

And I mean, let me just say, I know you probably haven't read it, but just to give you like, a little bit of it, you know, one of the first activities in her book is that you basically write your own obituary. So it really puts you in that mindset of having an authentic conversation with yourself about what legacy you want to leave in the world. And that was just super important for me, as I started to really learn work-life balance all over again, as a CEO, but then also really wanted to make sure that I had a team that was connected to really filling the work that they're doing, and really going against their passion versus just needing to make some money.

Gresham Harkless 11:05

Awesome, awesome, awesome. And now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice. Or if you can happen to be a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Roy Broderick, Jr. 11:14

Oh, wow. So my golden nugget or CEO nugget would be for all entrepreneurs and our business owners, and even CEOs, like make sure you see yourself in the work that you're doing. And what that means is that doesn't mean your face has to be all over it. But really, that is speaking to your core messaging, your core identity, and really who you are, because that is what's going to keep you moving forward. You know, a lot of times when startups jump out here, they have a great idea. They say I want the logo to look like this. And there's really not any insight or recognition on why their logo looks that way, or what colors they chose, they don't look at, you know, their emotional guide.

And so I always tell folks, you want to have those small reminders because that's a badge of honor for your brand. And you want to have those small reminders in it. So that when those days get tough in those things happen, it can keep you going and remind you of the why, right? The why you started this, why you do what you do every day, and your true connectedness to your work every day.

And one thing I would tell my younger business self, I think I would tell my younger business self to slow down and know that perfection exists. But it's not required all the time, I was very, very, very nervous about growing the agency, when I first got started, because I had this perfect idea of you know, what success looked like to me, and really didn't think about, you know, all the agencies that I worked at, or the relationships that I have, you know, these folks have been in the game 20, 30, 40 years.

And so a lot of times when you get to compare, you forget that you're probably looking at somebody who's been doing this away a lot longer than you have. And so, you know, put in the work and let the work speak for itself. But also understand that you know, you're carving out your own path. And so that will be my nugget.

Gresham Harkless 13:05

Now, I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote-unquote, CEOs on the show. So, Roy, I wanted to ask you what does being a CEO means to you.

Roy Broderick, Jr. 13:16

So to me, being a CEO means that you are the official brand ambassador of the company. And what that means is external and internal. So that means externally, folks see you are the walking billboard, when they think about the business, and what it stands for, and you should be aligned with that, as well as the success or failure, you're inevitably aligned with that as well. Internally, I always say I'm the happy police, right, I want to make sure my team is loving what they're doing every day that we are making money that we are following processes and procedures and guidelines, but that I'm also allowing them to be their best selves every day.

And so the accountability factor there of really saying, hey, if you're in creative, all creative, you're the creative expert, I'm not going to come in here and tell you and dictate how this needs to be done. We're just going to really, really know you and your experience. And so for us, for me, that's what being a CEO means. Being happy believes internally, making sure you understand how all things are moving, and helping to make those strategic decisions. But then also from an external standpoint, understanding that you're the walking brand for the company.

Gresham Harkless 14:25

Right, I truly appreciate you for taking some time out what I wanted to do is pass you the mic just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and our listeners know. And then of course, how best they can get a hold of you.

Roy Broderick, Jr. 14:34

Sure. So the only thing I'll share at this time would be you know, we're at a point in any business, you should always be looking at what your output is, but really what's the story that you're telling? And so we work with a lot of brands on that we work with small businesses on their storytelling of the work they've done so far, why they their mission vision, why they founded their companies. And so I always encourage folks to make sure that you're always looking back and continuing to refresh those materials.

And so we'd love to be considered to help you tell your story or help you understand your connectedness to your business or the brand that you're working with. If you're trying to reach Multicultural Individuals, African American, LGBTQ Hispanics, or any of those groups, please give us a shout, you can reach us at team@intuitionatl.com. And our telephone number is 404-487-9587. And finally, on all social platforms, we are at Intuition ATL. And so it's definitely been a pleasure. I appreciate you for taking the time to have us participate. And we're really looking forward to helping any CEO that needs any growth, or any advice. Please always give me a shout.

Gresham Harkless 15:49

Absolutely, definitely appreciate you for taking some time out today and also all the work that you're doing as well too. And we'll make sure to have all those links in the show notes because I know you're working on some other you know, great projects that we mentioned offline. So definitely check out the links in the show notes and we will have all that information as well. But Roy, I truly appreciate you have a great rest of the day.

Roy Broderick, Jr. 16:08

You too.

Outro 16:09

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co

I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

[/restrict]