Paid Media Excellence: Pride Creative Force

With agency experience and diverse skills, Rodney Bethea is a dynamic talent. Their passion for storytelling and commitment to multicultural issues shine through their work during Pride. This Account Executive stepped up in a big way creatively.

Here’s Rodney in their own words:

After working on product-specific campaigns at other media agencies over the past two years, it's honoring and liberating to have the opportunity to work on meaningful projects focused on the LGBTQIA+ community. 

It's challenging to find your voice as a Queer person of color in this industry, especially when working on projects that don't align with your personal values. Being able to bring my full and authentic self to the table while conceptualizing and executing these large queer campaigns is so special. A piece of my own story is being tucked into the narrative of these bright, fun, and loving campaigns that are supposed to serve my community with the utmost care. 

Particularly, working on projects such as the Equality Illinois strategic plan campaign, Lambda Legal’s 50th anniversary, and the Howard Brown Health 'With Pleasure' campaign made me feel like I was a part of something larger than myself. There’s a great feeling of fulfillment seeing simple concepts come to life that I dreamed up while out with friends, watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, or walking my dog on the beach.

Campaigns must be rooted in truth and conceptualized with authenticity. Knowing that my lived (and sometimes silly) experiences catalyzed an entire campaign idea felt right. It makes me hopeful that other workplaces will see this very intentional work and start to deeply value the perspective of their queer BIPOC counterparts in decision-making. 

Especially as our livelihoods (and even lives) are constantly being threatened, it's important to use our special superpowers to communicate with each other. Those of us working in marketing communications have a special responsibility and opportunity. From drag story hours to sexual health campaigns, every word delivered with intention and love can lead a queer person in the direction of living an authentic life unabashedly and unapologetically.

This shouldn't be limited to Pride month, by the way. We're here, we've always been here, and we will continue speaking our truth every day. Carrying on our unique and deeply personal stories through generations is a special tradition that should never be overlooked or taken lightly. Especially now.